Big in Bolivia: Zebras in the Streets
Zebras are running rampant through the streets of La Paz, Bolivia, where they can be seen hanging out in groups, interacting with drivers, and even directing traffic. The cebritas, as they are known, aren’t of the equid variety—rather, they’re local volunteers dressed in full-body zebra costumes.
La Paz’s program is a spiritual successor to a 1990s‑era Colombian initiative launched by Bogotá’s then-mayor, Antanas Mockus, who dispatched mimes to tease and shame the city’s drivers for breaking traffic rules. Mockus, a philosopher and mathematician, believed that Colombians were more afraid of ridicule than of punishment. He appears to have been onto something: The mimes contributed to a 50 percent decrease in traffic fatalities in Bogotá during his tenure.
