“Chango,” the twelve-inch tall, plaster-of-paris, irregularly painted statuette, first appeared in the San Ysidro border traffic lines during the early 1970s as street vendors hawked them to passing tourists. Many a gringo returning from their surf trip, tourist jaunt, TJ bar run, or mission trip came home with one of these in the back seat.”

Slow Baja has questions, and in this riveting interview, Beth Slevcove of the Surf Monkey Fellowship has the answers. Monkey or ape? Who is Chango’s creator? How did an icon of border tchotchkedom become nearly extinct? Stay tuned!

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