I wish I could say that this was a joke, but I saw the damned pig float away myself Sunday night during Roger Waters' set at Coachella. As it drifted up, I contemplated why Waters would release the pig, endanger the airplane circling the field advertising something or other, and litter the earth not only with his pomposity but with the symbol of that pomposity. But, no.

The pig in question, before sprouting wings. Will its arrival in the the jungles of South America be greeted by believers as a sign from God? (Photo by Timothy Norris)

Here's a video of the pig's escape (courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan). On a Zapruder-like examination of the footage, I think the fire from the stage explosions burned up the pig's strings (and I can't believe I just wrote that sentence with a straight face).

COACHELLA ORGANIZERS OFFER $10, 000 REWARD AND FOUR FESTIVAL TICKETS FOR LIFE IN EXCHANGE FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF THE INFLATABLE PIG THAT ESCAPED DURING SUNDAY HEADLINER ROGER WATERS’ SET

COACHELLA organizers are offering $10,000 and four (4) festival tickets for life in exchange for the safe return of the two-story inflatable pig that broke loose during Roger Waters’ set on the final night (Sunday, April 27) of the 2008 COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL. The pig escaped and floated into the desert sky just prior to the intermission between Roger Waters’ back-to-back sets–marking the only back-to-back COACHELLA sets by one artist in the critically acclaimed festival’s history.

Anyone with information on the lost pig, should email lostpig@coachella.com.

But while I've got you here, I'd highly recommend a wonderfully surreal history of Paraguay called At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig by John Gimlett. It's a sordid tale of South America's oddest and most notorious country, told with a storyteller's flair for narrative.

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