Zozobra: Goodbye, Gloomies! (Source: Geo Davis)
We’re back in Santa Fe in time to experience Zozobra (aka “burning Old Man Gloom). It’s been years since I’ve witnessed this fascinating ritual. Decades actually. We spy from our terrace—and from a live stream courtesy of the Meow Wolf—instead of plunging into the sea of festive celebrants.
The giant effigy moans and groans and taunts the fire dancer. He has been stuffed with thousands of worries, anxieties, fears, and gloomy memories contributed by members of the community eager to dispatch negativity and start fresh.
“Burn him,” chant the crowds. “Burn him. Burn him!”
And they do…
I love rituals that invite cathartic renewal and revitalization. Zozobra belongs in my life. In my every day. Burn up the destructive and inhibitive artifacts of life already lived. Start fresh. Phoenix from ashes…
If you’d like to learn more about Zozobra, I’ll pass the baton to those better informed. Let’s start with the back story.
The invention of Will Shuster — a painter from Philadelphia who migrated to the Southwest — Zozobra was first built and ignited in 1924, adding a madcap celebration to a Santa Fe’s weeklong community “fiestas” that include historic and religious processions. The festival’s name was derived from a Spanish word for anguish. (Source: US News)
I introduce to you, Old Man Gloom.
Originally only 6 feet tall, today the puppet weighs nearly 2,000 pounds and is constructed of wood, wire, and shredded paper. During assembly, Zozobra is stuffed with old love letters, traffic tickets, divorce papers, arrest warrants, and any other item that has brought sorrow to the people of Santa Fe…
The event is more than just a creepy spectacle to keep you up at night. It’s a day for the community to come together and spend time with family and friends. It’s also a deeply personal event, offering attendees the chance to reflect on the past year, rid themselves of worry and anxiety, and wipe the slate clean… (Source: Fodor’s Travel)
A clean slate. Anguish incinerated. Sounds enticing, right?
Picture this: a glowering 50-foot marionette moans and thrashes violently as a crowd of more than 50,000 people chant in unison, “Burn! Burn!” Gloomies (children dressed as ghosts) parade around as villagers light bonfires threateningly close to the effigy. A fire dancer battles the monster with blazing torches in a carefully choreographed dance as fireworks explode in the sky above. The marionette wails louder and louder as fire spews from its eyes and mouth. The crowd erupts into cheers as the monster is finally engulfed and devoured in a sea of flames. (Source: Fodor’s Travel)
Primitive, yes, but purgative and relatively benign. Even beautiful in a pagan way.
You could be forgiven for thinking this is the stuff of nightmares, but the scene described is just Santa Fe’s annual Burning of the Zozobra, a boisterous event that symbolizes the release of gloom and anxiety from the previous year. (Source: Fodor’s Travel)
Goodbye, gloomies!