Zozobra

This article is about the Pagan puppet burning. For the metal band, see Zozobra (band).
Zozobra

Zozobra burning in 2005
Begins September
Frequency Yearly
Venue Fort Marcy (New Mexico)
Location(s) Santa Fe, New Mexico
Inaugurated 1924
Founder Gustave Baumann, Will Shuster
Organised by Kiwanis

Zozobra ("Old Man Gloom") is a giant marionette effigy that is built and burned every autumn during Fiestas de Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As his name suggests, he embodies gloom; by burning him, people destroy the worries and troubles of the previous year in the flames.[1] Anyone with an excess of gloom is encouraged to write down the nature of his or her gloom on a slip of paper and leave it in the "gloom box" found in the offices of the Santa Fe Reporter in the weeks leading up to the burn. Many people put legal papers in the gloom box as well. At the festival the papers from the gloom box are placed at Zozobra's feet to be burned alongside him.

History

Fiestas de Santa Fe has been held since 1712 to celebrate the Spanish retaking of the city in 1692 by Don Diego de Vargas from the Pueblo tribes who had occupied the city since the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The burning of Zozobra dates from 1924. Santa Fe artist and marionette maker Gustave Baumann came up with the idea of creating the effigy,[2] also called Old Man Gloom, and the ritual burning; and then conspired with his friend William Howard Shuster, Jr. to burn the first Zozobra. "Zozobra" means "anxiety" in Spanish. Baumann's idea might have been influenced by Mexican cartonería (papier-mâché sculpture), especially the effigies exploded during the burning of Judas that takes place on Holy Saturday or New Year's Eve, as a way of ridding oneself or one's community of evil.

Modern celebration

Today in Santa Fe more than 50,000 people go to watch Zozobra, who stands 50 feet tall. His burning marks the start of three days of celebration that includes traditional mass at St. Francis Cathedral; a reenactment of the Entrada, when Don Diego de Vargas returned to the city; a Children's Pet Parade; and the Historical/Hysterical Parade. The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe builds Zozobra and burns the effigy at Fort Marcy Park. The Zozobra that was burned on September 7, 2007, was certified by Guinness World Records as the largest marionette in the world, measuring 15.21 m (49.11 ft) in height. Zozobra's record was subsequently broken by the 17.82 m (58.46 ft) mascot to Ottawa's Ital-Fest one year later on September 6, 2008.[3]

The Zozobra burning in Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe, New Mexico has traditionally been held in September, however ticket sales in advance of the event improved when it was moved to the Friday immediately before Labor Day in 2014.[4]

List of Zozobra-burning events

2007 Zozobra with red hair; the color of his hair changes each year.
Date Hair color
September 10, 2004orange[5]
September 6, 2007red
September 4, 2008green[6]
September 10, 2009orange[7]
September 9, 2010blue[8]
September 8, 2011purple[9]
September 6, 2012yellow[10]
September 5, 2013green[11]
August 29, 2014chartreuse
September 4, 2015gray[12]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zozobra.

References

  1. ↑ "Old Man Gloom, sorrows up in smoke". United Press International. September 7, 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  2. ↑ Dances with ink: Gustave Baumann and his studio, Tom Leech, El Palacio 2009 vol. 114 no. 4 pp. 32-37.
  3. ↑ http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/1000/largest-puppetmarionette Guinness World Records Entry for Largest puppet/marionette
  4. ↑ "Zozobra organizers see spike in early ticket sales - The Santa Fe New Mexican: Local News". santafenewmexican.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Image: zozobra_2004_photo_by_lisa_law.jpg, (225 × 300 px)". burnzozobra.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Image: zozobra-2008-kabeyta1.jpg, (700 × 525 px)". burnzozobra.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  7. ↑ "Image: zozobra-2009-kabeyta2.jpg, (525 × 700 px)". burnzozobra.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  8. ↑ "Image: zozobra_2010_photo_by_lisa_law.jpg, (1952 × 3264 px)". burnzozobra.com. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "Image: zozobra_2011_photo1_by_lisa_law.jpg, (482 × 365 px)". burnzozobra.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "News photos and pictures from the Albuquerque Journal". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  11. ↑ "Adventure Nickel: Zozobra". egad-ybnormal.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "Burn Zozobra Main Page". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
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