If you're planning a trip to Santa Fe New Mexico after the summer season, in early September, there are plenty of things to do in Santa Fe. The burning of Zozobra goes all the way back to 1924. Today, it's estimated that some 40,000 people attend this event every year in Santa Fe at Fort Marcy Park. Zozobra is a part of Fiesta in Santa Fe and each year the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe organizes the event where the fifty foot tall marionette is burned in effigy. Fiesta in Santa Fe commemorates the return of the Spaniards twelve years after their withdrawal from Nuevo Mexico due to the very violent Pueblo Revolt in 1680. The Spaniards return was led by Diego de Vargas and represented a new and more tranquil chapter of Spanish Native American relations. The festival therefore is a very positive event in Santa Fe history. Although compared to the first Fiesta in 1712, Zozobra was a 20th century creation.
The creation of Zozobra and the part it plays in the celebration of Fiesta Santa Fe started in 1924 with the creation of Zozobra by renowned Santa Fe artist Will Schuster. Schuster along with several artist friends developed Zozobra as an addition to the positive Fiesta spirit. The idea certainly caught on and will be approaching it's 100 year milestone. In 1963 the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe became involved with staging the burning in effigy event and a year later in 1964 the Kiwanis Club took over the entire Zozobra celebration and was given all rights and title to Zozobra from Will Schuster. Today the Zozobra burning is entirely a Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe annual event. There is a nominal fee to attend the burning of Zozobra and the proceeds are given to charitable organizations.
The Zozobra burning kicks off the Fiesta Santa Fe event which begins the weekend after Labor Day. The burning of Zozobra signifies the ridding of "old man gloom", which is exemplified in the fifty foot tall marionette. The Zozobra burning takes place at Santa Fe's historic Fort Marcy Park, a little under a mile north of the plaza. For Santa Fe tourists staying at Santa Fe hotels near the plaza area, Fort Marcy Park is within walking distance to the north and in most cases for those tourists a car ride isn't necessary.
The official story of how Will Schuster came up with the concept of Zozobra is quite interesting. The story is that Schuster drew his idea of Zozobra from a celebration that went on with Mexico's Yaqui Indians. The Yaqui's created an image of Judas which was filled with firecrackers and paraded around town on a donkey before being lit on fire and destroyed. Schuster and a newspaper friend of his reportedly came up with the name "Zozobra" which is defined as"anguish and anxiety" or otherwise known as gloom. Thus Zozobra represents "old man gloom" and the burning is a doorway to the return of happiness and tranquility. It fits very well with the spirit of Santa Fe's Fiesta Week.
It' quite a thing to attend the Zozobra buring each September. The wood and cloth marionette is constructed to move it's arms and head. The figure also growls. Before the structure is burned in effigy there is a ceremony in front of the tall marionette by a "fire spirit dancer" who dressed in a red robe drives away the white sheeted gloom found at the base of the Zozobra figure. The ceremony takes place after sunset so the visual display of the dancing and burning is quite spectacular. As the burning ritual begins toward the last part of the ceremony you can hear attendees shout out the words, "burn him". The Zozobra event has always been a favorite of children and it's noted that children often arrive at Fort Marcy Park in the morning to watch the work being done in erecting the fifty foot tall figure to it's place at the park. According to Zozobra's website, zozobra.com , what is called a "gloom box" is placed near the TV stage by the Lost and Found on the day of the burning. People bring notes, legal papers, essentially anything they wish to get rid of and place it inside the gloom box. The gloom box is then placed inside Zozobra just prior to the burning. The gloom box is also available during August at the Santa Fe Reporter offices on Marcy Street.
The 2012 burning of Zozobra will be on Thursday evening September 6th. You may wish to mark your calendar.
(Photos from author's private collection)
