Zozobra!

So it's really hard to describe Zozobra, and I am not sure I am up to the task. I'll just give a preview, and the pictures can give you a better idea. Zozobra, or "Old Man Gloom," is an 83 year old Santa Fe tradition. Each Fiestas week in September, since the 1930s, old man gloom has been built and burnt as a sort of community cleansing. Begun by the artist Will Schuster, he bequeathed the enterprise to the local Kiwanis chapter when he died. So, every year, upwards of 20,000 Santa Fe residents and visitors trek up to Fort Marcy Park to watch the burning. Gates open at 2pm; the burning happened at 8:45pm. I arrived (with my new scholar friend Jonathan) around 6:15 and took in the scene. Lots of little kids, teenagers, hippies, and residents of all types were spread out on blankets, picnicing, listening to music, eating from vendors, buying light sticks and getting ready for "the burn."

As it got darker, the crowds swelled and swelled and by 8 you could tell that people were getting restless. Chants of "Burn Him" began (a little too reminiscent of "Lord of the Flies" crossed with the scene where the Deatheaters come out at the Quidditch World Cup in Harry Potter IV) and got louder as the time came closer to the Burn.

The Burn began with the stadium lights going out, and people pressing their way to the front, chanting louder and louder. Dancers began a pagan ceremony up and down the Aztec temple style stairs that led to Zozobra, running around, throwing fire sticks, and cueing the fireworks to begin. This pre-burn activity lasted way too long, but you could tell it was just to get people more and more riled up. Little kids were screaming, adults were calling for the burn in the kind of scary, intense voices that only come out when it's dark and no one can tell who's yelling. The pot smoke grew thicker and thicker, and finally, after the red flame dancer came out, the burn began. Zozobra, about 40-feet tall, and a working marionette, is filled with gloom messages: divorce papers, speeding tickets, and gloomy thoughts written on scraps of paper loaded into the bottom of the structure. I think it would've been more "cleansing" without the screaming and the incredibly loud amplified moaning of Zozobra himself. The burn was pretty spectacular, and over very quickly. Getting out of that place was a little scary--masses and masses of people trying to crowd over very small wooden bridges, but back to the casita safe and sound.

I don't think I'd go to Zozobra again, but it was pretty cool (and so strange), and quite the experience!

Viva la fiesta--festivities continue through the weekend, with all state offices closing at 2pm tomorrow.

Time for bed!

Pic 1: Zozobra by daylight
Pic 2: Zozobra right before the burn, with the pagan dancers
Pic 3: Zozobra burning!!!