SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – The 100th Burning of Zozobra brought more than 50,000 people of all ages and from various parts of the world to Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe on Friday.
The centennial celebration put on by the Kiwanis Club of Santa was packed full of entertainment, including a brand new drone show and an extensive fireworks display that accompanied the main spectacle: “Old Man Gloom” going up in flames for the hundredth year. “This is the highlight of my year; I wait all year for Zozobra,” said Brian Bakri who has attended the event 20 to 25 times since the nineties, and said he was excited to be part of the historic event.
Bakri embraced the spiritual side of the event, describing it as serving like church for him. When asked if there was any gloom he wanted to get rid of, he said, “A lot of people I know are suffering from just all kinds of things, so mostly getting rid of that.”
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Many people told KRQE News 13 that the event served as a way to remove negative energy and experiences that no longer served them. For others, they looked forward to seeing the flames engulf Zozobra. “I’m just hoping I see him on fire. I just want to see him burn,” said Alexis Arroyos, who attended the event with his family, including his younger brothers.
One woman who attended the centennial celebration said she looked forward to the party. She even dressed the part by donning a homemade Zozobra costume with a birthday crown on top. “Even if it’s the 200th birthday, you must make a point in your life, your bucket list, to come to Zozobra. And Burning Man is nothing,” said Lauren Stutzman, who has attended the event in costume for the past 10 years.
Artist William Howard “Will” Shuster Jr. created the first Zozobra in 1924. It started as a 6-foot effigy that burned in Shuster’s backyard. Over the years, it’s grown to a towering 50-foot marionette made of wood, wire, cotton cloth, and stuffed with people’s “glooms.”
This year’s event also included an element from the event’s past: children reprised the role of “Gloomies.” The kids dressed in white tunics paraded around Zozobra in a choreographed dance before being chased out by torch-bearing townsfolk who set bonfires alight on the stage. Even on his 100th birthday, Zozobra could not escape his final match with the “Fire Spirit,” who ultimately set “Old Man Gloom” ablaze while the crowd chanted “burn him.”
A week before the centennial burning, Zozobra Event Chairman Raymond Sandoval told KRQE News 13 that he wanted to make this year’s event so memorable that people would talk about it for years. “We’ve been planning this 100th celebration for the last 10 years,” Sandoval said.
While planning for the 100th Burning of Zozobra, the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe also launched its Decades Project, which revisited Zozobra’s past designs during the burnings from 2014 to 2023. Click here to learn more about the project.
Photos of the 100th Burning of Zozobra
