This summer, people will gather in Santa Fe to celebrate the burning of a giant effigy named Zozobra – a tradition held close to the hearts of Norteños for almost a century.
And, to mark its centennial, the New Mexico History Museum is asking community members far and wide to submit memorabilia to display at the Palace of the Governors.
KUNM sat down with assistant curator Delaney Hoffman to talk the history behind old man gloom and how you can participate in the exhibit.
DELANEY HOFFMAN: Zozobra is a long beloved tradition in Santa Fe, right? And every single year, there tends to be this narrative that is spoken about Will Shuster, the inventor, and his group of buddies getting together in 1924 to make fun of fiestas. And, while that is true, we want to kind of zoom out a little bit and provide a broader context for the people and cultures that have been keeping this tradition going over the decades.
KUNM: So, you're asking for people to bring in memories, objects. What have people been bringing in and what are you looking for?
HOFFMAN: Yes. We are looking for any sort of memorabilia or ephemera from Zozobra celebrations past. So far, we've seen some really amazing piñatas from the 80s that were just sold on the side of the road. We have some really amazing pins with light up eyes that were used to signify Zozobra admission after you had your ticket. But, we also have pictures of folks when they were little dressed up in their gloomies costumes. We haven't done an open call like this at the New Mexico History Museum before. Any sort of VHS tapes, any sort of prints, any sort of posters, any weird bootleg T-shirts that your uncle made in the 90s in the back of somebody's drawer... We want to see all of that. And, we've started to see a little bit so far, but we still have multiple drop-in dates ahead.
KUNM:For those who aren't particularly aware, what is the burning of Zozobra and what does it mean?
HOFFMAN: Every year, this massive effigy of old man gloom is built and then burned by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe, and every year that is stuffed with the glooms of the people... Any anxieties, any worries, any woes, they go into the monster and they go up in this huge pyrotechnic display. It's often stated that people will put their divorce papers in there. Their mortgages that they just paid off. Wedding dresses from former, almost marriages that didn't happen, those things that we want to expel and forget about in the coming year. Those go up in flame with Zozobra.
KUNM: We see similar traditions around New Mexico, like in Albuquerque's South Valley with the burning of El Kookooee. Why is it so important to gather memories of these traditions and put them on display for all to see?
HOFFMAN: You're definitely right where the burning of effigies is a really massive tradition. You can find examples of this all over the world and literally in our own backyard. And I think that that's really emblematic of the feeling of catharsis that people do experience kind of watching all of these things go and be dispelled into the air.
KUNM: How does this work, exactly? How can people participate?
HOFFMAN: There's a few different ways to participate. The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe, if you're not directly local, or if you're just kind of really, really busy, you can actually submit objects online, which is great. And that link is just: burnzozobra.com/lend. That's all. But, I would really love to see objects in person for consideration for the New Mexico History Museum show. And so we're hosting these community drop in hours where I will be in the lobby of the New Mexico History Museum on Lincoln Street in Santa Fe, for two hour segments between now and April 1. Those next couple of ones are going to be March 30 and April 1. I will be there taking pictures of objects, chatting, getting some context in history and starting to put the exhibition together from these objects loaned by the community.
Drop-in hours at the New Mexico History Museum:
Saturday, March 30, 2 – 4 p.m.
Monday, April 1, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
