Zozobra is the name of an effigy that is burned every autumn during "Fiestas" in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Fiestas de Santa Fe has been held since 1712 to celebrate the retaking of the city after the Pueblo Revolt by Don Diego de Vargas . The burning of Zozobra dates from 1924, when William Howard Shuster, Jr. came up with the idea of creating the effigy, also called Old Man Gloom. Today Zozobra stands fifty feet tall and his burning marks the climax of a week of celebration that includes mass at St. Francis Cathedral, a reenactment of the Entrada, when De Vargas returned to the city, a Children's Pet Parade, and the Historical/Hysterical Parade. Zozobra is built by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe and burned at Fort Marcy Park. One of the best places to watch Zozobra is from the Cross of the Martyrs north of the Plaza.
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