Burn Your Worries, Woes, and Morbid Thoughts to Ashes!

It’s that time once again to banish your gloomy thoughts and troublesome worries by having them burned to ashes along with the veritable demon of doom himself, Zozobra.

This will be the 100th year of the public execution of “Old Man Gloom,” a favorite spectacle that ushers in the annual autumn fiesta celebrations in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This year, Zozobra will be torched on Friday evening, August 30, 2024, in Santa Fe’s Fort Marcy Ballpark.

The burning of Zozobra dates from 1924, when Santa Fe artist Will Shuster torched a 6-foot-tall version of the gloom monster in his backyard at a party with his friends and fellow artists. "Zozobra" is a Spanish word for anxiety or worry.

These days, Zozobra has grown to a 50-foot-tall puppet and the event is sponsored and organized by Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe. The burning ceremony delights crowds of up to 60,000 every year. The event is cathartic because the giant Zozobra goblin is stuffed with slips of paper on which fiesta attendees write their woes and worries, along with assorted legal papers, divorce decrees, mortgage pay-offs, parking tickets and the like. As Zozobra is consumed by fire, everyone’s worries go up in flames along with him and are dramatically reduced to ashes.

A new Zozobra effigy is constructed every year, basically following the same grotesque design as the original.

Submit Your Own Worries for Burning

Now you too can have your personal worries incinerated along with Zozobra for a $1 donation. Enter your anxieties, problems, or mental burdens on the official “Burn My Gloom” submission page. Your worries will be printed out on paper, stuffed into Zozo’s effigy, and torched at 9:30 p.m. MDT, Friday, August 30, 2024. What a deal!

You can also upload copies of personal documents you wish to have committed to the flames, such as bad report cards, dear John/Joan letters, divorce papers, etc., for an additional $5 each.

Select a Body Part

Plus, for fees of $5-15, you can also specify where on Zozobra’s body you wish to have your worries stuffed. This offer is limited to his head, hair, mouth, right hand, left hand, belly, chest, and “where his heart should be.”

Watch the Event Live

If you are unable to attend the Burning of Zozobra in person, you can watch live stream coverage on the video player page at ABC/KOAT 7. You can also watch on your Smart TV by downloading the Very Local app for live coverage.

Coverage begins at 7 p.m., Friday, August 30, with “Zozobra: Legacy of Fire,” where you can learn about the history of Old Man Gloom. Coverage of the live 100th Anniversary Burning of Zozobra begins at 9:00 p.m. MDT.

Photo: Bryce Risley

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