by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Kendall Speten and Amy Wallner-Drake didn't know what to expect once the sun set over Santa Fe on Thursday evening.
Speten and Drake, who are UNM graduate students, said they both attended Zozobra for the first time this year.
"Before moving here, I was unaware of Southwest culture," said Speten, who is from North Dakota. "I'm expecting a lot of shebang."
The 81st annual Zozobra, held in Santa Fe, is an event emphasizing the burning of a 50-foot figure called Old Man Gloom.
Anthony Peperas, a freshman at UNM, said the burning of Old Man Gloom symbolizes the expunging of the city's gloom and people's personal gloom.
"The purpose is to get rid of gloom and evils in Santa Fe," he said.
Drake heard about the event's reputation before attending Thursday night, but said she was curious about what was going to happen.
"I've heard it's a love-hate relationship because of the violence it brings," she said. "At the same time, it's a part of the city's culture."
A 1997 shooting at the festival left a 20-year-old man dead, and prompted Santa Fe officials to change the event from Friday nights to Thursday nights in hopes of attracting a less violent crowd.
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Lt. Marco Lucero, of the Santa Fe Police Department, said security has improved in the past few years.
"We have officers patrolling the area, rather than having them at stations," Lucero said. "Everything is going smooth."
Before the burning of Old Man Gloom at dusk, attendees were entertained with local music and a poetry slam.
"It's nice to have entertainment rather than silence," Speten said. "It's a little hard to hear, though."
Smalls crowds began to chant "burn him" as the sun disappeared at 7:35 p.m. over the cloud-filled Santa Fe sky.
UNM sophomore Fabian Garcia said he never attended Zozobra when he was growing up because his church looked down on the event.
"Once I started driving, I started coming for the past four years," Garcia said. "I always see someone I haven't seen in a long time when I come here."
He said nothing had changed over the years except the color of Old Man Gloom's hair, but he still liked to attend.
"I come to socialize and watch the fireworks," Garcia said.
At around 8:30 p.m. people were cheering and whistling as someone listed the charges against Old Man Gloom over the speaker system.
"With the authority of the people, Zozobra will be dismissed with fire," the speaker said. "Take our suffering and gloom with you."
Soon the stadium lights were turned off and the crowd began shouting.
Old Man Gloom began to flail his arms and taunt the crowd as people dressed in white danced around the large figure with torches in hand.
"I'm ready for it to begin," Drake said.
The dancers set their torches across the stage where Old Man Gloom stood. The figure began to roar and shake his arms.
"He really looks possessed," Speten said. "He looks life-like."
People held up lighters as a dancer in red moved across the stage with torch in hand. Fireworks illuminated the sky.
At 9:05 p.m. Old Man Gloom moaned as he was set ablaze. Heat from the blaze could be felt across the field and fireworks exploded in the sky creating smoke that shrouded Old Man Gloom's face.
"This is way more than I expected," Speten said. "The moaning made it alive."
Five minutes later, Old Man Gloom was no more than a skeletal frame. The crowd cheered.
"You can feel the energy from the crowd," Drake said. "It's the same atmosphere as a carnival without the burning."
Drake and Speten said the event was so enjoyable they would come again.
"I want to bring someone else to experience it," Speten said. "I've never been to anything like it."
