8/10/2014-Santa Fe Fuego's Fort Marcy Park is preparing to host the 90th Annual Burning of Zozobra FRIDAY, AUG. 29, 2014. (http://burnzozobra.com/

In front of Thousand's of spectators Zozobra is staged each year by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe, as a fiery and exciting kick-off to the annual Fiestas de Santa Fe, during the first weekend in September, following Labor Day. Thursday evening, at dusk, the popular Zozobra event takes place at Fort Marcy Park, located just a few blocks from the historic Santa Fe Plaza. This is the annual ceremony of the burning of Old Man Gloom. Zozobra, the inspiration of artist Will Shuster, was introduced as part of the Fiesta events.

Old Man Gloom first appeared as a six-foot puppet, but the Zozobra figure has since grown to be over 50 feet tall. Made of muslin and stuffed with shredded paper, Zozobra is an eerie, groaning, flailing character, who looks to be part ghost and part monster.

Amid fireworks and the ceremonial dances of ghosts and fire, Zozobra is set ablaze by torches. As Old Man Gloom burns, it is said that with him go the feelings of gloom and doom from the past year. The sound of the groaning Zozobra can be heard throughout the city and for miles around. The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe became officially involved with Zozobra in 1963. Will Shuster assigned all rights to the Kiwanis Club on June 19, 1964, and to this day they retain the exclusive copyright and trademark to the figure. As a major annual fundraiser, Zozobra has become a fun way for the citizens of Santa Fe (and visitors from around the world) to participate in community service. Since 1952, Zozobra has raised over $300,000, which the Santa Fe Downtown Kiwanis Foundation has used to provide college scholarships, fund local youth projects, and provide camp fees for physically challenged children.

Local artist William Howard Shuster, Jr. conceived and created Zozobra in 1924, as the highlight of a private party at his home for artists and writers in the Santa Fe area. He was inspired by the Holy Week celebrations of the Yaqui Indians of Mexico, where an effigy of Judas, filled with firecrackers, is led around the village on a donkey, and ultimately set afire. Shuster and his friend, E. Dana Johnson, a local newspaper editor, came up with the name Zozobra, which was defined as: "anguish, anxiety, gloom," or Spanish for "the gloomy one."