Planning to attend the Burning of Zozobra in Santa Fe? Here are 14 things to know, from who Old Man Gloom is and how he’s built each year to what the Fire Spirit does, how to submit your glooms, and what to expect when you get there.
1. Who is Zozobra?
Zozobra, also called Old Man Gloom, is a 50-foot marionette that stands as the physical embodiment of the gloom, anxiety, and negative energy that people carry with them. He is not a political figure, a religious symbol, a demon, or a villain. He is a specter, a vessel built to hold the collective weight of a community’s worries so that those worries can be destroyed.
Every year, the people of Santa Fe gather at Fort Marcy Park to burn Zozobra to the ground and start fresh. The glooms stuffed inside him are real burdens from real people: written worries, divorce papers, hospital gowns, old photographs, mortgage statements. Burning them is an act of release. Zozobra exists to go up in flames so the crowd can walk away lighter.
Is Zozobra scary? In person, yes, he is an imposing figure. He stands five stories tall, growls through his gaping mouth, and waves his massive arms at the crowd. Confronting Old Man Gloom, staring him down, and watching him fall is an essential part of the experience.
2. How did the Burning of Zozobra start?
The tradition traces back to Will Shuster, a World War I veteran and artist who moved to Santa Fe in the early 1920s. On Christmas Eve of 1923, Shuster and his friends burned slips of paper listing their worries at a dinner at La Fonda, an act of release that planted the seed for what would become Zozobra. The first effigy burned in Shuster’s backyard in 1924. For the full origin story, including how a trip to Mexico and a group of artists called Los Cinco Pintores shaped the tradition, visit the history page.
3. How did Zozobra get its name?
Shuster didn’t want an English language name for his creation. He and E. Dana Johnson, editor of the local Santa Fe newspaper, looked up “gloom” in a Spanish-English dictionary and found “zozobra,” which also translates to “anxiety” and “being shipwrecked.” Shuster thought the word captured everything the effigy was meant to represent, and the name stuck.
4. How is Zozobra built each year?
Shuster’s original blueprints are still used today, though Zozobra has grown from six feet in 1924 to over 50 feet tall. His frame is made of wood and wire, wrapped in cotton cloth and stuffed with bushels of shredded paper, including all the glooms submitted by the public. His head is constructed from geometric shapes that Shuster arranged to resemble a human face.
Because a group of artists build Zozobra from scratch each year, he never looks exactly the same. He is built to be recognizable but never a carbon copy of a previous year. The result is one of the world’s largest functioning marionettes, able to wave his arms, move his head, and growl ominously at the crowd through his gaping mouth.
5. What is the Fire Spirit?
The Fire Spirit is Zozobra’s nemesis and the hero of the ritual. Dressed in a flowing red costume and headdress and armed with blazing torches, the Fire Spirit channels the crowd’s positive energy to bring Old Man Gloom down.
During the ceremony, the Fire Spirit dances at Zozobra’s feet, taunting him with fire as the crowd’s chants grow louder. The role is physically demanding and genuinely includes risks, performed just feet from a 50-foot flammable structure as fireworks explode overhead. Only a handful of performers have held the role over the tradition’s history, each one passing it to the next. Today, the Fire Spirit is performed by Santa Fe native and dancer Helene Luna.
The mythology does not guarantee that Zozobra will fall. It is the crowd’s job to generate enough positive energy to help the Fire Spirit defeat him. That belief turns tens of thousands of spectators into active participants every year.
6. How do you submit your glooms?
Glooms are the worries, regrets, and negative energy that people want to burn away with Zozobra. You can submit them in several ways: at physical gloom boxes placed around Santa Fe in the weeks before the event, at ZozoFest (the free community celebration held the weekend before the burn), at the Hutton Gloom Tent at Fort Marcy Park on event day, or online for $1 per gloom. Online glooms are printed, shredded, and stuffed into Old Man Gloom before showtime, and submitters receive a Certificate of Destruction signed by the Fire Spirit.
Glooms are not limited to slips of paper. Over the years, people have brought hospital gowns, wedding dresses, photo albums, and mortgage papers. Anything that holds negative energy in your life can be stuffed into Old Man Gloom and burned away.
7. What happens during the event?
The Burning of Zozobra is a full evening of entertainment at Fort Marcy Park. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. with live music and dance performances on multiple stages. Food trucks and local vendors line the grounds, a beer garden operated by Santa Fe Brewing serves beer and wines, and a merchandise booth carries the year’s official Zozobra clothing and collectibles.
The highlight is the ceremonial burn itself, which follows a specific ritual that Shuster laid out in his original script. Official ceremonies begin at 7:00 p.m. as the energy builds toward the burn. For the full event schedule and entertainment lineup, visit the event information page.
8. What happens during the burn?
In 1928, Shuster wrote in his diary that he wanted “to take participants on an emotional ride.” He envisioned fireworks painting a black sky, weakening Zozobra’s strength before the final blow.
A checklist of traditions must be followed for each burn. Among them are the waterfall of fire, a crown of fireworks, and the specific way Zozobra’s hair is constructed. His hair is made of shredded paper held in place by wire. As the hair catches fire from the fireworks and begins to fall, it ignites the rest of his body. A flare in his mouth allows him to breathe fire in his final moments.
The crowd does not just watch. They yell, chant, and cheer, feeding the positive energy that the mythology says is needed to defeat him. That collective participation, tens of thousands of people focused on the same act of release, is what makes the Burning of Zozobra different from any other event.
9. What happens after Zozobra burns?
When Zozobra goes down in flames, don’t leave. The burn is followed by one of the Southwest’s most spectacular fireworks displays, a synchronized pyrotechnic show set to music. After the fireworks, live music and entertainment continue on the grounds. Zozobra burns rain or shine.
10. When and where is Zozobra?
Zozobra annually takes place on the Friday before Labor Day at Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The 102nd Burning of Zozobra is on Friday, September 4, 2026. For the full schedule, entertainment lineup, and gate times, visit the event information page.
11. How do I get tickets?
General admission tickets start at $30 when purchased online in advance. Premium viewing options include seated areas closer to Zozobra. Kids 10 and under are free in general admission, and student, senior, and military discounts are available. Visit the ticket guide for current pricing and availability.
12. What should I know before arriving?
Zozobra follows security protocols, similar to the NFL and NBA. All items must be carried in clear plastic bags (12″ x 6″ x 12″ max), and no purses, backpacks, strollers, or commercial plastic water bottles are allowed. Free water stations and food vendors are available on-site, and free shuttle buses run from the South Capitol Rail Runner Station. For the complete list of what you can and cannot bring, visit the attending guide.
13. How can artists and performers get involved?
Artists can compete in the annual poster and T-shirt design contest. Winning artwork becomes the official Zozobra branding for the year, and winners receive VIP tickets to the burn. Contest details and submission guidelines are posted on the art and artists page.
Vocalists and instrumentalists can audition to perform the National Anthem at the burn. Tryouts are held each summer at the Santa Fe Convention Center. The first runner-up performs at the City of Santa Fe New Year’s Eve celebration, and additional runners-up are invited to perform at the July 4th event and the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Festival. Visit the national anthem tryouts page for details.
Volunteers are always welcome. Visit the volunteer page to find out how to help.
14. How does Zozobra give back to the community?
The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe has organized the Burning of Zozobra since 1964, when creator Will Shuster transferred all rights to the tradition to the Club. The event is the Club’s primary annual service project. Net proceeds from ticket sales, merchandise, and gloom submissions are distributed as grants to local nonprofits that support children and underserved youth in New Mexico, including YouthWorks, Girls Inc. of Santa Fe, and other area organizations. Funds also support Kiwanis International’s Project Eliminate, which provides neonatal tetanus vaccines to mothers in developing countries.
If you can’t attend but want to support the mission, you can donate directly to help Zozobra help kids.
