Kids and adults of all ages swarmed a Santa Fe warehouse Tuesday night and worked tirelessly — stuffing long shredded paper into a 50-foot, wood and wire structure almost as big as the room itself.

And no, it wasn’t for the free pizza provided later that night. It was to participate in the making of Zozobra, an 86-year-long Santa Fe tradition.

On Sept. 9, Zozobra will go up in flames, burning away everything that was a source of gloom from the past year, said Cassandra Romero, a Santa Fe resident.

“For me, it signifies fall — getting rid of everything bad from the year and starting new,” she said. “I actually celebrate it more than I would New Year’s. I always think of it as a new start.”

Romero said she and her children helped assemble Zozobra’s body Tuesday night because it’s a fun way to do community service.  The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe sponsors the annual event, and this is Zozobra’s 86-year anniversary, according to the Zozobra website. Proceeds from ticket sales fund scholarships, youth projects and camp fees for physically challenged kids.

Ray Sandoval, head pyrotechnician and face artist, said Kiwanis hopes to raise $250,000 for youth in need this year.
“Zozobra allows you to look back at the past and remember the things you grew up with — those traditions you have,” he said. “But, at the same time, we’re giving money through scholarships to our youth, so we’re looking to the future.”

Beth Cammarata, Santa Fe Indian School Key Club sponsor, said the money raised from Zozobra will help many of the underprivileged students she works with.

“At my school, almost all the students are … at poverty level or below, so they can’t afford to go on trips for leadership training and things like that,” she said. “The money from Kiwanis’ Zozobra helps them do that.”
Even those who have never been to the burning event should attend, Cammarata said.

“I think they should just come, sit on the field and see what happens,” she said. “When it gets dark and this all comes together, it’s just crazy, fun and spooky all wrapped up in one.”

Sandoval said he has been involved in the Zozobra-making process since he was 6 years old and has seen some unique things burned inside the hollow puppet. People can choose to burn almost anything inside Old Man Gloom, he said. The Kiwanis Club also collects “gloomies,” or little pieces of paper with bad memories, to put inside Zozobra.

Sandoval said a wedding dress was the craziest thing he saw someone burn.

“A woman walked in on her sister and her husband having an affair, so she gave us the wedding dress,” he said. “Then she took the photo album, and all the people she liked — she cut them out. Then she put the album in Zozobra and burned it. We get old love letters, mortgage notes — someone even gave us a cast.”

Sandoval said he has constructed the puppet’s face for 22 years and has run into challenges trying to make every year unique.
“Zozobra has to look like Zozobra, but nobody wants this year’s to look like last year’s,” he said. “The expression is very important. You can go very quickly from something that’s gloomy to a clown.”

If you think Zozobra is over after it has burned to the ground, think again.
Ray Valdez, Zozobra event producer, said the Zozobra team starts to plan for next year immediately after the celebration ends.
“Within 10 to five minutes that the lights come on, we are critiquing it and starting on next year,” Valdez said. “We are roasting marshmallows on his flaming corpse and talking about how we can fix it.”