Why I love New Mexico part II

This year when I went to Santa Fe, I went during Zozobra and Fiesta.  84 and 296 year-old traditions, respectively.  Yes.  296 years.  That's a long time.  This from the "official" Santa Fe fiesta website:

The cry of "Viva la Fiesta" has been reverberating through the streets of Old Santa Fe every autumn for 296 years. The sound generates a curious blend of thanksgiving, revelry and pride in the hearts of Santa Feans who celebrate Fiesta annually to commemorate Don Diego De Vargas' peaceful reoccupation of the City of Holy Faith in 1692.

Zozobra is a different tradition altogether.  Seemingly at odds with the decidedly Catholic overtones of Santa Fe's Fiesta, Will Shuster, Santa Fe artist, created the effigy in 1926 to represent anguish, anxiety and gloom.  Shuster created the effigy every year until 1964, passing it on to the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe, who now carry on the tradition.

Having been to Burning Man last year, it was impossible to ignore the similarities between the two burning events.

Zozobra injects itself into everything during fiestas.  Here is Old Man Gloom

presiding over the candies at Tia Sophia's home of the best breakfast burrito you'll ever have.

Eggs, hash browns and sausage, served Christmas (that's red AND green chile...mmm chile...) Que viva!

Old Man Gloom set to go up in flames for Zozobra.  BURN HIM!!!

Burning Man 2007.

A picture of me trying to take a picture...

Mariachi time in the Plaza diner.  So not only did I have a phenomenal 

breakfast burrito, but had tunes to accompany it.

Mariachis were everywhere, even the female version...unfortunately for me, 

my film slipped in it's carrier, and the frame shifted to the left...

Ultimately, though, this was an incredibly interesting experience to immerse myself into a near 300 year-old tradition.  Something so unlike what I'm used to in Northern VA.  Although there are old buildings (like 150 years old) in NoVA, and DC, there's nothing like being around old buildings and old traditions.  

Ok, so the Pueblo Indians were pushed out by the Conquistadors (that's a blog for another day), but nonetheless, what happens in Santa Fe is evidence of times older than the foundation of our nation.  Travel to any other continent and there are traditions and buildings which dwarf our young nation.  But if you look hard enough, there are things happening right under our noses.  You just have to travel to New Mexico (yes, it's a state in the US--don't laugh, many people can't seem to differentiate between NM and Mexico, the sovereign country south of us) and find these things out for yourself...