Zozobra's demise signals the official beginning of the Santa Fe Fiestas, the oldest community celebration in North America. The Fiestas date back to 1712, when they were initiated in honor of Spaniard Don Diego de Vargas' peaceful reconquest of New Mexico in 1692 from the Native Americans. Though the Fiesta itself dates back centuries, the burning of Old Man Gloom has only been going on since the 1920s, when local artist Will Shuster decided the fiesta needed a little spice. The puppet started out about 20 feet tall, shrank down to just eight feet during World War II, and gradually grew to immense proportions over the years. For the next two days, the downtown streets are filled with food stalls, parades, and performers.
Cuisine covers everything from fried Indian bread to peanut-butter burritos.
The first official event is the Children's Pet Parade, which starts off on Saturday, September 12 at 10am downtown and showcases kids with their pooches and the like. Later that night is the Gran Baile, or Grand Ball, a pageant of festive costumes, dance, and mariachi music. The main Gran Baile takes place at the Sweeney Convention Center. Sunday, September 13 at 2pm is the Historical Hysterical Parade. The event takes a satirical bite at politicians, the town in general, and just about anything else.