My first reaction upon seeing the Burning Man segment from Sunday Morning was, "haven't I seen this somewhere before?" Well...the answer was, yes. In 1924, the burning of Zozobra (or Old Man Gloom) became associated with a fiesta in New Mexico that has taken place since 1712. I always wanted to attend the fiesta, but never seemed to make it up to Sante Fe in early September because classes were always in session. However, the idea of leaving your worries and burdens at the foot of Zozobra and having them burn and disappear always resonated with me. Seeing a similar tradition at Burning Man makes me think about the desire we humans have for new beginnings and how those new beginnings have often been associated with fire (e.g., phoenix rising from the ashes). In any event, I find these festivals fascinating for what they reveal about the spirit of the human race.
To learn more about the Zozobra fiesta, visit the homepage of the event at Zozobra History, and to see a video documenting the event go to Zozobra Documentary Part 1 and Zozobra Documentary Part 2. Just a warning--the moaning and yelling in the second part of the documentary is quite scary!!