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jerezano

Jun 8, 2009, 12:40 PM

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ZOZOBRA--Are there any youngsters out there who know what this is?

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Hello,

Our Magic Village is advertising a Zozobra for next week. My dictionary says that is the name for fickle winds
which imperil shiips. Nothing like that here, we are a long way from the ocean.

But somewhere I vaguely remember from my long, long past that a zozobra is a metal band. Sort of like those bands where people play on discarded oil drums etc. Also something about Old Man Doom.

Any knowledgeable people out there whether youngsters, hipsters, rocksters or not?

What is a zozobra?

jerezano

tashby

Jun 8, 2009, 1:08 PM

Post #2 of 9 (7682 views)

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Re: [jerezano] ZOZOBRA--Are there any youngsters out there who know what this is?

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I'm gonna guess they're going to burn an effigy in Jerez....

In Santa Fe, New Mexico, US they burn a giant Zozobra every year to cast out gloom. Sounds like a vaguely Mexican ritual.....but I don't know if it really is.

Here's the wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zozobra

Does this make me hip? Oh please, say yes!

colibri1

Jul 10, 2009, 6:57 PM

Post #3 of 9 (7599 views)

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Re: [tashby] ZOZOBRA--Are there any youngsters out there who know what this is?

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No question about it, Tash...you're the hippest!!! What's more, it seems that the "Burning Man" crowd has it backwards....burn him FIRST!!!
Hugs,
C 1

sergiogomez / Moderator

Jul 10, 2009, 10:27 PM

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Re: [jerezano] ZOZOBRA--Are there any youngsters out there who know what this is?

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Google says that Zozobra is indeed a rock band. I remember it as the little 2 or 3 foot wooden figurine that the neighbors haul out on New Year's Eve and burn in a bonfire in their front yard. As far as I know, the ritual is supposed to represent mocking or making light of death, gloom, negativity, etc. Kind of like bullfighting or Day of the Dead.

La Isla

Jul 11, 2009, 3:25 PM

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Re: [sergiogomez] ZOZOBRA--Are there any youngsters out there who know what this is?

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In Reply To

An interesting custom. In what part of Mexico did this take place? It reminds me a bit of the burning of the enormous Judas figures that takes place here on Holy Saturday.

esperanza

Jul 11, 2009, 5:43 PM

Post #6 of 9 (7551 views)

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Re: [jerezano] ZOZOBRA--Are there any youngsters out there who know what this is?

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Zozobra is a word used fairly frequently in the newspaper here in Morelia. It means anxiety or uneasiness.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

sergiogomez / Moderator

Jul 13, 2009, 8:36 PM

Post #7 of 9 (7516 views)

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Re: [La Isla] ZOZOBRA--Are there any youngsters out there who know what this is?

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People used to do it all the time in New Mexico where I grew up. I haven't seen it yet in Mexico, not like that's saying much because I've only been to Baja. And yeah, it's kind of like burning Judas, except the zozobras that people had in their yards were usually a lot smaller.

La Isla

Jul 13, 2009, 8:55 PM

Post #8 of 9 (7510 views)

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Re: [sergiogomez] ZOZOBRA--Are there any youngsters out there who know what this is?

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Oh, so it's a New Mexico thing. I do some teaching at the Museo de Arte Popular in Mexico City and have access to its library, so the next time I'm there, I'll do a little research on the origin and meaning of the zozobra and report back to this thread.

zaragemca

Nov 12, 2009, 12:02 PM

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Re: [La Isla] ZOZOBRA--Are there any youngsters out there who know what this is?

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Greeting. Zozobrar, is one of those words which are used in Spain to mean go through something scaring, an ordeal. There are some stories of people going on ships and after surviving an storm, they could say, 'PASAMOS POR UNA ZOZOBRA'. Gerry Zaragemca
International Club of Percussionists