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Fiestas has been held since 1712 to celebrate an expedition by Don Diego de Vargas . The burning of Zozobra dates from 1924, when William Howard Shuster, Jr came up with the idea of burning an effigy of gloom to be paraded about the city. From this idea comes his nickname, Old Man Gloom. Today Zozobra stands fifty feet tall and his burning marks the climax of a weekend of tequila-swilling revelry, which is known as the Fiestas de Santa Fe. He is built by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe and burned at Fort Marcy Park. The best place to watch Zozobra burn is from the Cross of the Martyrs.