Media

Santa Fe New Mexican: Santa Fe sisters pen Zozobra-themed children's book 

As Jamie Aranda was preparing for the birth of her twin daughters about two years ago, she installed a Zozobra figurine in the nursery.

What else would a native Santa Fean, with family roots here dating back more than a dozen generations, choose to decorate her babies’ room?

The infant girls, finally home after a long stay in the neonatal intensive care unit, were mesmerized by the mini Old Man Gloom — so much so that Aranda wanted to teach them the story of Zozobra, a character created by Santa Fe artist Will Shuster in 1924.

The first burning of the marionette bogeyman in a community celebration that year would spark a tradition that has endured for a century.

Aranda went looking for a children’s book about Zozobra – but there was no such book.

She decided to write one, eventually inviting her sister, Nicole Aranda, to paint its illustrations.

That’s how the sisters came to publish Zozo’s Adventure and the Flame of Hope, which follows a child named Zozo as he learns how Zozobra symbolizes joy triumphing over gloom. The official release of the children’s book will be Thursday during an event at DeVargas Center — just in time for the 100th Burning of Zozobra on Friday.

“This, to us, was really meaningful. ... One of my hopes is that families bring it into their home and read the story with their kids and then they reminisce about growing up with Zozobra,” Jamie Aranda said.

After getting permission from Zozobra organizers at the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe, which presents the popular burning each year, Jamie Aranda got to work on the story, detailing Zozo’s journey through Santa Fe.

Nicole Aranda knew exactly how to illustrate it. “When I read her story, the images started popping [up] in my mind,” she said.

For little ones — and big ones — not yet accustomed to the annual burning, Zozobra can be a somewhat frightening event. After all, it involves a 50-foot column of fire.

It was Nicole Aranda’s job to make that imagery feel safer, softer.

“Especially because Zozobra can be such a bright and scary figure, I wanted to really soften that down,” she said. “And so, immediately, I thought watercolors would be perfect for this.”

At the time, Nicole Aranda had never worked with watercolors. Though she had an extensive background in art — she’s done everything from sculpture to jewelry design to acrylic paintings — watercolors posed a new and exciting challenge, she said.

“It was a really fun journey for me to work through the story in a new medium,” Nicole Aranda said.

After a year and a half of work, the sisters self-published the story, and families — those from Santa Fe and far away — have been enjoying it together, the sisters said.

For Nicole Aranda, who now lives in Colorado, the story has been a chance to return to her roots.

“It was an honor to be able to be included, to really celebrate this culture and history that I also grew up with in New Mexico — that, living in Colorado, I do feel a distance from,” she said.

Jamie Aranda hopes the story — and maybe a little of the magic of Zozobra — inspires togetherness among its readers, young and old.

“This is a really a book about hope and resilience — and that’s the meaning of Zozobra, right?” Jamie Aranda said. “We burn our glooms together once a year, and we come back together as a community.”