New Mexico

Welcome to New Mexico!  We are proud of our gorgeous state and its rich history and culture. We hope you have a chance to connect with us.  

New Mexicans have been burning effigies for a long time.   The old NM tradition can be found in Zozobra which was started in 1924. Old Man Gloom now stands over 50 feet tall and draws thousands of people each October to the Plaza in Santa Fe.   El Kookooee, which had its first burn in 1989, is designed by school-aged children!  You will find NM Burners fire conclave stiring up the flames.  There is even Not Zozobra, which happens down and dirty on the streets of Albuquerque. New Mexico Burners come preburnt from the endless sunshine where the wide open skies inspire us all to take it easy. Artists are particularly drawn to this high desert where the dust never settles and the southwest patina colors your soul.  

New Mexico Burners can be found all over the state.  The majority of "burner" activity happens in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Silver City, and Taos. 

We meet irregularly for happy hours, parties, campouts, and community events.  We have shared food and laughter at our Burning Pan pot luck dinners and more of it at Church Nights at the old Superfly Ranch and LivLab Studios.   We have co-coordinated a couple of decompression events with our sister region in Arizona over the last couple of years and ventured en masse to SaguaroMan.   There are many New Mexican burner groups and as many styles to choose from, so don't be afraid to dig deep and ask questions later.

Much of what New Mexico Burners do is less of a party and a lot about community.  NM Burners are often seen teaching the wider community about Leave No Trace and recycling at events at the Rail Yard, farmers markets, Taos Vortex, and places in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.  NM Burners are involved with large and small scale art instalations through truely inspired groups like Meow Wolf  of Santa Fe and the Levitated Toy Factory in Downtown Albuquerque. And for a few years now, NM Burners are clothing, providing shelter, and sleeping bags to homeless teens in Santa Fe through Burners Without Borders sleeping bag project.   

In 2012, some New Mexico Burners designed, built, hauled and burned a CORE (Circle of Regional Effigies) project called 'Kokopelli Rising' at Burning Man. This amazing project kicked off a new era for New Mexico Burners.  You can still hear the sizzle if you listen close enough.

Our first official regional event, Enchantment Burn, was held in July 2014.  The event hosted 150 people, 4 theme camps, 2 sound camps, and 4 amazing art installations including a temple. While we were not able to burn anything due to the state fire ban, we were quite pleased to call it a safe and fantastic event. We held Enchantment Burn again in April 2015 trying to beat that fire ban and succeeded!  What a great burn!  

In 2016, with some new leadership, energy, and a new location nestled the Jemez Mountains between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, our regional event took a new name too. SunBurn.  SunBurn takes place every year on a weekend around the July 4th.  Check out the website if you'd like to get involved!  We are growing a little bit every year as is our art grant budget and our connection with the communities we live in. In 2018, due to extreme fire danger in Jemez mountains, SunBurn was moved to an old western Movie set at Eaves Movie Ranch just outside of Santa Fe. It is here that we hope to continue to grow and develop our very unique Regional Burn. 

NM Burners formed a Limited Liability company in early 2014 to aid in the clear and transparent management of community funds.  As the LLC moved into it's 4th year, it has been renamed NMSPF90 LLC. This entity has funded several community events and our art grant program has put more than $15k into the hands NM artists. The extrarodinary Meow Wolf has contributed substancially to our art grant fund 3 years in a row, and we have managed to pull some of their amazing talented people onto our team as well!  Thank you, Meow Wolf!  

There are numerous notable burners and burner groups within New Mexico that have organized and are involved in camps and various projects at home and on the playa including CORE 2012; Christina Sporrong and Christian Ristow builders of the Flybrary, the Heron Project, and The Hand of Man; Don's Big Art, builders of The Longview; BMIR; Spaghetti Taco Kamp; Camp 505; Camp Red or Green; Buddha Lounge; Regionauts; Sub Culture; and The Roustabouts, to name a few!

Cheers to growth and healthy communities throughout this region! If you have any questions, NM activities, or updates, please be free to get in touch with regional contacts Blaze, Sweeney, or Squirt.