Colombia - Ecuador - Venezuela

Burn your president for New Year’s Eve

Issued on: 31/12/2009 - 12:28Modified: 06/10/2010 - 10:14

2 min

Travel by car in Colombia, Ecuador or Venezuela during the Christmas holidays and you'll find yourself being stared at by scarecrows holding empty liquor bottles and dummies of world leaders. Stuffed with sawdust and gunpowder, the human-sized creatures known as "Año viejos" (Old years) meet a burning end as the centrepieces of New Year's Eve celebrations.

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Hugo Chavez, Alvaro Uribe, Daniel Ortega, Barack Obama and company, Colombia. Posted by Paula Vélez on Flickr

Travel by car in Colombia, Ecuador or Venezuela during the Christmas holidays and you'll find yourself being stared at by scarecrows holding empty liquor bottles and dummies of world leaders. Stuffed with sawdust and gunpowder, the human-sized creatures known as "Año viejos" (Old years) meet a burning end as the centre pieces of New Year's Eve celebrations.

The dolls, involving a lot of creativity and resourcefulness, are put together using old rags, rubbish and recycled objects. Odd accessories give them a finishing touch: a beret for Hugo Chavez, a cigar for Fidel Castro, a Texan hat for George W...

Hugo Chavez doll, Cúcuta, Colombia. Posted by Ciro Durán on Flickr

Doll in Santa María Camotlán, Oaxaca, Mexico. Posted by "Bheresca" on Flickr

“Año viejos are a way of turning the page on the year that is ending”

Paula Vélez is a filmmaker and artist from Medellín.

Most of the time the año viejos are characters representing a negative situation that the person wishes to eliminate for the upcoming year: economic difficulties, unemployment, violence, bad luck... They also often portray real people who are judged as belonging to the year coming to an end - and not the one just beginning. It's a way of turning the page on the year that is ending.

A lot of humour is involved in creating these dolls, because they are burnt as part of a celebration and the mood surrounding them is always festive. Black humour and humour in general are one of the best medicines in Latin America to cope with everyday life.

I've seen characters as diverse as Alvaro Uribe, Hugo Chavez and George W. Bush, but also others like Homer Simpson or local soap opera stars. I really like it when personalities related to the Colombian conflict or our political life are depicted, and I would love that the symbol were strong enough to effectively bring about a change in the year starting.

There is one año viejo I will never forget: my neighbour burnt a doll representing his mother-in-law, even though she came to the party!"