El Kookooee

On Sunday I went down to the South Valley for El Kookooee Se Quema. The high wind warnings pushed the event to tomorrow evening, Tuesday, October 31, so there's still time to be a part of this local community tradition. What's this all about? According to the South Valley public library's website,

"Author Rudolfo Anaya launched the El Kookooee Educational Association in 1990 with the purpose of building an El Kookooee figure, stuffing it with the community’s fears. and setting it on fire every year in late October. His aim was to bring the colorful El Cucui legend to life to promote the cultural heritage of the Hispanic South Valley. South Valley schoolchildren design models for the figure, which is ceremonially burnt the last Sunday in October in nearby Rio Bravo Park. The children's models are displayed in the South Valley Library; later, the winning model will be placed in a special case, also at the library."

Here's what El Kookooee looks like this year:

The inscription above the medallion reads, "No $$$$ for War" and those indicted as warmongers are Ursula, Blinken, Nuland, Jake, Vlady, Voldemort, Scarecrow Joe, Netanyahu, and Stoly. The youth who created El Kookooee are paying attention to what's happening around the world and sharing solidarity with those in the middle of the war zones, while also recognizing the part the United States plays in this.

The "fears" I brought to this event, seeking to incinerate them metaphorically, were self-concerned. Despite digesting the daily news, I've erected that bubble, distanced myself, been thoughtless. Ukraine has gone on long enough that weeks go by without my even thinking about it. I tend to think of the Middle East as always at war. I astonish myself sometimes with my callousness, narcissism, and ignorance. Often, I just need a good shakedown, and staring at El Kookooee, I recognized my apathy and lack of empathy, conditions I truly fear and don't want to admit. I don't want to be that kind of human. So, I thank this year's creators of El Kookooee for the mirror, the provocation, the reminder about our shared humanity--if one suffers, we all suffer, no matter where you live, who you are, or what you believe. War is hell.

What a great tradition this community manifests each year. What an important act, to burn one's fears and rise from the ash committed to living fearlessly. Many, many thanks.