Collect all 3!
About the Zozobra Scratchers
For the last 100 years, the Burning of Zozobra has taken place in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Zozobra is a 50-foot-tall marionette stuffed with obsolete police reports, divorce papers and other items meant to be forgotten. He waves his arms and roars as his archenemy, the Fire Spirit, dances around him with a pair of blazing torches. Thousands cheer as the Fire Spirit sets Zozobra ablaze and flames engulf his paper-filled form.
Staged by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe, this annual event takes place on the Friday of Labor Day weekend to say farewell to worries and troubles of the last year and set spirits ablaze with hope and renewal.
This year, for the 101st Burning of Zozobra, the New Mexico Lottery teamed up with the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe to commemorate the historic celebration with a Zozobra Scratcher. New Mexico artists were invited last fall to submit their Zozobra Artwork for a chance to be featured on the ticket. Three Artworks were selected.
The Scratchers were introduced on March 4, 2025 in three scenes and chances to win $25,000 top prizes.
Plus, players can enter their non-winning Zozobra Scratchers for a chance to win premium Z-Zone Zozobra event tickets, $25,000 or even up to $100,000 in the Grand Prize Final drawing.
Five (5) Grand Prize Finalists will be drawn to participate in the Grand Prize Drawing!
- 1 Grand Prize Finalist will win $5,000
- 1 Grand Prize Finalist will win $10,000
- 1 Grand Prize Finalist will win $15,000
- 1 Grand Prize Finalist will win $25,000
- 1 Grand Prize Finalist will win $100,000
For full details and to enter, visit NMZozobra.com
Attend the 101st Burning of Zozobra
Learn all about Zozobra on the Official Zozobra website: burnzozobra.com
Want to go to the 101st Burning of Zozobra? Buy Tickets Here starting March 17, 2025
The New Mexico Lottery will also be awarding tickets to the 101st Burning of Zozobra. For your chance to WIN tickets:
- Follow us on Social Media!
- Join us in the Meow Wolf lobby on March 6th from 6 – 8 PM in Santa Fe for a special Zozobra Scratcher launch celebration (ages 21 and older).
- Ten (10) sets of 2 General Admission tickets will be awarded during the event.
- Meet the Zozobra Scratchers artists and get a signed collectible postcard.
- PLUS, attendees can purchase event tickets for the 101st Burning of Zozobra BEFORE they officially go on sale!
- Learn more here
- Visit our booth at the Southwest Chocolate and Coffee Fest in Albuquerque, April 5 – 6, 2025.
- 30 sets of 2 General Admission tickets will be awarded during the event
- Enter non-winning Zozobra Scratchers in the Second-Chance Promotion here!
Meet the Artists
Zozobra 2025 Scratcher Artists with their winning artworks, from left to right: Raymond Archuleta, Elizabeth Dominguez and Rene Leninger
Raymond Archuletta from Medanales, NM has pursued art since childhood.
In his early years, he focused on drawing artworks in pencil. In college, while studying art, he explored airbrushing, painting and pottery. About a year ago, he began pursuing digital art and now makes logos and marketing materials for businesses.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to New Mexico about 16 years ago. His family is from Northern New Mexico, about 20 minutes north of Española. Every year, he would visit his big family in New Mexico, and he said if he ever moved, it would be here because it felt like home.
Raymond’s Zozobra painting symbolizes a 100+ year tradition that brings family, friends, and the community together.
This is not the first New Mexico competition he has won! Earlier this year, he won the New Mexico Acequias Commission specialty license plate contest. Soon, you can buy his artwork on a Scratcher AND a license plate.
Raymond is currently working on designing his own clothing brand and a painting that he plans to donate for the Diecast Super Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, to help raise funds for St. Judes.
Rene Leninger grew up in New Mexico and lives in Albuquerque. She sees art in everything, every day and believes that everyone is an artist in some way.
Rene has been an artist since childhood. Her artistic strengths include drawing and concept creation. In 2011, she became serious about her artwork when she bought an iPad and found a drawing app. Through digital art, she found a supportive community of artists and refined her artwork with digital practice. Additionally, Rene paints with acrylics and produces large and small statement pieces, pet portraits and small sculptures.
Rene loves that art does not judge. She says, “People will judge your art, but the work itself allows you to travel away from regular life. With the help of your brain, hands and eyes, something magical happens.”
Rene’s Zozobra painting symbolizes how to “let it go.” She says, “if something that has happened is affecting your everyday life because you can’t get that pain out of your mind, then it is a good time to LET IT BURN! I love the community behind the Zozobra celebration and the people that are dedicated to building and ultimately burning Zozobra down. It is a good metaphor for what Zozobra stands for. The building of a large gloomy presence, and then just like that, removing it from your life.”
Rene is currently working on a series of animal-themed artworks that were inspired by her own painting of a Chupacabra. These new works include fantastic creatures, like a Liger and a pink flying fox over an ocean.
Elizabeth Dominguez, born in Durango, Mexico, and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been passionate about creating art since childhood. Art has always been her means of self-expression, offering her a sense of relief and emotional release. One of her earliest memories is watching her mother help her illustrate a book for a school project. As her mother drew with ease, Elizabeth would carefully study every line, mark, and shadow, captivated by how the images came to life. This experience left a lasting impression, and as she grew, she turned to art to channel her emotions and thoughts.
In 2015, Elizabeth experienced a profound loss with the death of her mother to cancer. Amid her grief, she threw herself into her work and lost touch with her artistic passions. It wasn’t until 2024 that life humbled her, encouraging her to reconnect with her creative spirit. After nearly a decade without picking up a paintbrush, Elizabeth dove into exploring various painting styles and digital art, rediscovering the joy and therapeutic power of creation. Through this journey, she has found a renewed sense of purpose and a deep commitment to expressing herself through art once again.
This is Elizabeth Dominguez’s first art competition win, and she admits, with a smile, that she cried—though it was a “tough” cry. Her piece, Zozobra, serves as a powerful symbol of release, capturing guilt, grief, anxiety, and self-doubt that often weigh us down. Zozobra’s intense gaze points directly at the viewer, representing how we carry our burdens in our daily lives. Elizabeth painted the eyes in a striking turquoise, a nod to New Mexico, the land she holds dear, and its beautiful people.
The true heart of the piece lies in the fire that surrounds and consumes the Zozobra. For Elizabeth, the fire symbolizes a desire to burn it all down, to release the past and shed the weight of self-doubt. As she puts it, “I wanted to burn it to the ground to free myself from the me of yesterday!” This work represents her personal liberation and the catharsis of letting go.