It has been a long belief in some cities in Colombia to burn “Mr. Old Year” to forget bad memories. They consider this a lot of fun as they fabricate a big stuffed “male doll” that represents the old year. They dress this male doll with old clothes from each member of the family. Inside the doll they put some fireworks and objects they don’t want anymore, objects that can bring sadness or bad memories.
Then on midnight, as the clock rings in the New Year, they will set fire on the doll, thus symbolizing burning the past and getting ready to start the New Year happy and without bad memories of the past.
But what Colombian Noider Almanza Barraza and his family did on New Year has set off fierce reactions from netizens.
Miss Universe Pia Wurtzback and Miss Universe host Steve Harvey effigy was burned. This disrespectful act immediately went viral and its video was shared more than a thousand times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0wc7B1YG1E
It seems Colombia has not moved on from the monumental Miss Universe gaffe that happened weeks ago, this come in heels after Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez said on her latest interview that she felt humiliated when host Steve Harvey corrected his announcement minutes after announcing her. ‘It was humiliating for me and for all people in Latin America in the auditorium,” she said.
This must have been what Barraza felt also as he turned to burning Wurtzbach and Harvey effigies and burned off the bad memories.
But hours after the video went viral; he apologized to the Filipinos in his Facebook account and has long taken down the offensive video.
“At no time (sic) to hurt or offend. I am very sad … I apologize,” he wrote. He also said on his post on Facebook that Colombia had a tradition of burning dolls of “characters or things that causes controversy” in the previous year to “begin a new year.”
