BURNING MEN ON NEW YEAR'S EVE
January 20, 2011 at 09:03 AM EST
One of Ecuador’s most colorful -- and bizarre -- traditions is the year-end burning of the dummies. When the clock ticks over to 2011 on Friday night, an observer with a good vantage point in Cuenca will behold an other-worldly sight of thousands of burning dummies and a sky filled with smoke and fireworks. Think Danté’s hell. Think Mad Max. Think Happy New Year.