Huge ‘Años Viejos’ Say Goodbye to 2011

The tradition of ‘años viejos’ in Ecuador has grown in acceptance, detail and size in the street Portete, in the city of Guayaquil. Some years ago the giant dolls became one of the most entertaining events in the nights of New Years Eve. However, unlike the small and medium dolls, these giants are burned in pieces during the early days of the New Year (January 7).

Charles Velema of 24-years-old is one of the artists that work in these kind of giant dolls with three months of anticipation. Since the creation of this huge ‘años viejos’ takes months of preparation.

“The truth is that since I was a kid I started doing small dolls.” Charles Velema.

Captain America, Ben 10, Homer Simpson among others, here are some of the creations they have made in previous years. Their most recent work is the popular character of comic books “Hellboy” which stands 14 meters tall.

This year Carlos Cellere, 21, started to make a collection of ‘años viejos’ based in the film of Steven Spielberg “Jurassic Park.” Carlos has five years working in his giant scale dolls. Among his best works are Venom, Spiderman, and Michael Jackson thriller version. According to Carlos the giant dolls are more attractive for people, children, and tourists. For that reason they created of several dinosaurs, the biggest of them is a brontosaur of 20 meters long.

“Sure, this is what draws more attention from children, and the tourists that come here often, for that reason we do them.” Added Carlos referring to his giant dolls.

This popular event has characterized itself by burning famous icons to receive the New Year with better expectations. (AV)