large scarecrow like effigies, ´viejos´, to enthusiastically set on fire in the streets at midnight. This is Ecuadorian practice to symbolically bid a resounding adios to ´los años viejos´, the old year. The construction of these dolls is a popular family activity, and includes filling old clothing with sawdust and newspaper until an eerily human-like body shape is formed. An ornately painted mask is then usually fixed on the top for a face. Some effigies are light hearted, with Homer Simpson and Mike Wazowski making frequent appearances in the crowds. Some are modelled in the shape of friends and family, burnt to induce luck and prosperity. And some have a slightly more sinister undertone, representing prominent figures of dislike such as presidents and politicians, and burnt as a way to literally eliminate the bad of the past.