La Contessa Has Been Destroyed in a Fire

posted by Scott Beale on Thursday, December 7th, 2006

La Contessa

I just found out the sad news that the amazing and beautiful “La Contessa”, Extra Action Marching Band’s 60’ Spanish galleon that sailed around Burning Man in previous years, has been destroyed in a fire. At this point we do not know if it was an accident, burned on purpose or if it was arson. If anyone has any additional information regarding what happened, please leave a comment.

UPDATE 1: Caleb Schaber has uploaded a video of La Contessa post-burn. According to Caleb, La Contessa was destroyed by arson. [thanks to Slim for the tip]

UPDATE 2: Steve Jones’ in-depth article for SF Bay Guardian on the fate of La Contessa: “The mystery of La Contessa”

UPDATE 3: On Friday, February 2nd hundreds of people showed up for a La Contessa Burial at Sea.

photo credit: Quinn

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filed under: Burning Man

this blog post was written by Scott Beale on Thursday, December 7th, 2006

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Ranger Sanskritq 12/07/2006 07:54 PM 1 point
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Doesn't look like Contessa - masts aren't right and the hull seems wrong .... cf. this picture after it crashed in 05: Contessa 05

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Ranger Sanskrit 12/07/2006 07:56 PM 1 point
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Upon review, the superstructure of the masts coulda been clipped off before burning accounting for the difference ... but the hull still looks not quite right ... mebbe because it's burning ... :-)

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HS Davis 12/07/2006 08:29 PM 1 point
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I have checked out several pictures on the BM website of the La Contessa and this photo of this fire appears to be for real. The masts and rigging all appear to be identical. The body of the ship is missing due to the fire. Very sad news.

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SFSlim 12/07/2006 11:17 PM 1 point
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Though it would seem that the current scuttlebut is trending toward "intentional burn", I happened to be in a courtroom this afternoon (regarding the '04 Headless Point blaze, curiously enough) when a party who shall remain nameless received a call (from another unamed party) informing them that "La Contessa had been maliciously blown up" and seeking legal representation for a lawsuit regarding said offense.

Could just be more smoke, but the people involved make me suspect otherwise, unfortunately. Thus, until I definitively learn otherwise, I'm regarding this as arson.

Damn shame. I loved that fucking ship.

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http://sfslim.livejournal.com

rocky 12/08/2006 04:50 AM 1 point
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why oh why am i not surprised?

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SFSlim 12/08/2006 04:50 AM 1 point
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(continued)

Damn shame. I loved that fucking ship. It made its debut on the playa in 2002 ("The Floating World"), which was the the same year my crew built the Rubber Ducky. Every night La Contessa would repeatedly moor up alongside the Ducky, usually during its ongoing, Melvillian pursuit of Tom Kennedy and Flash's Whale, which would also often dock in our waters, as they presumeably constituted some sort of neutral ground (neutral water?). One of the most vivid and surreal memories of my life (which has been, needless to say, rife with vivid and surreal events) was sitting atop the duck's ass with Adrian (of Bootie and Piss Clear fame). As dozens of wildly illuminated art cars and countless ardent clubgoers filled the playa below, we watched the Whale and La Contessa swoop and zag after one another in wide, aquatic arcs around us. It was at once both unbeliveably improbable and utterly perfect.

Bon Voyage, dear Countess. May your sails smoulder all the way to Valhalla.

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http://sfslim.livejournal.com

SFSlim 12/08/2006 04:52 AM 1 point
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And, given that it's 2006, what would any int0rnet-circulated newsblarglet be without a YouTube link.

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http://sfslim.livejournal.com

Hanuman 12/08/2006 04:37 PM 1 point
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they shouldn't have pissed off the monkey god

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Caleb "Shooter" Schaber 12/08/2006 04:59 PM 1 point
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Yep, it is real. I made the video and saw it with my own eyes.

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http://chupacabrapolicia.net

mystick Krewe of Satyrs 12/09/2006 10:33 PM 1 point
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I wish we could have been there. I hope it was destroyed by the builders. I hear it went out to the desert without EAMB, which would make me mad enough to burn it. No one deserved to sail that ship but the original Krewe. It will always live on in our minds.

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loquacious 12/11/2006 03:25 AM 1 point
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This has been posted to MetaFilter, here.

( http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/56895 )

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http://www.metafilter.com/user/17349

Gavin 12/11/2006 03:38 AM 1 point
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Well, now my hopes and dreams of one day getting to go to BM and see La Contessa in person are now hopeless. Unless there is a drive to help build La Contessa II. Please let it be so!!!!

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http://www.13tongimp.com/

The Lady Mayoress 12/11/2006 01:24 PM 1 point
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A tragedy, although having a piece of playa art burn is pure Burning Man. La Contessa will be remembered by me as an example of the great heights to which creative aspirations can rise. My first time seeing La Contessa riding the playa waves was one of my perfect Burning Man moments.

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http://www.fandango.net

nohorse 12/11/2006 03:24 PM 1 point
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Word from big bird: Property owner claims he made repeated attempts to have the owners of the ship remove it from his farm. There was a scrap metal guy collecting cars and whatnot in the area, he wouldn't take it away with all the wood - so the farmer made the wood disappear. The crew is indeed litigating. Not knowing all the details, Iâ€™d sum it up as the crew did not care about the ship enough to take care of it, but now would like to get paid.

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your_faithful_madame 12/11/2006 04:15 PM 1 point
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I am surprised that the beautiful ship wasn't destroyed before now, frankly. While I remember it fondly and am not the person who struck the match, I could see how the contessa and crew gained a few enemies over time. from crashing through the fence, repeatedly breaking the few rules of having an art vehicle on the playa, to abandoning the piece on the ranch for years- I can't say I would really blame anyone who torched it after all that time.
Yes, it was a beautiful, amazing incredible work of art. And your project is only as good as its end result, imo, so this piece's end result dragged out and its krewe lost interest in maintenance. so someone took the maintenance into their own hands. Makes sense.
I remember fondly watching that school bus turn into a galleon over the week(s?) before the event in 2002. It was nothing short of miraculous.
since miracles are standard-issue now, aren't we, the miracle-doers, charged with a certain amount of miracle-husbandry? I think so.

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Dr. Mercury 12/12/2006 03:26 AM 1 point
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As part of the Opera in 2000 and 2002, I'm sad to hear of La Contessa's demise. My condolences to the crew! Still, all art is temporary.

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Noodle Davis 12/12/2006 10:11 PM 1 point
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Awwwwww Booooo! My first year was 2003 and I about fell over when I saw that ship for the first time. I was so tickled when I got on it and took a photo. It was even more impressive up close. It wowed me everytime I saw it. Missed it when it wasn't out last year. To me, the La Contessa was a fixture of BM. An icon. That amazing trasformation of a bus was the first thing I told people about when I got back. It reminded me of the ship from the movie "Time Bandits".

I have a question though, was it just sitting there parked or did someone take it for a drive? If it was moving, it would seem more likely that an electrical propblem could spark a fire. If it was just sitting and not running,(unless lightening hit it), I am leaning towards arson.

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Jeff-b 12/29/2006 09:37 AM 1 point
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My buddy Dav from SanFran kept trying to get me to go to Burning Man for a few years. Me being in Atlanta, and not knowing anything about BM except from him, i was always a bit hesitant. However, while looking through his pictures i saw the Contessa and my mind was blown away. The Contessa is what made me go to Burning Man. I was lucky enough to see it with my own eyes in 2003, my first burn. Thank you, Contessa. I've been to BM 3x now, and I owe it all to you.

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http://www.blacklagoon.net

La Contessa Has Been Destroyed in a Fire

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