LA Krampus reaches out occasionally to the Krampus homeland of Austria to contact those who can share a little firsthand information about how things work there.  Recently, we were lucky to establish contact with Austrian Krampus Martin Zehentner who works with the Gnigler Krampuslauf, a Krampus Run named for Gnigl, a neighborhood of Salzburg,where Martin lives, and one of the largest in that very important Krampus region with 30 different Krampus troupes participating.  The Gnigler Krampuslauf was founded by the Old Gnigler Krampus Perchten Troupe, a group active since 1966.

When Martin recently visited Los Angeles as a tourist we were able to set up a dinner meeting with some of the Krampus LA organizers in Hollywood, to enjoy some “real Mexican-American cuisine of the 1960s,” at — naturally — El Coyote.

Martin was full of anecdotes, practical tips on how they run their events, and advice cautionary advice about the  Krampus, who tips back a few too many Schnapps.