El año Viejo: Steve Harvey to be the Most Popular Effigy in Latin America this New Year?

Because of his mistake in announcing the Miss Universe 2015 winner, American comedian and television host Steve Harvey is now the most popular effigy in Latin America.

Remezcla noted that it has been a tradition in Latin American countries to burn effigies of public figures like politicians during the New Year's Eve celebration "to get rid of bad vibes."

Since Harvey made Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez think that she was the Miss Universe 2015 for a few minutes before announcing that the rightful owner of the crown is Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach, many Latinas, especially Colombians, are angry at him.

"Listen folks, this is exactly what's on the card. I will take responsibility for this. It was my mistake. It was on the card. Horrible mistake but the right thing, I can show it to you right here. The first runner up is Colombia. It was my mistake. Still a great night. Please don't hold it against the ladies. Please don't. Thank you all," Harvey explained on live television after the mixup.

But Remezcla that the host made the prestigious pageant an awkward and embarrassing moment for Miss Colombia since she was dethroned four minutes after she was crowned. Many Colombians reportedly felt duped with some even considering filing cases versus Harvey and the Miss Universe Organization.

But since Harvey claimed entire responsibility for his "honest mistake, his effigies and dolls will reportedly represent bidding goodbye to "el año viejo" or "the old year."

The Duarte family in Colombia mentioned in the Remezcla report that they will burn a 27-inch tall effigy of Harvey apologizing to Gutierrez.

"By burning it, our hate toward him will melt away. We'll forget that this man took the crown away from us, that he stole it from us. It'll be a thing of the past," said Juana Duarte, the family's matriarch.

Other Colombians even created effigies of the host standing next to Pia Wurtzbach to forget the bad memories of the Miss Universe 2015 pageant. In Panama, another Harvey effigy with the "I'm sorry" sign will also be put to flames when the new year enters.

According to ABC News, Latinos usually burn these effigies with fireworks at midnight to welcome a better year and say goodbye to the bad things that the previous year brought.

But if Harvey angered many Colombians and Latinos with his blunder, writer Marcia Sirota thanked him for teaching people a great lesson.

In her Huffington Post article, Sirota said that the TV host "showed us that we can mess up, look foolish and then we can make things right again."

She explained that it is possible for everyone to make terrible mistakes but all have the opportunity to stand again with their dingily intact. The writer highlighted that Harvey demonstrated class and courage when he went back up on stage and corrected himself.

"He owned up to it, apologized for it, explained what happened without being defensive, and even begged the audience not to blame his error on the contestants," Sirota noted.