The cacao ceremony is a sacred gathering in which participants gather to connect to their hearts and experience new life through the healing qualities of cacao.
A plant revered by the indigenous people of the Americas, cacao has received widespread recognition through its usage as the key ingredient in chocolate. For the Mayan people, cacao is utilized as a rebirthing medicine, helping people get rid of negativity, release emotional suffering, and experience universal love.
Preparation for a Cacao Ceremony:
Cacao contains caffeine, so please do NOT DRINK COFFEE or any other stimulants at least 3 hours before the ceremony. Please also refrain from using drugs or alcohol. We recommend that you do not eat for at least three hours prior to the ceremony. Dress in comfortable loose clothing.
Please drink plenty of water both before and after the ceremony to stay hydrated.
Register in advance to reserve your space. No one turned away for lack of funds; contact us for assistance.
Donation: $40; no one turned away for lack of funds. Contact us for assistance.
***If you are feeling unwell, have a cold, fever, or may have been exposed to COVID, please stay home. We will be happy to refund your ticket.***
Nana Marina Cruz is an Ajq'ij (spiritual guide) of the Tz ́utujil People of Guatemaya. She is the daughter of Tata Pedro & works not just as a healer and therapist with natural folk methods, but as a ceremonial leader of fire, tobacco, cacao and temescal. She is a teacher of the Mayan calendar and the Mayan cosmovision. She works closely with the midwives of her community to coordinate prenatal, birth, and postpartum care. She emphasizes the importance of being truly connected in body and spirit. She believes that all things have a meaning, every emotion, every disease, and that these energies all have their origin. It is by finding the origin, that we can truly heal the spirit and body.
Maestro Manuel Rufino was born on May 4, 1958 under the Full Moon of the Wesak, in Quisqueya (known today as the Dominican Republic). He has traveled through all the continents of the world carrying the message of peace and unity to help reestablish the original harmony and the postulates of the New Era. He met his teacher Maestro Domingo Dias Porta in 1976, who since then, has guided him through the indigenous traditions of Amerikua.
Maestro Manuel is an artist, yogi, vegetarian chef, nutritionist, martial artist and healer. He is the World Director of the Movement of American Indian Solar Culture, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to serving the community by focusing on sharing Amerikua Wisdom, founded by his teacher, Maestro Domingo Dias Porta. He is the founder of the Jungle Café and visionary behind the Blue Wolf Community in Canada, the Golden Beehive in England and the White Eagle’s Nest in Warsaw.
Maestro Manuel Rufino has also established and founded communities and cultural centers in Europe, North, Central and South America including the Heart & Mind Festival, the Golden Drum, and the 501(c)(3) Sacred Arts Research Foundation.
He is currently in the 5th degree in the Mayan Sovereign Solar Order of Chichaan Itzaab (S.O.S.X.I) and has been recognized as an elder in many traditions; however, he prefers not to claim titles and to be a simple human being at the service of the world and all its inhabitants on land, air, water and fire.