Q'ero Maestro, Don Mariano Quispe's Pilgrimage in 2009

Message Added on May 1, 2010

The following information is about don Mariano's journey to the US last year in 2009.

We are adding this note to avoid the possibility of confusion about the dates of workshops that are scheduled for don Mariano's visit here in June 2010 (which are shown above in the recent postings) with those from last year in 2009.

We hope to see you here this summer!

With munay, Anita and Sam

It is with deep joy that we invite you to be part of the flowering of a vision, to share the journey of don Mariano Quispe, beloved Q’ero elder as he travels to North America from Peru for the first time in summer of 2009.

His pilgrimage is in fulfillment of his commitment to the sacred places of North America, a promise born of a dream-vison to connect our mountain peaks with the Apukuna, the sacred mountains of the Andes. Don Mariano will offer teachings and ceremony in Atlanta and North Carolina from July 25 to August 3, 2009.

It is a rare privilege to share this pilgrimage in the United States with don Mariano, an esteemed healer, visionary and ceremonialist of the Q’ero Nation. He has been called here by a dream to feed North America’s sacred places and to expand our awareness of how to continue to nurture those relationships long after he returns to the Andes.

You are invited to experience the teachings, humor and healing presence of this traditionally trained maestro, who came of age in the remote mountains in the days long before the modern world of telephones and the Internet came to the Andes. After his lifetime of service as a Pampamisayoq, healer and ceremonialist, the Q’ero community has formally recognized don Mariano as a Kurak Akulleq (a title reserved for the most highly esteemed visionary healer-ceremonialists of the Andes) in recognition of his clear spiritual vision and healing gifts. Yet when asked about his work, he laughs and softly says, “I’m just a paqo,” which is the Quechua word for a white llama or alpaca and also the name the Q’eros use for a simple healer/shaman/ceremonialist.

Here in the Southeastern United States, we will have a rich opportunity to plant seeds of visionary understanding among the ancient mountains and alongside the rivers of our own land. The roots of these shamanic practices are ancient, yet at the heart is a dream of a fresh and living future – a gift for our contemporary world, with powerful medicine to heal our separation from Pachamama here and now, in the present moment.

Newcomers as well as those familiar with Andean or other mesa-related paths are all warmly welcome!

If you feel a call to re-engage in intimate conversation with the earth, wind, rivers and stars, we invite you to share don Mariano’s pilgrimage, nurturing your own soul as you feed the living land of North America. Ancestral wisdom-ways of the Andes offer a luminous awareness that opens our hearts. As we come together to nourish the sacred landscape, we re-vision and re-write the dominant, governing myth of our times.

In ceremony and beauty, we awaken together into a vivid new Dream, our hearts opened and our lives illuminated by an awareness that recognizes our deep relationship with each other and the Earth.

Ancha Munay Sonquoymanta,

Anita and Sam

Ongoing updates for events in Atlanta and in the North Carolina mountains are included here: NativeVoicesSouth.blogspot.com

Or call us to discuss possibilities ~ We look forward to seeing you in just a few weeks!

Anita Stewart: (404) 373-1219, samanita@mindspring.com

Sam Austin: (678) 476-1284, pumaruna@bellsouth.net

Registration Information for 2009: Ceremony & Teachings with Q'ero Maestro, Don Mariano Quispe in the Southeast

Please note:

Below is last year's (2009) schedule; we are leaving information posted her for general information and to share a sense of what came before, during don Mariano's first trip to North America in 2009.

Summary of Scheduled Events in Atlanta and North Carolina with Don Mariano

Teaching and Ceremony in the Southeastern USA in 2009:

Different teachings will be shared at each workshop. There will be little overlap, in case you are interested in participating in more than one of these experiences with don Mariano.

(1) Atlanta: One-day workshop - July 26, 2009.

One-day workshop in Atlanta will include teachings with don Mariano on Andean philosophy and understanding of energy, the healing practices of the Q’eros, despacho offerings and their place in the ceremonial and healing cycles of life and of the seasons. A potluck dinner will follow the workshop to allow participants and ayllu members to share a meal and some informal time with don Mariano and Dennis.

(2) Mt. Mitchell, NC: One-day workshop - July 30, 2009.

We will spend a day together on the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River. Some traditional dowsers and indigenous people say it is the center of the main energy grid of Eastern North America, running up and down the spine of the Appalachian Mountains and radiating outward – similar to the Andean ceque system.

The day will include teachings, time in nature, and a despacho ceremony for “Black Dome,” a translation of an old indigenous name for Mount Mitchell. Lodgings are over an hour away in Asheville or closer in Burnsville, NC.- let us know if you need a recommendation. For the workshop, we have reserved a spacious indoor meeting room near the summit because of the capricious nature of Mt Mitchell’s weather - the event will be easily accessible to all, rain or shine.

(3) Highlands, North Carolina: Weekend workshop, July 31 – August 2, 2009.

This weekend workshop will be the most in-depth and comprehensive opportunity for apprenticeship offered here by don Mariano during the 2009 visit to the Southeastern USA.

He will share despacho ceremony, introduce teachings on traditional Q’ero practices of healing, diagnosis, divination, the reconciliation/reintegration of lost aspects of ourselves, how to honor and communicate with Pachamama and the Apus, how to create and use the traditional Andean mesa ~ and more!

Weekend at The Mountain Retreat Center near Highlands, NC. Join us in this lovely retreat center on top of Little Scaly Mountain for a respite from the summertime heat and a retreat in the midst of a rare mountain ecosystem that includes a magical forest of ancient windblown oak trees. Camping is available a few miles away or you may reserve a room at the retreat center.

Translation: Don Mariano’s native language is Quechua. Translation into English for workshops and individual healing sessions will be by Dennis Alejo, our longtime friend, native of the Andes, and a gifted teacher in his own right. He has worked with don Mariano for years, has a deep understanding of traditional Andean ceremonial work, and will be accompanying don Mariano from Peru and throughout this journey in the United States.

The Highlands area: This area of North Carolina is beautiful in the summertime. If you would like to add a few days to your trip to create a retreat or mini-vacation, let us know and we will be glad to offer some suggestions about highlights of the area.

PERSONAL HEALING or DIVINATION SESSIONS with DON MARIANO (Summer, 2009)

There will be an extremely limited number of individual sessions with don Mariano. If you are interested let us know as soon as possible.

To request a personal session with don Mariano, contact Anita or Sam in advance to see if space is still available and to discuss the possibilities for different types of sessions. Don Mariano will be assisted by Dennis Alejo, who will also serve as translator during your individual session. If you are unclear about this deeply personal healing and work, which don Mariano sometimes describes as “clearing your way” or “opening your path,” please call us to discuss possibilities.

If you have questions about other types of work with don Mariano and have apprenticed with him previously or if you seek to deepen your experience of apprenticeship on the Andean path, call and we will be glad to discuss other possibilities.

Ayni ~ On sacred reciprocity and finances:

It is our intention to be able to completely cover the substantial costs of bringing don Mariano and Dennis Alejo to the United States, to offer donations in ayni for their teachings, and to send them home with additional funds to help with some of the urgent needs of the Q’ero villages, especially for the children.

We would like to help you to participate in as much as possible of don Mariano’s pilgrimage. While balancing the financial costs of the pilgrimage, we also are dedicated to making this experience open to as many participants as possible, so are offering these workshops on a suggested donation basis.

Gifts for don Mariano, Dennis, or the Q’ero community:

Some of you have asked about sending items such as clothing or school supplies back to the Q’ero villages. Thank you for your warm-hearted generosity – yet because of airlines’ baggage restrictions and excess luggage fees, sending bulky items is not practical at this time.

By attending the workshops you are already supporting don Mariano, Dennis, and the Q’ero community. Donations you may offer for personal healings and readings also contribute.

Some of you have also asked about giving ceremonial or medicine gifts as a way to say an extra “thank you” to don Mariano or Dennis -- We suggest that if you choose to give such items, the gifts should be small, lightweight and portable.

Native Voices, 2107 N Decatur Rd. #263, Decatur, GA 30033.

Newcomers and friends who walk other spiritual paths are welcome! Thank you in advance for sharing this invitation with others who may appreciate and benefit from immersion in the healing energies of the Andes through don Mariano’s ceremony and teaching, as we anchor this experience of wholeness and beauty here in our own land.

Once again, we thank you from the heart for your loving and steadfast support and your creative co-dreaming of don Mariano’s vision of pilgrimage.

We are deeply grateful for your presence in our lives and for the many ways you help to bring to life the dream of a world where all are together in love and service to Pachamama and all of her children.

Many blessings,

Anita and Sam

An Invitation ...

This summer, you are invited to share a rare opportunity for ceremony and teachings with beloved Q’ero maestro, Don Mariano Quispe, as he travels for the first time to North America in July and August, 2009. Accompanying him as translator and companion will be longtime friend, Dennis Alejo, an excellent translator not only of Quechua (the language spoken by don Mariano) but also of the background and meaning of ceremony and ritual in the Q'ero nation.

Whether you are a newcomer to this path or longtime practitioner of Andean or other mesa traditions, you are welcome to be part of his journey through any of these workshops and other events !

This pilgrimage was born of Don Mariano’s long ago dream-vision, when he was asked to bring healing medicine of the high Andes to the United States. It was time, he told us, to offer ceremonial nourishment to our Sacred Places -- and time for all of us who live here to nourish Pachamama, Mother Earth, and the Apus, the powerful Energies/Beings of the mountains, who help to maintain a healthy balance of life here on our planet.

Ancestral prophecies and natural signs shared the same message: It is time.

In several different regions of the USA, you will be able to share Don Mariano’s pilgrimage through ceremonies and teachings. Events are summarized below.

Let us know if you would like more information about this opportunity to immerse yourself in the living heart of ancestral wisdom teachings. You may contact any of us listed in the "Overview" below to explore how you can weave yourself into the fabric of Don Mariano’s visionary pilgrimage to North America.

Overview of Don Mariano’s North American Pilgrimage in 2009

July 7, 2009 through August 15, 2009

West Coast: July 7-19, 2009.

Begins with a July 7 despacho ceremony and teachings in LA. From July 11-13 there will be a camping pilgrimage to Mt. Rainier. A weekend workshop at Mt. Shasta will be from July 17-19. Call Axi (971-678-6839) for information about the Mt Rainier trip. Contact Ray Nobriga for other West Coast information, including, LA and Mt. Shasta workshops. (530) 918-9232, noby4@earthlink.net.

Colorado: July 21-24, 2009.

Near Denver, Don Mariano will connect with the Rocky Mountain Apus and with the community of the region through ceremony, pilgrimage into the mountains and informal teachings. Contact Jennifer Schofield, jnscho@earthlink.net, (303) 941-7219.

Southeast: July 25-August 4, 2009.

Arrives in Atlanta July 25. Program begins July 26 with teachings and despacho ceremony in Atlanta. Pilgrimage (July 30) to Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina (highest mountain east of the Mississippi). Workshop and ceremonial celebration of Andean New Year from July 31- August 2 at The Mountain, Highlands, NC. Contact Anita Stewart, NativeVoicesSouth@gmail.com, (404) 373-1219

Northeast: August 6-14, 2009.

For the final steps of this North American journey, Don Mariano and Dennis will fly to the Northeast for events in the Northeast, including a workshop in the Berkshire Mountains of New York, August 7-9 and other events in the NYC, Massachusetts and Connecticut area. Contact Laurie Friedler, kuches@aol.com, www.transformationalhealingart.com, (202) 605-2233

Individual sessions with Don Mariano: In addition to the scheduled events in 2009, a very limited number of individual sessions will be available in each region, offering another way for you to explore, establish or deepen your connection to the Andean path. Personal healings, divinations, and individual ceremony may be offered; the exact form these individual options take will be at don Mariano’s discretion. Contact the organizer in your area for more information and to request and schedule a personal session. These sessions are available on a donation basis.

Contact the sponsor in each area shown above to register or receive information about plans within each region.

For information about the overall plans for Don Mariano's journey in the USA in 2009, you may also contact:

Ray Nobriga ~ noby4@earthlink.net or (530) 918-9232

Anita Stewart ~ NativeVoicesSouth@gmail.com or (404) 373-1219