2005 Schedule
Awakening the Energy for Change
The Black Madonna and the Womb of God
with China Galland, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Linda Tillery, Maria Teresa Valenzuela, Patrice Wynne and many others9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 18th, 2005GTU Cooperative Summer Session
1798 Scenic Avenue
Berkeley CA 94709
phone: 510.849.8268
toll free: 800.999.0528 ext. 1268
fax: 510.845.8948
to register: www.gtuss.orgIt is one thing to know that we need to change, it is another matter to have the energy to do so. The Dark Mother is a potent symbol of the transformation so needed in our times, a dynamic figure that can spark a revolution in the way we see ourselves and the world around us. Why is this ancient figure arising in our consciousness now? What are her myths? What are her songs and stories? What is her meaning?
Long venerated throughout world religions as force for inclusion, healing, and the Earth, the Dark Mother is re-emerging as a source of wisdom, creativity, and liberation. She appears throughout the world religions in a variety of forms. Whether known as the Black Madonna in European Catholicism, Isis in Egyptian Africa, Crow Mother in the Hopi American Indian tradition, Tara in Tibetan Buddhism, Kali in Hinduism, Erzuli Danto in Vodun, Yemaya in Yoruban Africa, or Oya in Brazilian Candomble, she appears as a powerful symbol of healing, inclusivity, diversity, growth, and fierce compassion. She is the champion of all who are excluded and of the earth itself.
Rarely has there been a moment in history where such a figure is more needed to help us bridge the divides between us and the earth that mothers us all. Join us to learn more about this great archetypal figure, to celebrate her, and to explore her meaning for us today. As well as nourishing and building community, the purposes of the day include showing how this figure is aligned with environmental awareness and the peace movement.
Join author China Galland (Longing for Darkness, Tara and the Black Madonnaand The Bond Between Women); Rosemary Radford Ruether (newly published Goddesses and the Divine Feminine, a Western Religious Historyand Women Healing the Earth); Linda Tillery, singer/scholar (Oakland’s Cultural Heritage Choir); Danielle Burnette, poet and rapper (winner of “Youth Speaks Poetry Slam”); Lucia Birnbaum (dark mother: african origins and godmothersand The Black Madonnas of Italy); Patrice Wynne (The Womanspirit Sourcebook, Fabric of the Future and founder of GAIA Bookstore and Cultural Center) and Maria Teresa Valenzuela (Guadalupana, shamanic medicine of Meso-America), healer; Lydia Ruyle, “Icons of the Dark Mother Around the Globe”; Elizabeth Kelley, "Mary Magdalene, Isis, and the Black Madonna"; Karen Nelson-Villenueva, Benjamin Bufano's Black Madonna sculpture "Peace"; Meggan Watterson, “She Who Kills No One in Herself: True Love and the Immanence of the Divine Feminine;” Sera Beak, “The Goddess Wears Lip Gloss”; Reda Rackley, on the Dagara tradition of divination in Africa, “Calling on the Ancestors”; Mary Beth Moser, “A Pilgrimage to the Black Madonna at Oropa, Italy”; Sandy Butler, “Women in Black and the Black Madonna”; Jennifer Colby, “The Virgin Image Conference”; as well as others, to be announced.
Artists Lydia Ruyle, Dominique Mazeaud, Janet McKenzie, Meinrad Craighead, Annie Hallitt (giant puppets of the Black Madonnas); Shiloh McCloud and others' works will be on exhibit during the conference. Catlyn Fendler, “The Black Madonna and the Labyrinth,” will help facilitate the Labyrinth walks available inside and outside throughout the day. Judith Tripp, “Women’s Dream Quest,” and the Rev. Sandy Gess, will also help facilitate Labyrinth walks as well as help provide music during the day.
Join us as we examine and celebrate the re-emergence of this symbol in our time. The day will include talks, panels, sharing and discussion, dreams, movement, circles, performances, Labyrinth walks and singing. It culminates in a closing ceremony that weaves together the day and strengthens the foundation of our growing, ongoing community.
Lunch and reader (book of conference presentations) included, $95.
VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE: REINA DE MEXICO
with Maria Teresa Valenzuelaat Warren Hardy Spanish School
Wednesday, June 16th, 2005Photography Show of Guadalupe Fiestas - by Patrice Wynne
Indigenous teacher Maria Teresa Valenzuela will be presenting new research on the Virgin of Guadalupe, considered the Mother of Mexico.
Prior to Guadalupe, the Aztecs worshipped the goddess Tonantzin, known as the Mother of God, on the same site as the later apparition of the Virgin. How did these living symbols merge into one another? Why has Guadalupe persisted through the centuries and how did she come to represent Mexico? How does Guadalupe empower Chicana and Mexican women today? This lecture will explore Guadalupe's importance in all its manifestations among Mexican people, with a particular focus on women. Street photographer, Patrice Wynne, whose fiesta photos are featured on the city of San Miguel website, will show slides of fiestas, altars and processions taken in San Miguel and Mexico City.
2004 Schedule
Lectures are presented by Maria Teresa Valenzuela and illustrated with digital photography by Patrice Wynne. All events will feature San Miguel Designs's products for sale.
October 2004
Tuesday, October 26
Lecture & Traditional Altar-Making: Dia de los Muertos, the Most Mexican of Holidays Dia de los Muertos or Days of the Dead is the most Mexican of holidays, a beautiful and joyous celebration of the life cycle. The holiday offers foreigners a new way of relating to death, dying and the dead. The Days of the Dead ritual involves receiving the spirits of the dead at home, offering them their favorite foods and drinks, communing with the departed at their graves and blessing the spirits on their return to the other side.
On Tuesday, October 26 th, from 5:30-7pm come hear a Dias de los Muertos lecture and experience a traditional altar with Maria Teresa Valenzuela. The lecture will take place at the Warren Hardy Spanish School on Calle San Antonio Abad 13, across from the San Juan de Dios Church. At this presentation Maria Teresa will discuss the pre-Hispanic origins of Days of the Dead. You will learn how to create a traditional Days of the Dead altar, the significance of the various offerings and the symbolism of the elements.
She will take you on a journey from October 27-Day of the Orphaned Souls, October 28-Souls of Violent Deaths, October 31-Day of the Children, November 1-All Saints Day and November 2-All Souls Day. Admission is $50 pesos.
Maria Teresa Valenzuela is of mixed heritage from three Meso- American cultures: Mexican, Tarahumara Indian and Peruvian. Training with shamans in Mexico, Peru and Ecuador and indigenous elders from the Mayan cultures of Guatemala and Mexico has provided her with a wealth of knowledge on Meso-American wisdom, myths and traditional forms of medicine. She travels to the US and within Mexico to lecture and heal, drawing on her heritage, her life experiences and her training as a practitioner in traditional modes of spiritual healing. She lives in San Miguel de Allende. For more information: www.sanmigueldesigns.com.
Saturday and Sunday, October 30 and 31
COLECTIVA DE POZOS Presents LIFTING THE VEIL ON DAY OF THE DEAD October 30 and 31 10 to 4 p.m.
This two-day workshop launches Colectiva de Pozos, the new art retreat and workshop center of Mineral de Pozos, 45 minutes northeast of San Miguel de Allende. Indigenous spiritual guide Maria Teresa Valenzuela and photographer Patrice Wynne will lead presentations about this most celebrated Mexican holiday in LIFTING THE VEIL ON DAY OF THE DEAD, October 30 and 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
The unique history and tradition of Dia de los Muertos or "Day of the Dead"
will be discussed by Maria Teresa in "The Concept of Death in the Mexican Culture." In this talk we will learn the significance of both pre-Colombian Aztec artifacts and modern decorations which adorn the Colectiva group altar. Maria Teresa, a well-known teacher and spiritual healer of San Miguel de Allende, draws her knowledge from a rich heritage of three Meso-American cultures:
Mexican, Tarahumara Indian and Peruvian.A field trip to nearby San Luis de la Paz, 8 kilometers north of Pozos, offers guided shopping for candles, papel picado, sugar skulls, marigold flowers and traditional foods. To create a more profound experience in altar-making, participants are invited to add personal items, such as photographs of departed loved ones, and items which represent their favorite foods, vices, hobbies, or toys. Their spirits, it is believed, are enticed back to earth with these worldly offerings, during this period when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest.
Patrice, also of San Miguel, will present her slides of Day of the Dead events, taken in various locales around Mexico for several years. These stunning images of home altars, cemeteries, processions and mercados will increase our preparations for a public altar we will build at Casa Montana Hotel, located on Pozos' Plaza Principal. The workshop concludes with the completion of this group altar in the hotel entryway, an offering to and for the community of Pozos.
The two-day workshop fee of $600 pesos does not include materials, shopping, or meals. Overnight accommodations are available at Casa Montana. For reservations call 01-442-293-0033 or e-mail casamontana@prodigy.net.mx.
Transportation is available upon request, with a reservation deadline of October 27.
To register for the workshop, call Colectiva de Pozos at 01-442-293-0000 or e-mail colectiva@aol.com.
The Colectiva is located one block north of Plaza Principal, at 5 de Mayo No.5.From San Miguel, drive past Gigante in the direction of Queretaro and take the Dr. Mora exit at the glorieta. Stay on this road, pass Los Rodriguez, cross over the bridge avoiding Hwy. 57 and head toward Dr. Mora until the San Luis de la Paz turnoff. Turn left to Pozos.
November
Monday, November 1st
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS EVENING, 6 to 9:30pm, Day of the Dead Faire with local artisans, writers, ceremonialists and chocolatiers, Altar-Making Presentation by Maria Teresa Valenzuela
Villa Jacaranda, Aldama #53
Free of charge – Everyone welcomeA DIA DE LOS MUERTOS EVENING
Come spend an evening celebrating Day of the Dead at this participative, candlelit ceremony. You will meet local artists and writers, and will learn the elements of creating an altar from Mexican Indigenous teacher Maria Teresa Valenzuela, who will lead you through a Day of the Dead ceremony and teach you about each of the elements in a traditional altar.The event begins at 6:00 pm with displays and sales of Day of the Dead theme items by local artists and writers.
- Artist CAMIE SANDS sells her popular and colorful Muertos-themed monoprints
* Best-selling children’s authors sign their picture books: RICHARD KEEP’s Clatter Bash! captures the bone-rattling fun of the evening in rhyme, with vivid cut paper. LINDA LOWERY’s insightful Day of the Dead is a celebration of life.
- HEIDI and BILL LEVASSEUR offer locally-made folk art toys from their extensive Casa de la Cuesta collection
- Soap and candle-maker KAREN LETCHER uses seasonal coriander, nutmeg, calendula, pumpkin spice, and autumn leaves, with glow-in-the-dark touches
- PATRICE WYNNE brings handmade, celebratory Muertos aprons, mens shirts, handbags and gift items.
- MICHAEL McKENNA and BARBARA HARTINGER, the Sensual Chocolatiers, offer custom-designed cajas de muertos (coffins), filled with premium chocolate truffles.
At 7:00 PM, and again at 8:30PM, you are invited to participate in a ceremony led by spiritual Indigenous healer, MARIA TERESA VALENZUELA. She will offer teachings on the welcoming back of the spirits of those we love, which is truly a celebration of life and a reminder of the powerful influence we have on everyone we touch as we move through our own lives. This will be a time to share and learn about the symbolism of orange marigolds, candles, copal, sugar skulls, bread in animal and human forms, and other Day of the Dead traditional items. Bring photocopies of your loved ones and/or simple momentos to leave on the altar. Flowers and candles are provided for a small charge, and donations for this ceremony are welcome.
December 2004
Dec. 9 - 17, 2004
View event archivesGuadalupe: Virgin at the Crossroads
Lena Bartula and Guest Presenters Patrice Wynne and others to be announced
Experience festivities honoring México's mother god in her native land as we explore her role of mother, warrior and icon. Learn how She, who crosses political, spiritual and artistic borders, challenges us to reconcile cultural differences.
Info: For more information and to register log onto: www.colectivadepozos.com.
About Maria Teresa Valenzuela
Maria Teresa Valenzuela is of mixed heritage from three Meso-American cultures: Mexican, Taramahara Indian and Peruvian. She was born in the U.S. when her father, a migrant worker, insisted that the family cross the border so that his children could be given an education in the United States. Maria Teresa was trained as a nurse at Texas Women's University and had a successful career until 1992 when she retired to the San Francisco Bay Area. After retiring she returned to her artistic roots as a sculptor, which she had pursued as a young child in the Copper Canyon of Northern Mexico. Maria Teresa moved back to Mexico in 2002 and currently lives in San Miguel de Allende. Training with shamans in Mexico, Peru and Ecuador and indigenous elders from the Mayan cultures of Guatemala and Mexico has provided her with a wealth of knowledge on Meso-American wisdom, myths and traditional forms of medicine. She travels to the US and within Mexico to lecture and heal, drawing on her heritage, her life experiences and her training as a practicioner in traditional modes of spiritual healing.
Lecture Topics
For information on presenting these lectures (1.5 hrs) or workshops (5 hrs) to your groups, please write to Maria Teresa Valenzuela at: laikaraiya@yahoo.com
Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead
Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead is the most Mexican of all holidays and one often misunderstood by foreigners. Mexican people have a special relationship with death: they consider it the beginning of life. On the eve of Day of the Dead, November 1st, the cemeteries are filled with celebrants communing with their dearly beloved family and friends who have passed over to the other side. Home altars and gravestone altars are an important part of the celebration of this holiday. At this event Maria Teresa will create a traditional Dia De Los Muertos Altar and invite audience participation using artifacts from pre-Colombian Aztec times and modern times: candles, masks, flowers, sugar skulls and objects, papel picado, calaveras or skeletons, traditional foods, favorite drinks and vices, copal incense, bread, handmade toys, childrens clothing, household saints and musical instruments.
The workshop will include a lecture and presentation on the origin and meaning of Day of the Dead and all of the symbols and altar objects associated with this original Mexican holiday. Bring photocopy images of loved ones to share. This will be a participative, colorful, candlelit magical evening so that you can experience Dia de Los Muertos as a profound teacher of a new relationship to death, dying and the dead.The Earth's Evolving Consciousness: An Indigenous Mexican Perspective on the Maya Cosmogenesis/Maya Prophecies
Indigenous prophets of ancient and modern times believe that the new millennium may be a time of spiritual and technological progress, or a time of war, turmoil and cataclysm. In this lecture, Marie Teresa explores the concept of prophecy and discuss in detail the Seven Maya Prophecy as a way of understanding the challenges of the times we are living in. You will learn about the Mayan Cosmogensis, the transformation of consciousness on December 21, 2012, the Maya Long Count Calendar, the Sun's Precession and the complex Pyramids that the Maya constructed to predict these times.
Psychological Faces of the Mexican People: Based on the Writings of Octavio Paz
Octavio Paz was one of the greatest Latin-American writers and poets of the 20th Century. In this lecture we will be looking at the psychological mask worn by the Mexican people as an affect of the Spanish Conquest whose influence is still very present today.
This lecture will help people who are visiting Mexico to better understand the Mexican culture and people.
Virgin of Guadalupe - Goddess of the Americas
The Virgin of Guadalupe is worshipped and venerated by the vast majority of Mexicans and is considered the Mother of Mexico by indigenous campesino's and intellectuals alike. Throughout Mexico on December 12th people pay homage to the Virgin with processions where young and old dress in the traditional clothing of Juan Diego, who had a vision of the Virgin in 1531 on Tepeyac Hill, outside Mexico City, where once stood an ancient shrine to the Aztec goddess, Tonanatzin, known as the Mother of God. Why is the Virgin such a strong living symbol who has persisted through the centuries and how did she come to represent Mexico? This lecture will explore her importance in all its manifestations among Mexican people.
The Voice of the Mexican Shaman
Mexican shamans are the keepers of a body of ancient techniques that achieve and maintain healing and well being for people and for the community. Shamanism has persisted through centuries as a primary healing modality in the Mexican psyche. The following concepts will be discussed in two lectures:History of Shamanism Mexico as a Shamanistic Country Power plants, animals, and tools of the Shaman States of consciousness/Journeying to other dimensions Demonstration of healing rituals done in Mexico Shamanic Thinking/Primal Awareness
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