The Living Altar of the Tz’utujiles: An Encounter with the Mayan Cosmovision

On July 22, the Night Market at Las Dalias will become the setting for a unique ceremonial gathering: The Living Altar of the Tz’utujiles, an immersive experience in the rich and ancient worldview of the Mayan people, originally from the southern region of Lake Atitlán, Guatemala.

We welcome Nana Marina Cruz, Ajq'ij (spiritual guide) of the Tz’utujil people. Daughter of Tata Pedro Cruz—also a spiritual guide—she is a healer, therapist using traditional methods, and a facilitator of fire, cacao, temazcal, and tobacco ceremonies, as well as a teacher of the Mayan calendar. Her community work includes supporting midwives and offering holistic care throughout the cycle of life, from pregnancy to postpartum.

This fire ceremony at Las Dalias aims to open a space for connection with the body, the spirit, and the Earth’s energy, through a living altar where each element carries profound symbolic meaning.

This Tz’utujil community organization, led by Nana Marina Cruz’s family in San Pedro La Laguna, shares ancestral Mayan healing knowledge and is actively working to build a healing center and a school. Its mission is to generate sustainable income for the community and to preserve its spiritual and cultural legacy for future generations.

At 8:00 PM, the altar will be opened to the public, inviting presence, deep listening, and reverence for ancestral traditions.

Free entry