Featured Sayulita Business: Ceremonial Sayulita
Hi! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I grew up in a big family and as a child I always found myself at the piano leading people in song and laughter. I have fond memories of playing music at old folks’ homes and feeling the tears of nostalgia and joy elicited by the songs. I remember the first time I played a pipe organ at the Polish Catholic Cathedral in Delaware where I grew up, those notes echoing off the high ceilings and filling me with awe at the beauty and power of the sounds. These early experiences set me on a path in search of ways of connecting with people and making their hearts move. I love finding ceremony and meaning in the simple things like making tea and sharing it with friends, to giving gratitude for the ants’ yearly cleaning of my pantry. When you imbue meaning into your daily life then when you find yourself on a stage in front of thousands, it’s already in you. You look out and connect with the people and the moment and you see the divine looking back at you.
How did you first land in Sayulita?
My husband and I met in San Francisco on stage in an artist collective. We met over music and fell in love over our shared vision of a life connecting and inspiring through song and performance. We arrived in Mexico in 2005 to a patch of jungle with a tent and a dream. We were living off grid and met a band of brothers from Toluca, who gifted us shamanic instruments and showed us how to conjure a rainstorm with dance. We shared meals of rattlesnake and possum with them. This was big magic. As a musician, Sayulita welcomed me with open arms. I remember performing a traditional Mexican song “Flor del Rio” in the plaza and receiving a standing ovation from all the balconies of the surrounding homes and restaurants. This place was so alive and full of passion. Our band began playing at local venues like the Dragon Rojo, A Bicyclette, and Bar Don Pato’s opening night. We joined up with local legend Pepe le Piu and formed a band called La Shiflana playing Gypsy Jazz and Swing with Accordion and Banjo. We played evenings at the Betola de Leonardo where the Chef Lucca would push all the tables of the restaurant together to share in music and cuisine as a family. We later formed another band, Los Tikkilyches, which every show ended with a gospel style revival. We would spend our days surfing and writing new music and our nights playing to fire dancers and sweaty crowds. At this time we started Sayulita’s first open mic night which became a sort of Bohemian Church Service. Holding space for people to express their joys, fears and big emotions. It was always such a melting pot and by the end of the night people from all different cultures and backgrounds found themselves playing and singing together into the night.
What about Sayulita inspired you to stay and start your business here?
Living connected to myself and to the earth, a strong sense of community, focus on family and an openness to grow and change. The opportunity to learn from and be a part of the rich Mexican culture as a whole and in our surrounding areas. Sayulita continues to be a place that pushes me to be the person I want to be, from teaching music to elementary school children, to leading Temazcales/Sweatlodges, to starting an Eco Community, homeschooling my children and planting a Food Forest. I always seem to find myself in the right place at the right time meeting the right people. Some people call it Sayulita Synchronicity, some people call it being awake to the magic that surrounds us. Sayulita has pushed me to live in beauty, to treat everyone I meet as my long lost friend, to make art just for the sake of it, to set intentions and manifest big dreams, to light a sacred fire and to sing with the spirits.
How did you get into your line of work?
Ceremonial Sayulita grew as a natural extension of my work with music, community, spirituality, and education. I have been called on by my community many times to lead Events and Ceremonies over the years. I feel that there is so much power and magic when we connect with intention in a group. I feel so blessed to be able to offer this to my community and the world.
What about your services sets you apart from others?
I feel that a new universal spirituality is emerging here and globally. I am continually studying and in dialogue with traditional and modern approaches to ceremony, ritual and celebration, and strive to create meaningful and new ways of incorporating them into our lives. Sayulita is such a lovely mix and growing hybrid of so many cultures and there are countless ways to call on different aspects of these to highlight and enhance a given moment. I treat every ceremony and encounter as unique and use my experience to bring the right energies to support the given context. Sometimes these deeper spiritual elements are implied in the background and the ceremony is easy, familiar, and comfortable; sometimes the stronger aspects are brought to the fore and the ceremony can be moving, powerful and transformative.
I enjoy working together with individuals, couples, groups and crowds to plan and decide on different possibilities and set clear intentions on goals, specifics, and overall vibe. I can guide people through established ceremonial scripts honed over years of experience, and they can just show up and enjoy the moment; I can also work extensively with people who have a vision and want to co-create something new for the occasion! I love to incorporate sung prayers in different languages into my ceremonies; singing transcends language and helps people to connect to their higher selves.
What can a client expect when booking with you?
My clients enjoy beautiful, heartfelt ceremonies held in outdoor settings that are rooted in nature. The process of creating the ceremony is fun and stress free; many times couples breathe a sigh of relief after we talk and their minds are put at ease. I offer elements of sound healing like the drum, singing bowls and conch shell, as well as sung prayers in English and Spanish, bringing moments of meditation and reflection during the ceremony. My ceremonies evoke a lot of energy and emotion. I love that many of my clients express that they were surprised at how strongly they felt during the ceremony and how special it was to them.
What kind of services do you provide?
Wedding Ceremonies, Vow Renewal Ceremonies, Moon Dances, Women’s Circles, Engagement Ceremonies, Sacred Singing Circles, Meditation Dances, Toning Circles, May Day Celebration Ceremonies, New Year Manifestation Ceremonies, Conscious Theater Productions, Celebration of Life Ceremonies, Baby Blessingways, Coming of Age Ceremonies, Day of the Dead Celebrations, Turning everyday activities into meaningful events!
