cocoa ceremony

At the end of 2022, I spent 1.5 months in the small Turkish village of Çıralı near Antalya. Literally, a couple of days after my arrival, I was invited to capture a day of a women's retreat with the renowned Mexican midwife Angelina Martínez Miranda. This woman has been delivering babies for over 45 years and travels the world, passing on her knowledge. With her help, about 15 thousand babies have come into the world.

Angelina tells women about how to comfortably experience pregnancy and support themselves on the path to motherhood. The Mexican midwife shares massage techniques, psychological practices, and everything that helps make the childbirth process as natural and comfortable as possible.

I was fortunate to listen to Angelina's stories and, with my camera, witness a real cocoa ceremony—an ancient custom of the peoples of Central and South America.

This type of cocoa is nothing like the homemade cocoa with milk and a melted chocolate bar that I prepare now on cool January evenings in Valencia. To prepare the ceremonial drink, Angelina specifically roasted cocoa beans over fire and added Mexican spices. Such cocoa is considered healing for a range of illnesses and, of course, beneficial for women's health.

According to the ceremony traditions, cocoa should be drunk leisurely, with specific intentions and requests regarding one's life. It's good when you can share this in a cozy circle of like-minded people.