About Us
We took a trip to Palenque in March 2011, where a series of synchronicities lead us on a profound adventure culminating in the vision for this event. These are some of the characters who play a vital role in this story:
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Carol Karasik is a writer, researcher, educator and expert in Maya history,and tradition. She is based in Palenque, and studies at the site with her colleagues from the Maya Exploration Center unravelling the mysteries of this ancient culture. Our conversations with Carol inspired the concept for this festival.Her research with Alonso Mendez into the archeoastronomy at the Palenque ruins revealed a prophecy citing Spring Equinox 2012 as the rise of the Corn God, and we felt immediately drawn to this date. As well as being able to avoid the crazy freakshow which will no doubt be happening for the popular end date of the long count calendar on December 21st 2012, Spring Equinox seemed a more appropriate date to celebrate renewal and rebirth.
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Carol gives us our roots in Palenque, connecting us to locals and giving us access to resources to help us make it happen. She was the one who introduced us to the legendary storyteller of Palenque, Moises Morales.
We are honored to be hosting this event on the land of Moises – the first ever guide at the ruins, he has seen Palenque change unimaginably over more than 50 years, playing a key role in increasing awareness about the site. No other person (besides Pakal Votan himself) is quite as synonymous with Palenque as this incredible cultural figure. |
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And who are we? This crazy pair who went on an adventure and came back with this plan? We are Polly Whittaker and Barron Scott Levkoff, event producers and community builders from San Francisco. We are passionate about studying how people operate in community, creating collaborative art, and designing social systems that bring out the best in people. We believe that culture is on the verge of a major metamorphosis and have dedicated our lives to midwifing this process. You can find out more about our colorful parties in the Bay Area at www.themoralminority.net, and about our social design here www.beautyengine.org. |  |
We are looking forward to finding out what you have to offer to this experience, and hope to add you to this page soon!!