Tata Pedro Cruz who’s maya name is k’u'x’ya (pronounced Khoosh-ya) meaning heart of the lake, is one of the last living Tzutujil (pronounced Tsu-tooheel) Mayan elders of Lago Atitlan (pronounced Ati-tlan) Guatemala. He is a member of the Council of Mayan Elders of Guatemala and 2005 World Peace Ambassador. He has been working to bring together surrounding Maya from neighboring villages to hold ceremony with one another.  He started holding a gathering of elders and young Maya from all over Guatemala and  traveling to Tikal where he has been holding ceremonies in Tikal at the main Jaguar courtyard for the December 21 winter solstice for the past 6 years and will continue to do so until December 21 2012. Tata Pedro’s main philosophy is in order for us to come together as a world we must first come together in our own communities.  He has been leading ceremonies to unite varying Maya lineages, along with allowing westerners to be a part of some of the Maya ceremonies bringing together a unity of all races, continents and creeds.  He is a day keeper of the Tzutujil (pronounced Tsu-tooheel) Maya Calendar which is a branch of the Qui-ché Maya. He has been leading workshops to unite the Maya within his communities and teaching youth around the world about the wisdom of the elders and the Maya ancestral knowledge. Through all of his experiences throughout life, his main phrase can resonate with all of us.  “No matter what, always with love.”

Tata Pedro’s Email: corazondelago01@yahoo.com

Translation by Helen Samules http://www.ekohabitat.org

Cassidy Rast and other volunteers are making a film about Tata Pedro Cruz’s life called Unification of Wisdom. You can support the Unification of Wisdom project by visiting

http://www.outsidetheboxmediaarts.com/