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Izaias Sajvin Mendoza was born and raised to an indigenous family in San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala. At the age of 14 he started working for Keith Wilson (Keith’s Cacao) as a gardener. Although he studied computers and accounting, he developed an increasing interest in religions and cultures other than the Christian background he was raised to.
Through a dream in his teenagerhood he was guided to look for “the lost path”, a local spiritual practice, which led him to find out his grandfather was a Shaman.
Izaias had to wait until he was ready and after years of search for his path and purpose, and being strongly called to work serving as a Shaman, he was invited to a ceremony to join the elder circles. He found out more about his grandfather story and how he was meant to become a healer, however having to meet the requirements: getting married.
At the age of 21 he married to Izabel, his wife and mother of their 2 children, Jason and Leo, and only then he was initiated in the path of the Fire Shaman. Since then he has been a practitioner and facilitator holding Cacao and Fire Ceremonies as well as Mayan calendar readings through the Nahuales, following the tradition of his ancestors and his inherited lineage.
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Izabel spent her early years working in the Pacific Coast of Guatemala helping her mother in her job as a harvester.
From a very early age she had to work in humble jobs to contribute in supporting her big family, travelling to San Juan La Laguna and leaving her loved ones behind to take on this responsibilities as she lost her father at the age of 6. She learned the native Mayan language Tzutujil at the age of 15 and met Izaias later in San Marcos.
This relationship prompted the beginning of her healing journey, where she could attend to Cacao Ceremonies releasing ancestral suffering attached to her.
Thanks to cacao they grew together stronger in their relationship, this helped them release suffering and helped them to connect more profoundly with each other.
After being a mother of 2 and supporting her husband in her journey towards becoming a Fire Shaman, Izabel was initiated a year later by her teacher Nan Candelaria Xitamul as a Shamaness. Her calling to work with pregnancies, empowering women and growing her knowledge with herbs started to bloom in these years. She is now established as a healer focusing her work in traditional abdominal massage, Temazcal baths and and as a herbalist.
Photography credits to Daniel Lopez Pérez
