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Borderlands

Celebrating life and honoring the dead in Huasteca, Mexico

Dates: Oct 23, 2025
-Nov 4, 2025

Journey details

Duration
13 days (October 23 – November 4, 2025)​
Group Size
Limited to 15 participants maximum to ensure an intimate and personalized experience.​
locations
Meeting point the city of San Luis Potosi (closest airport: San Luis Potosí International Airport), Skoura, Merzouga, Marrakesh, Essaouira, and other culturally significant sites.
Terrain & Ecosystem
We will explore diverse ecosystems, from the vast desert Wirakuta to lush forests and rivers of the Huasteca region.
Physical Readiness
While the journey does not include extended walks or physically straining activities, participants should be comfortable with walking and spending time outdoors in hot and humid areas. The journey is designed to be accessible and a willingness to engage with the environment is key.
Languages used
We will be using Spanish, English and Tenek throughout our journey. Translation from any of the languages into English or Spanish will be offered by the team.

The invitation

In the geographic center of Mexico there is an area where diverse realities converge, showcasing the richness of borders and margins—spaces brimming with creativity, portals to other landscapes, realities, and forms of consciousness. At this intersection, bridges are built, perspectives shift, transitions are experienced, rigid predefinitions of reality are questioned, and one steps into an active world in the process of becoming. This journey is a pilgrimage to that membrane of the borderlands.

This two-week pilgrimage takes us to inhabit several of these edges, moving between the mystical desert of Wirikuta and the humid mystery of the cloud forest, being reborn in the swollen belly of the temazcal and in sacred caves—the very entrails of Mother Earth. We will reinvigorate the body with ritual fasting and celebrate the abundance of the harvest in family and community banquets. We will weave the cosmos with the ethereal dance of the hawk or renew our pact with life in communion with the master plant of the desert. We will move through the solemnity of mourning, and the colorful joy of cemeteries and homes as we celebrate the return of our loved ones during the Day of the Dead.

On this pilgrimage, we will be welcomed by indigenous Wixárika, Téenek, and Náhuatl teachers, as well as local leaders engaged in processes of memory, identity affirmation, food sovereignty, and biological and cultural diversity. Ancient cities like Tamtok are proof of the complex urbanization systems and the observation of astronomical cycles. The rich oral history and the colorful weaving and embroidery tell the stories of the time before time and the vibrancy of celebrations and rituals announce a respectful way of being in relationship with the land and her sentient beings.The host team will accompany the integration of the journey through external and internal landscapes, guiding us in a co-creative process of dialogue, word circles, somatic practices, games, meditations, collective altar building, and music.

Highlights

Thursday, October 23: Crossing the Threshold

Meeting in the city of San Luis Potosí by noon, we leave behind the familiar and journey into the Wirikuta desert, a sacred land where life and death intertwine in the eternal dance of creation.

Friday, October 24: Planting Dreams in the Desert

In the quiet embrace of Carretas, we open our circle, a space to honor the journey ahead. Through ceremony and intention, we plant the seeds of re-imagination, inviting the desert to guide us.

Saturday, October 25: Where the Sky Meets the Land

We make our way to Real de Catorce, where we walk a pilgrimage to Cerro del Quemado, a sacred mountain whispered to be the heart of Wirikuta. Here, in ceremony, the mountain listens as we offer our prayers, our questions, and our quiet resolve. 

Sunday, October 26: The Path of Renewal

Through the heat of the temazcal, we cleanse our bodies and spirits, renewing layers. In the afternoon we make our way from the desert’s expanse to the lush embrace of the Huasteca jungle.

Monday, October 27: Roots of Wisdom

A day of stillness and rest by the river. In the afternoon, we sit with an elder holding the deep wisdom of the Teenek people. His stories, like ancient roots, offer insights into the connection between life, land, and spirit, grounding us in the heart of this journey.

Tuesday, October 28: Flowing into Wonder

The river becomes our guide as we row to the majestic Tamul waterfall. Its cascading power reminds us of life’s relentless force, carving paths through stone and time.

Wednesday, October 29: A dance of life and sky

In Tamaleton, we witness the Danza del Gavilan, a ritual that speaks of survival, strength, and balance. Conversations with the dancers and weavers deepen our understanding before we end the day at the Sotano de las Golondrinas, watching swallows circle in the twilight.

Thursday, October 30: Echoes of the Underworld

The sacred caves call us into their depths. Within their dark embrace, we listen to the earth’s heartbeat, a reminder of the mysteries that cradle life and death.

Friday, October 31: Shifting Guardians

Driving to Matlapa, we arrive in time for the cambio de fiscal in Axtla, a ritual marking the passing of responsibility from one community leader, or fiscal, to another—a sacred act rooted in continuity and collective care. The air is alive with celebration and reverence, a vivid tapestry of tradition that bridges generations. 

Saturday, November 1: Faces of the Spirit

In Chapulhuacanito, we meet a mask maker who crafts the faces of the unseen. As evening falls, we return to create our altar, a space to honor those who have passed and those who remain.

Sunday, November 2: The Veil’s Lifting

On the Day of the Dead, we step into a world where the living and the departed meet. Through group process and shared reflection, we honor this sacred communion and the stories it reveals.

Monday, November 3: A Celebration of Cycles

The day unfolds in integration and joy, celebrating the richness of life and the lessons of death. Memories, celebration and gratitude fill the air, closing the circle we began in Carretas.

Tuesday, November 4: Carrying the journey home

As we part ways from Matlapa, the land’s wisdom stays with us—a quiet voice urging us to walk gently, to live deeply, and to hold life and death as one.

Costs & financial reciprocity

We are exploring new approaches to make the journeys accessible for as many people as possible while covering the logistical costs involved and honouring the contributions of our faculty, the projects hosting us and the team.
To support this, we have adopted a sliding scale model – inviting you to choose a fee that reflects your life possibilities. 

The required contribution for this yatra is based on a sliding scale starting from 1850€ to 3000€.  

Consider contributing MORE on the scale if you:

  • Can comfortably meet all your basic needs
  • Work full-time or belong to a sponsoring organisation
  • Have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money
  • Travel recreationally
  • Have access to family money and resources
  • Work part-time by choice
  • Own your home
  • Have high earning potential due to education, privilege, etc.
Consider contributing LESS on the scale if you:

  • Struggle to meet basic expenses
  • Support children or other dependents
  • Have significant debt or medical expenses
  • Are an elder with limited financial support
  • Are an unpaid community organizer
  • Have unstable housing or unreliable transportation
  • Have not taken time off due to financial constraints
If you select an amount at the higher end of the scale, you will make possible future offerings and support the good work of the speakers, facilitators, and organizers who are generously contributing their gifts to this event. You will also be contributing to the partial grants fund for those needing financial support.

(This model is inspired by our friends at Re-imagine Education and is based on the ‘Green Bottle’ sliding scale model by Alexis J. Cunningfolk  www.wortsandcunning.com)

We require a non-refundable deposit of 500 EUR to book your spot.

FAQ's

Once your application is accepted, you will receive payment details via e-mail. A deposit of 500EUR is required to secure your spot, with the remaining amount due before the journey begins. Payment can be made via bank transfer or other available methods.

To join, fill out the application form and share a bit about your interest in this journey. Once reviewed, we’ll reach out to align expectations. If it’s a good fit, you’ll receive the next steps for confirming your spot.

An un/learning journey invites you to step beyond conventional ways of knowing and into a deeper, more embodied experience of learning. It weaves together personal reflection, cultural immersion, and relational practices that challenge assumptions and open new ways of being.

The journey will include a 4 days mountain hike at high altitudes ranging from 3000 to 4700 meters above sea level, requiring good physical conditioning and stamina. Participants should expect to walk across diverse and sometimes challenging terrain and spend long hours in natural environment with varying temperatures (as low as 23°F during the night).

No prior experience is needed—only a willingness to engage with the journey’s practices and an openness to exploration.

Once confirmed, you’ll receive a preparation guide with packing tips, recommended readings, and reflective prompts to help you arrive with intention.

Faculty & the Team:

Adriana Cârnu

Passionate explorer of life’s intricate processes, from the mysteries of birth and death to the ebb and flow of social dynamics that weave the fabric of human connection. She walks a path of deep inquiry, dedicated to creating spaces where people can come together to reflect, feel, and envision ways to honor and defend communities in all its forms. Seeing this as part of a broader, planetary movement for relational, ecological, and ontological harmony, Adriana is committed to fostering a world of interconnection and coexistence. Drawing inspiration from the idea of a pluriverse—a “world where many worlds fit”—she seeks to engage in collective practices that nourish community, memory, and shared responsibility. Adriana is a seeker of spaces informed by love, awareness, and a commitment to healing. Their work spans the realms of land and territory, intimacy and relationships, labor and livelihood—an ongoing pilgrimage toward wholeness, justice, and renewal.

Ana Marica

Romanian community weaver, facilitator, and learning designer exploring how knowledge is woven across cultures, ecologies and ways of being. She has spent the past eight years researching and connecting with global projects that reimagine learning through self-directed, co-created practices. Co-founder of Digital Romads, a consultancy supporting communities and organizations in transparent, self-managed collaboration, she is also involved in the Făgăraș Research Institute and @Home in Făgăraș - initiatives rooted in Transylvania that foster regenerative local ecosystems. In the journey she will support overall organization, co-design of the experience and in-person hosting - holding space for reflection, connection, and transformation.

Benigno Robles

Guardian of the Teenek Ceremonial Center of Tamaletom, linguist who positions the ancestral knowledge that the grandparents and grandmothers have protected. Founder of a meeting space between the indigenous Teenek wisdom and the curiosity of the youth who find in their tradition a way of living the present and future well woven with their history.

Bernardo Sánchez Lapuente

Traveler, artist, world-crosser, bridge-builder. Father of two daughters, social anthropologist, pedagogue of play, visual creator, process companion, attentive observer of emerging curiosities. Apprentice of unlearning. Based in Latin America and Germany, he participates in various projects whose common denominator is the intention to unlearn, to generate community processes and collective creation. Through the facilitation of spaces for integration, word circles, songs, games and other magical ingredients, Bernardo creates impulses that help groups generate intimate narratives of what is being experienced both at a collective and an individual level. His presence and facilitation invite reflections that help participants understand what they are experiencing as a space of resonance available to make audible the transforming whisper of the journey.

Gerardo López-Amaro

Co-founder of the Enlivened Cooperative, is currently walking the path of autonomous education with the task of imagining spaces of encounter for thinking-feeling together about ways to strengthen the defense of life, memory and territory. He sees this as part of a planetary struggle for cognitive, relational and ontological justice. He is purposefully becoming entangled in a great “we” of people enacting the pluriverse, that “world where many worlds fit.” Born and raised in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, he’s a pilgrim of viable spaces informed by politics of love and consciousness regarding the healing of land and territory, love and intimacy, and labor and livelihood.

How to Apply?

To apply for this journey, please click on the button.

Upon application, we will get back to you via e-mail with additional questions and/or information.