2023
January 8, 10 am to Noon, Pacific Time. Ways of Being a Good Relative. Join Maestra Grace for a heart-to-heart talk on how to conduct oneself appropriately when visiting elders, traditional healers, teachers, and Indigenous communities. Past participants have written to say how this class deepened their understanding of ways to reconnect respectfully with their Indigenous heritage. Others, that hearing how colonialism has affected all of us, Indigenous, Euro-American, Mexican-Americans, African-Americans -- all our Relatives living on this continent -- motivated them to seek out books with an accurate telling of our shared history and holistic healers courageously set aside time for deep introspection and reflection on how their healing practices could be causing harm to Indigenous people and communities and have begun finding ways to become better allies and best of all: relatives. The class will not be recorded so that we can have a good conversation. The class is 2 hours with the last 30 minutes for Questions & Anwers, offered on a sliding scale: $20-$60. Deadline to register: January 5, 2023. Please click for instructions on how to register.

February 19, 2023, 9:30 to 10:30 am PT. Cafecito & Plática with Maestra Grace via Zoom.
This platica will kick off monthly cafecitos to continue our conversations around Indigenous etiquette, reconnecting with cultural ways, menstruation protocols, and curanderismo in general — your questions will help guide our plática. Click here for details and how to register.

March 25, 2023, 9:30 to 10:30 am Pacific Time, Cafecito with Maestra Grace on Zoom.
This platica will kick off monthly cafecitos to continue our conversations around Indigenous etiquette, reconnecting with cultural ways, menstruation protocols, and curanderismo. Click here for details and how to register.

April 23, 2023, 10:00 am to 11:00 am Pacific Time, Cafecito with Maestra Grace on Zoom
 

September 10, 2023, 9:30 to 10:45 am Pacific Time, Cafecito with Maestra Grace on Zoom. Click for details and to register.

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September 16, 2023,  Celebrating Cultura, Ceremony & Resiliency! Aliento and The Center for Latinx Communities at Pepperdine University invite you to an Opening Ceremony with Maestra Grace Alvarez Sesma. We are all related across this continent known as the Americas. Our history is one of shared values of interconnectedness, respect for the earth, love of family, and walking a path of healing to break intergenerational wounds. We are way-showers, seed-keepers, activists, and knowledge-keepers. Today we are reclaiming our identity, language, culture, and sacred connections. Join us as we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, our roots, and the resiliency of ancestors, their descendants, and our vibrant community with prayer, ceremony, and sharing by Maestra Grace Alvarez Sesma. This event is FREE and open to all community members.  Once you register for the event, a Zoom link will be sent to you on Friday, September 15, 2023. See poster for details.

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October 13, 2023, 11 am to Noon, Pacific Time, Mexican Day of the Dead, a Living Tradition. Join Dr. Shamini Jain and Curandera Grace Sesma for a conversation about honoring life and death as the natural cycle of living and sacred ways of remembering our ancestors on Dia dia de Muertos. For details and how to register, visit CHI website.

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October 15, 2023, 9:30  to 10:45 am, Pacific Time, Cafecito with Maestra Grace, monthly cafecitos to continue our conversations around Indigenous etiquette, reconnecting with Indigenous ancestry, Women's medicine, dreaming and dreams, and other Curanderismo and Mexican Indigenous cultural topics. Click for how to register.

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October 17, 2023, 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Restoring the Heart of our Relationships: Racial & Earth Healing. What would it mean to “become indigenous” to the place we are now? How would we live if we were? Our indigenous communities and leaders hold ancient wisdom that offers profound insights into the challenges facing us today. As we navigate the cultural, climate, and ecosystem shifts happening on our planet now, we need to hear the wisdom and insights from these traditions. And, to truly hear and value these insights, we need to continue to heal the racial divisions and wounds in our cultures and communities. In part one of this series, join Host Brenda Salgado as she speaks with Grace Sesma, a Yaqui/Mexican cultural practitioner in the curanderismo tradition. They will share personal stories, talk about the importance of being in connection with Mother Earth right now, and share wisdom about ways we can “become indigenous” to our place and each other. Presented in English with a live Spanish-language interpreter. Co-presented by The New School at Commonweal, Racial Healing Initiative and Retreat Center Collaboration.  To register, visit TNS.

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October 21, 2023, 11 am to 1 pm PT, online platica: Love Never Dies, Life Lessons from Mexican Day of the Dead, hosted by the Consciousness & Healing Institute. Dia de Muertos is more than placing photographs on an altar or painting one’s face like La Catrina. Every aspect of this sacred celebration of life and death has a profound significance that creates a bridge between our world and the Place of the Ancestors. Did you know that Dia de Muertos begins not on November 1 & 2, but much earlier? Join Maestra Grace as she shares the Day of the Dead's history, rituals, observances, and wisdom. Learn how to create your own ofrenda (altar) and how to make offerings to honor your ancestors and this beautiful cultural tradition with respect and an open heart. There will be an opportunity for Q&A at the end of the webinar. Register here

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December 10, 2023, Cafecito, Platica & Guided Meditation, Sunday, 9:30-10:45 am PST on Zoom. Click here for how to register.

 

2024

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January-February 2024,  Whole Health an Ancient Concept in Curanderismo. Cultural Humility/Competency Training for Imperial County Behavioral Health Services clinicians, case managers, and staff.

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Thursday, February 29, 2024, Cultura for Changemakers, FEMME! 2024 Conference & Retreat in San Diego. Visit their website to register.

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Thursday, March 28, 2024, Pasadena City College

Chicano Resource Fair, featuring

Maestra Grace Sesma and Maestro Samuelin Martinez,

Circadian Room CC 130

4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

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Thursday, April 4, 2024,

Healing Our Spirit Talking Circle & Ceremony for

Coalition on MMIWG2S, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. By Invitation.

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New! April 7, 2024, Cafecito with Maestra Grace.

Join Grace for her monthly cafecito for an informal conversation about 

Indigenous protocols, reconnecting with Indigenous ancestry,

Women's medicine, dreaming and dreams, and other

Curanderismo and Mexican Indigenous cultural topics.

Register here for April 7 Cafecito.

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New talks and events coming soon! Private events will not be listed here. Subscribe to Maestra Grace's email list to receive notifications of upcoming online talks and presentations. Announcements of pláticas (talks/lectures) that she hosts are usually sent to subscribers first.