About Us
About the Facilitators:
Dara Freire
Dara has been practicing Umbanda since childhood and has studied and trained at the Umbanda Temple of São Sebastião in Brazil for the past 18 years. She received initiations in the Umbanda tradition and has expanded her studies to the USA, Europe, and Canada.
Dara has also spent time in the Amazon with native communities to deepen her knowledge of sacred medicines. She is an actress with expertise in Brazilian cultural movements, rhythms, and dances. Dara is a Curimbeira (ceremonial drummer) who plays the Atabaque drum, a sacred devotional instrument for the Orisha divinities. She founded WindDrums Afro Brazilian Rhythms, an international initiative to promote the music of the tradition. Currently, Dara graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies.
Camila Vasquez
Camila, the daughter of Babalorixá Adolfo Pxanticosusque, was born into the Umbanda tradition at the Umbanda Temple of São Sebastião in Brazil. From a young age, she studied to be a Curimbeira, playing a vital role in ceremonies by playing the Atabaque drum, a sacred devotional instrument for the Orisha divinities.
About Umbandaime:
Umbandaime is a ritualistic tradition that combines the practices of Umbanda and Santo Daime through the consecration of the Queen of the Forest, Ayahuasca. This union merges the rituals of Umbanda with the consecration of Santo Daime, blending indigenous wisdom with the teachings of the sacred drink and the ancestral wisdom of the Orishas.
Originating in the early 1900s during the Spiritist movement in Brazil, Umbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion that seeks to deepen the connection with the healing light of the Orishas by incorporating the sacred drink Ayahuasca into its practice. It emphasizes the communion of all energies of nature (Orishas), aiming to recognize and balance these energies within and around us harmoniously.
Through Umbanda, individuals strive for balance within themselves and with others, bringing healing to humanity and extending it to all beings in nature. In Umbandaime ceremonies, the sacred drink Ayahuasca is served to open and expand consciousness, providing clarity, insight, and amplifying prayers internally and externally in communion with the whole.
