I sat in ceremony with Ricardo twice and also did my own ceremonies there. I have known him for five years and believe he is good person. AST is very good with screening and follow up and I have seen many people grow and have profound healing there.

In regard to the negative posts:

I don’t think there is a facilitator out there that does not have a participant enter a fear realm and see them as a black magic shaman or a demon, or see demons in the space, if they do this work long enough. It is unfortunate for all involved when this happens, but is also how the medicine sometimes works. Medicines often amplify our fears and shadows. I am very sympathetic to any participant that experiences this and also don’t want to negate their experience. Their experience is very real to them and it should not be taken lightly. It’s always important for participants to follow up with someone they trust to help them work through this. With the right integration specialist, often people who have these experiences are able to dig deeper and eventually see the silver linings and what the medicine was trying to show them. There are most definitely black magic shamans out there, but in knowing Ricardo for five years, I have never seen any evidence of this myself.

I do not know about the story that is posted about Ricardo not being a true Taita, but I can say with confidence that he holds a safe space and the space holders are experienced and competent and care very much. Ricardo has demonstrated to me, through his knowledge of medicines as well as how he responds to people in ceremonies, that he has a wealth of experience with medicine.

I gave this a four-star review only because I don’t think any place can ever do anything perfectly. There is not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to ceremonies, and I personally just prefer the Peruvian style of Ayahuasca, but I know of many people who enjoy his ceremonies and return regularly.
A “very good” ceremony to me is a safe ceremony where participants feel safe in the space. Some people may have challenging ceremonies, or not like the facilitator or the structure of the ceremony, but they do not leave with more trauma or feel they have been harmed in some way.