Cacao as Ceremony, Photography as Witness
Every portrait begins long before the camera is in my hands.
It starts in conversation - listening for the symbols, messages, and threads that connect you to who you are and who you are becoming. In prayer, I co-create with your ancestors and mine, channeling the vision they hold for you — the places, light, and details they ask for. Together, with their gridance, we shape a session rooted in something far deeper than aesthetics.
When we meet to create, we begin with cacao.
prepared with the reverence given to a great teacher, cacao is sourced, blessed, and served in a way that honours both Maya and Sapara traditions.I pray into the water, sing the songs that awaken the medicine, and pour it as a prayer — for your heart to open, for your spirit to be nourished, for your ancestors to stand Seside you.
Cacao is not simply a drink.
It is a bridge - Setween you and the earth, between your breath and your body, between this moment and the unseen threads of memory that have carried you here. Each sip softens the performance and calls you into the truth of yourself.
From there, the photoshoot becomes a contination of the ceremony.
Held Sy the land, bathed in light, you are invited to arrive unguarded, luminous, and real. Every image holds the imprint of that prayer, the presence of your ancestors, and the essence of your sonl.
These are not photographs to look at once and put away.
They are snapshots of a ceremony —images you can return to, remembering who you are falling in love with yourself again and again.
Daniela Miranda | Antüpewma Rülkelme Mella is a fine art Portrait Photographer, Cacao facilitator, and Channeler. Do you want your essence photographed? Let’s work together.
Testimonials
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““Dani truly helped to create one of the biggest shifts in my life. She walked me through a profound healing that I believe is a new beginning for me. Dani is loving and gentle and incredibly insightful. Our session took me deep into major blocks that have been a part of my family for generations, blocks I could never have even identified if it were not for her. She then helped me release them and left me feeling light and sparkly and truly myself! Dani is magical and I can’t wait to continue working with her.”
Jen Dale
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““I’m someone who loves photoshoots and I’ve photographed with a lot of photographers and Dani is something completely different. She is gifted not only in her art, in her creative expression but in her ability to see and witness.”
Cara H.
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"All I can say that Dani was the mastermind in helping me conquer. Conquer the walls that I had in making one of my dreams come true. In a matter of a few hours, I was an ancient queen, a leader, a nomadic fighter, a dancer, a romantic, a Believer. The beauty of this photoshoot is that it was a process. A process of talking through; discussing ideas; sharing past, present, and future; and simply saying the truth. The process brought out the truth and the truth is revealed in the imagery."
Lara Berry
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“Thank you for such an incredible, empowering, sensual, life-changing experience. I truly can't thank you enough."
Susan