Meeting Ixquik Lopez Zavala, the Maker of El Cielo and La Noche Cacao

Meeting Ixquik Lopez Zavala, the Maker of El Cielo and La Noche Cacao

On February 25, 2023, we had a virtual meet-and-greet with Ixquik Lopez Zavala, the leader of the Utz K'aslemal cacao collective.

Utz K'aslemal – which roughly translates to "Good living in a useful existence" – is the trade name of a family from Sololá, just north of Lake Atitlán in the western Highlands of Guatemala.

Led by Ixquik (pronounced "Eesh-keek") Lopez Zavala and her mother Rosalía, the family has given Soul Lift Cacao the great honor of being the sole U.S. distributor of their cacao.

We sell two varieties that they make: La Noche and El Cielo.

And Ixquik is a different kind of community leader, helping to organize cacao farmers in the Alta Verapaz and Quiché regions of Guatemala so that they can stand up to the "coyotes." These are bullies who try to pressure the family farms to sell their cacao at an unfairly low price.

By buying their cacao, you're directly supporting this movement to empower family farms!

We visit Ixquik's family for a ceremony with fire, cacao, and tobacco on our Guatemalan cacao tours.

We now have a 3-part course with Ixquik about the spirituality of cacao in Mayan ceremonies. If you enjoy this interview, please check it out!

p.s. - If you share the video or quote part(s) of it, please credit Nan Ixquik.