“My Journey With Maria Sabina” is a portfolio of 30 photos taken in 1982 by Italian photographer Gusmano Cesaretti during a “chance” healing encounter with the Mexican healer.

Maria Sabina (1888-1985) was a healer, curandera, and Shaman who lived her entire life in a modest home in the “Sierra Mazateca” in the state of Oaxaca. Her practice was based on the use of various native species of psilocybin mushrooms which she used in ceremonies to cure hundreds in her community throughout her lifetime. This association with the Psilocybin mushroom resulted in an unlikely late in life counterculture notoriety that brought her into contact with the likes of John Lennon, Bob Dylan, and Mick Jagger.

In recent years, there’s been a push to legalize the use of Psilocybin mushrooms for medicinal use to treat depression and other medical issues in the United States. These have been in use by native cultures throughout the Americas for thousands of years. The audience will experience the photographers personal, healing journey and see why there’s a rising popularity in its medicinal use.