If you spend a few days in San Marcos La Laguna, you may hear the name Keith. Keith Wilson, known as "the Chocolate Shaman," is the founder of Keith's Cacao. His company credits him as the catalyst of the modern ceremonial-cacao movement.
Who he is
According to the company's own account, written by its CEO Rick Wessels, Keith began his work "twenty years ago," in answer to what the company calls the call of the cacao spirit. The mission, as the company tells it, was to return ceremonial cacao to a world that had forgotten it. The account does not give Keith's birthplace, his age or the exact year he began.
Wessels says he first arrived in San Marcos La Laguna in 2016, when there was very little cacao culture in the village.
What the company says about his legacy
The company describes Keith as the "father" of a community of healers and cacao practitioners. It says that more than 30 people work for the company and that more than 600 "Keith's Cacao Practitioners" work worldwide. It also says that many of the competitors that have appeared in recent years were trained by Keith himself. The company ships cacao from warehouses on several continents and offers trainings, live and recorded ceremonies, and a wholesale program. According to the company, Keith stopped routine in-person ceremonies during the 2020 pandemic, and the article does not say whether he has started again.
These are the company's statements about itself, not independently checked facts.
The other side
Not everyone agrees about the movement. A 2020 article in Dismantle magazine argued that the business turns a "decontextualized Mayan spirituality" into a product. It quoted a Maya spiritual guide who said cacao is not native to the lake and that "shamans" are an imported idea, and it described tension between the Kaqchikel community and the foreigners who have come to dominate the tourist economy in San Marcos. According to the same article, Keith has said, in response to concerns about appropriation, that he asks the cacao spirit for guidance about his intentions.
We include this because a guide that only praised the movement would not be honest. We are not here to settle it. We offer it so that you can decide, with open eyes, how you want to take part.
What this means for a visitor
- If you want to join a cacao ceremony in San Marcos, choose a facilitator who is open about their training, their sourcing and their prices.
- If you want to learn about Maya cacao traditions themselves, go to the Maya: visit a Maya-led cultural project, buy cacao and chocolate directly from cooperatives, and listen first.
For the wider picture, read the cacao section of our Wellness chapter.
We have not spoken with Keith for this page. If you are Keith or part of his team and want to correct or add to it, write to info@casakula.com.