 are the strongest varieties and are Indigenous to this continent! The large leaves of the Smoking Tabaco are dried or rolled up and dried for use within the Munanso/ Bateys, within the Sacred Fire, within Ceremony as direct offerings to the Ancestors and to the Misterios!
We remove the leaves from the stalks. Some of the stalks are 2 inches in diameter and very tough! The leaves vary in size and also vary in size year to year depending on the amount of rain we get. This year the leaves were on the small side due to the droughts we had this year. They are still large leaves though!
We do wear gloves to handle the Tabaco during this process because as one handles the Tabaco the nicotine within it will leach out and be absorbed by the skin. Too much nicotine can cause sickness, which is also why we do not allow any children to be involved in a hands on way in this process. Once the Tabaco is dried this is no longer a concern. The Tabaco can also be irritating to the skin for people who are very sensitive to it.
We roll the Tabaco up into bundles which dry out and are then used, this is also a way to save space because from our relatively small Tabaco garden we harvest a significant amount of Tabaco. If we were to bundle all the Tabaco we would have hundreds of bundles. We bundle some of it and dry the rest in loose leaf form.
A full basket of bundles is ready to be taken indoors to where it can dry without direct sunlight or rain.
This container is full of growing tips of the Tobacco which were not appropriate for the bundles, it also dries and is used.
This box is full of seeds and some dried leaves, the seeds are in the little round seed pods. One seed pod literally contains hundreds of tiny seeds. We save the seed for next year.
Even the stalks are saved and utilized for spiritual purposes. We also save the roots. We do not waste any part of the plant and we honor and respect the whole process. As Tabaqueros we understand the Sacredness of this plant and we also understand the abuse of this plant and how the Spirit has rebelled on so many creating much disease! We do not smoke recreationally at all, it is only Ceremonially and bulk of the Tobacco is burned directly for the benefit, strengthening and enriching of the Ancestors!!! Again, we understand that we are blessed to be able to have the space, the Land to grow the Tabaco. We are blessed and grateful to the Misterios who have enable us to manifest "Mundo Nuevo" where we can connect once again to our Roots and to the fullness of our Traditions, and where we expand our understanding of Palo and Taino with the blessings of the Misterios and the Ancestors!
Simply awesome. I am so thrilled to see the pictures and read the text. Thank you, thank you. I have learned so very much from you. I bless you for that.
You are welcome, you are welcome! My Family and I are truly blessed to have you connected to us spiritually! We return the blessings unto you and yours!
MUY INTERESANTE SUS ACOTACIONES.Creo que esta haciendo un trabajo muy bonito.Nzambianpungo le de la posibilidad de continua.Al leer sus comentarios sobre los inquizis y referirsea ellos como MIsterio,me recuerda a mi TAta,me pregunto si usted tiene consagraciones en Palo Haitiano?UMÆ (oder Umae) ist ein internationales, ein interkontinentales Projekt, das von dem Kanadier Anthony Cliplef (Gitarre, Gesang) und dem Isländer Guðjón Sveinsson (Gitarre, Bass, Programming, Gesang) geleitet wird. Die beiden haben sich übrigens bei einer Veranstaltung namens Cruise to the Edge kennengelernt. 
Um ihre Vorstellungen von ihrem Debütalbum adäquat umzusetzen haben Cliplef und Sveinsson siebzehn Gastmusiker und Gastmusikerinnen verpflichtet. Darunter sind einige in der Musik-Szene einigermaßen bekannte Namen, wie John Wesley (Porcupine Tree, Fish), Adam Holzmann (unter anderem Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Steven Wilson), Conner Green (Haken) und Eric Gilette (Neil Morse Band).
„Lost in the View“ präsentiert eine derart enorme stilistische Bandbreite, dass jemand auf die Idee kommen könnte, darüber zu lästern, der Albumtitel sei in der Hinsicht Programm, dass es ganz leicht ist, dort den Überblick zu verlieren. Damit ist es auch sehr schwer, auf „Lost in the View“ den berühmten roten Faden zu finden. Trotzdem ist die Qualität der Darbietungen, der Aufnahmen und der Kompositionen für meine Begriffe über alle Zweifel erhaben. Wenn als Einführung schon ein zweiminütiges symphonisch arrangiertes Stück („Recrudescence“) dient, das sich wie eine sparsam orchestrierte Meditation für Mellotronflöten und Mandolinen anhört, dann beginnt man lansam zu ahnen, das Album ist nichts für Leute mit einer kurzen Aufmerksamkeitsspanne.
Völlig überraschend und maximal kontrastierend folgt darauf der rockende Prog von „Turn back time“, wie man den vielleicht von Spock’s Beard, oder von Neal Morse erwarten würde, außerdem noch mit einem an Rush erinnernden Gitarrenriff versehen. Bemerkenswert die Teile des Stückes, in denen sich John Wesley und Hulda Kristín Kolbrúnardóttir den Gesang teilen.
In eine ähnliche Kerbe wie „Turn back time“ schlagen auch „Hold on“, „Let go“ und „Losing Grip“. Allerdings sind nicht alle davon mit Rush-ähnlichen Riffs ausgestattet, sondern eher in ihrer US-Prog-Ausrichtung vergleichbar. Vermutlich werden nicht alle Rockfans davon begeistert sein, dass nach dem griffigen Progrock-Thema aus „Hold on“ unvermittelt ein Solostück für die akustische Gitarre wird.  Manchmal gibt es beides in einem einzigen Stück zu hören.
  Die Projektleiter scheinen solche Stilbrüche zu genießen.
Im Lieferumfang von „Lost in the View“ wären noch folgende Schätzchen: der temporeiche Artrock von „Echo“, der funkig-flotte Progrock von „Running Away“, der (mit einem Steve Hackett-Gedächtnis-Solo und den feurigen Saxsolos aufwartende) Folk-Artrock von „Drift", die folkig-melancholische Ballade von „Shame“ und die auf einem solchen Album doch erstaunlichen mathrockig-djentigen Gitarrenfiguren von „Losing Grip“.
We are UMÆ; an international progressive rock outfit formed in 2017, consisting of members Anthony Cliplef (guitar, vocals), Guðjón Sveinsson (vocals, guitar) and Samy-George Salib (drums).
Our debut release, Lost in the View, is a concept album featuring a wide range of performing personnel, including vocalist John Wesley (Porcupine Tree), keyboardist Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Steven Wilson) and bassist Conner Green (Haken).
After meeting and performing together at a music festival in February 2017, Anthony flew from Canada to Iceland to begin collaborating with Guðjón. Demos to the full album were soon formed and forwarded to Samy, who subsequently performed drums on all tracks. Upon realizing the scope of the project, we enlisted the additional performers needed to see our vision through. The recording process took place at a range of locations, including Revolution Recording, Sundlaugin Studios, Stúdíó Sýrland, as well as various home studios.
Go on a cruise, form a band. Yes, it can happen to you, it can happen to me. And it happened to UMÆ. The annual progressive rock cruise Cruise to the Edge attracts a couple thousand passengers each year, and inevitably many of them are musicians. Some of them, very fine musicians. Part of the Cruise features a passenger-led Late Night Live experience where cruisers play progressive rock classics together, sometimes with as much or more passion than the marquee bands booked on the ship. It was there that the seeds for UMÆ‘sexistence were planted, as two guitarists, vocalists and songwriters – Guðjón Sveinsson (from Iceland) and Anthony Cliplef (from Brandon, Manitoba) – teamed up with drummer Sam