Cristina Ochoa

Category: CEremony

  • Praying For Corn Ceremonies

    Exposition name: Praying For Corn Ceremonies
    Location: Tlaxcala & Nexquiquiapan, Texcoco. 
    Date: 2021 -2022

    Description: As part of an ongoing research project on rituals and ceremonies rooted in the Indigenous cultures of Anahuac, I have actively participated in various sacred practices, including temazcal ceremonies and health brigades organized by Zapatista communities. This fieldwork has taken place primarily in the heartlands of Mexico, specifically in Tlaxcala, Nexquiquiapan, and Texcoco. Through these immersive experiences, I have been learning directly from the guardians of ancestral nahual knowledge. Central to this research is the act of “praying for corn,” a powerful expression of political, physical, and spiritual resistance—a struggle for food and medicinal justice led by those who have inherited millennia-old traditions. This work weaves together activism and spirituality, honoring corn not only as a vital crop but as a sacred being deeply tied to identity, territory, and survival.

  • PSYCHOTROPICAL COCKTAILS (PHARMAKON)

    Exposition name: PHARMAKON: PSYCHOTROPICAL COCKTAILS
    Location: Nina Menocal Gallery, Arafura’s Garden, IMSS Restaurant.
    In collaboration with: Chef Ramses Manek 
    Date: 2021 – 2022

    Description: The Psychotropical Cocktails project unfolded across several key venues in Mexico City throughout 2021, merging artistic experimentation with botanical rituals. At Arafura’s Garden in July, as part of a curatorial residency program, preparations began with cocktails and foods infused with psychotropical plants grown onsite. Later, in November, the project took form within the exhibition Nuevo Verdor at Nina Menocal Gallery, featuring signature drinks such as Cuba Libre (lulo and coca leaf with rum and soda), Blue Hummingbird – Huitzilopochtli (tequila with psilocybin mushrooms from San Isidro), and No Fear (pericón and mezcal with damiana and orange juice). Earlier in April, in collaboration with chef Ramses Manek, the experience also extended to a one-night event at IMSS Restaurant, where a curated menu of entheogenic recipes and psychotropical cocktails further explored the intersection of taste, plants, and expanded states of perception.

    Cocktails Menu:

    – Cuba libre: Lulo and coca leafs with Rum and soda.
    – Blue hummingbird Huitzilopochtli: Tequila and Psilocibe Mushrooms, San isidro .
    – No fear: Pericón and mezcal with damiana and orange juice.

  • Steyregg-Festival der Regionen

    PHOTO: Cristina Ochoa 2023

    Exposition name: Steyregg-Festival Austria 2023
    Location: Steyregg-Festival, Vienna
    Date: 2023

    Description: Cristina Ochoa connects questions surrounding species extinction with herbalism and pharmacy, engaging with cultural myths and ceremonies as well as their interpretation and assimilation within communities. Her practice draws upon her academic background in fine art, cultural management, copyright, and Mexican art history, which she studied in Colombia and Mexico.

    Related external articles:

    – Steyregg-Festival Austria 2023
    https://fdr.at/en/project/die-zukunft-beginnt-heute/