For $1,825 U.S. or 36,000 Mexican pesos, your festival entrance ticket includes the following:
- A major donation towards Romayne Wheeler’s work providing healthcare, education, and food for the Rarámuri community
- Exclusive attendance at concerts at the Eagle’s Nest in the festival site, in which you will listen to world-class musicians perform chamber music in front of floor-to-ceiling windows showing the spectacular, 2-kilometer-deep Batopilas Canyon
- Exclusive and rare participation in a traditional Rarámuri party
- Tours of the clinic and school that Romayne’s music-making built, as well as key sites such as the Eagle’s Nest, Bell Garden, and the Look-out, and Romayne’s Cave
- Conversations about music, philosophy, and Rarámuri culture with Romayne Wheeler and the musicians
- Unparalleled hiking with experienced Rarámuri guides
- Enjoying delectable gourmet Mexican wines, beers, and mezcal
- Simple, delicious Mexican food at the festival site
- Accommodation at the festival site at the rustic, charming Stone House (communal room, full shared bathroom) or the modern Clinic (private room, full shared bathroom)
- Roundtrip airfare between Chihuahua and the festival site via small plane on Aero Coconor
- Accommodation in Chihuahua for the night before the festival at a comfortable hotel close to the airport, given the early departure time for the festival site
- Ground transportation within Chihuahua (city) between the airport and your hotel
Your ticket does NOT include:
- Meals in Chihuahua (city)
- Expenses incurred due to itinerary changes caused by any decision made by Aero Coconor (see below)
- Your arrival to Chihuahua (city)
- Mexican visa (please note that Mexico does not require a tourist visa for citizens of the USA and many other countries)
A Note about Logistics and Risks
Aero Coconor may decide at the last minute that they are unable to fly. This decision will be based entirely on the strength of winds in the Sierra Tarahumara, given the small size of their planes, and will stem from their concern for your safety. Because this is a safety-related decision, the festival and its organizers have no influence on it: we trust Aero Coconor to make the right decision. If Aero Coconor should need to cancel the flight, the festival will work with Aero Coconor to re-schedule it for the following day, in the hope that wind conditions will change. Therefore, the festival asks members of the public to purchase a flexible ticket, allowing for last-minute changes, for their post-festival departure from Chihuahua. Please note that Aero Coconor strictly enforces the 10-kilogram weight limit for baggage. This is for your safety.
The Sierra Tarahumara as a mountain range has become a home for narco-trafficking. However, the Sierra Tarahumara is enormous, and people involved in the drug trade do not generally come anywhere near the region of the festival. The festival organizers consider the security risk posed by narco-traffickers to range between extremely low and nonexistent, particularly in light of Romayne Wheeler’s four decades living at the festival site.
Attendance at the festival is limited to exactly six people total; for logistical reasons imposed by Aero Coconor, the festival cannot accommodate fewer or more than six people, all of whom must be at least 18 years of age. Members of the public must respect Rarámuri culture, must understand that conditions in the Sierra Tarahumara are not luxurious, and must accept that such amenities as television, cellphone coverage, paved roads, vehicles, restaurants, and stores are almost entirely absent. The presence of the security officials of the federal government of Mexico and the state government of Chihuahua is almost nonexistent within a huge distance of the festival site. Members of the public should be physically fit and understand that the festival takes place at the edge of a canyon of mind-numbing depth. Existing footpaths should be respected.
Limited internet access via WiFi is available thanks to a satellite modem at the Eagle’s Nest. Languages spoken at the festival include Tarahumara, Spanish, English, German, French, and Italian. Knowledge of some Spanish is helpful but not required if members of the public can speak another festival language.
Members of the public are advised to download the free WhatsApp application prior to arrival in Chihuahua, if they are not already users. Communication via WhatsApp text message tends to be the most reliable form of communication, particularly while at the festival using the satellite modem.
The cost is $1,825 U.S. or 36,000 Mexican pesos per person. Payment may be made payable to Cultures in Harmony, specifying “Festival Sierra Tarahumara” as the purpose. Cultures in Harmony hopes to have confirmations from the six members of the public no later than two months before initiating the festival.
