the CAST

 

Ah Muzen Cab appears in Mayan art and codices typically with the wings of a bee, outstretched in the process of either landing or taking off. This is why he's believed to be the "Descending God" or the "Diving God." In Tulum, Mexico, you will find the Temple of the Descending God; archaeologists believe Ah Muzen Cab was the patron of Tulum.

The Orchid Tree near K'aax Itzà is the home of hundreds of hummingbirds, but these four are Luna's closest friends. They are all different species and each have their own distinct personality:

Contrary to what scientists will tell you about hummingbird territoriality and fierce fights over flower clusters, these tiny birds are incredibly connected to one another and their displays of ferocity should not color your opinion of them—it's all just part of their feisty personality. After all, they gotta make up for their size somehow! And the next time a hummingbird hovers directly in front of you, try to communicate via thought-line. She—or he—might just answer you.

Don Franciso is the father of Itzel, Juan and Eme, and the son of Doña Victoria and Don Rigoberto. He is also a Daykeeper, a shaman-in-training, a fearless jeep driver, the beekeeper of K'aax Itzà and its co-director. In fact, K'aax Itzà was his idea. It took years but he managed to persuade Jim Petros to put the funds together and set up this unique research station in the middle of the forest.

Max's paternal grandfather. Grandpa Redwood, as the Elder Hammond was affectionately called by Max and his friends, was a great lover and protector of trees, and especially the majestic redwoods of California. Max doesn't know this, but when his Dad, Dr. Hammond, was first born, Grandpa Redwood carved a small hummingbird figurine for his son out of a rare wood he had always carried with him. It was carved from the same piece of wood the native people used to carve the jaguar figurine he would later give to his grandson Max.  Unbeknownst to Max, the hummingbird figurine was lost, and Dr. Hammond has almost forgotten about it.

 

Itzel never tells Max this in the book, but about a year before he and his parents come to K'aax Itzà, she had a recurring dream about a hummingbird boy who would visit the forest and help save the sacred DNA of cacao. That's why she's so stunned when Max starts communicating with Luna the hummingbird—and that's why she knows he's the one.

 

Itzel's Maya birth sign is 13 Ix, the sign of the Jaguar. Her nagual also is, naturally, the Jaguar.

The true lord of the jungle in the Americas is the great Jaguar, and the lord of the jaguars is the elusive Black Jaguar.

The mother of Max, wife to Dr. Hammond, Jane Hammond is an accomplished writer and fundraiser. It is thanks to her untiring efforts and grantwriting skills that her husband is able to travel as extensively as he does for his research; the two are a tight team, although at times too tight—it's the reason why Max is able to slip away into the jungle with Itzel. In her youth Jane secretly wanted to be a chocolate maker.

The no-non sense, straight-talking Jim Petros is an extremely ambitious and accomplished young man. But his ambition is to save the world, not to be a billionaire: only in his early thirties, he has a PhD in sustainable management, served as the Regional Managing Director for Central America at The Nature Conservancy, raised millions of dollars for wildlife conservation programs, and now runs K'aax Itzà as its co-director. He's the perfect complement to Don Francisco: pragmatic, with a keen sense of business and first-hand experience navigating the complicated labyrinth of international politics and free market policies.

Older brother of Itzel and Eme, Juan is a bit of a black sheep in the Bal'am family. As the eldest child, he has been the most affected by their mother's constant absence, an absence worsened by the constant burden of his Maya birth number, the volatile Number Three.

K'uk'u'um K'an is arguably the most enigmatic and mythic creature in Mesoamerican mythology. Known more popularly as Quetzalcoatl (Aztec) or the Feathered Serpent, this deity embodies the very DNA of creation

Jasaw Chan K'awiil I, also known as Lord Cacao and Moon Double Comb, became the 26th ruler of Tik'al in 682 AD. He was the son of Nuun Ujol Chaak and Lady Jaguar Seat. During his 52-year reign, he restored the former glory and power of the city. His queen was Lady Kalajuun Une' Mo' (aka Twelve Macaw) and his son was Yik'in Chan K'awiil (although this was not the infant son in the story Itzel tells Max).

 

Temple I in Tik'al, also known as the Temple of Ah Cacao or the Temple of the Great Jaguar, is in fact a funerary pyramid dedicated to Lord Cacao. Remember this the next time you travel to Tik'al... and have some hot Maya chocolate to honor his people's legacy.

 

Here's an illustration of Luna, done by our wonderful artist Luba (funny how similar their names are!).

 

Do you know what your spirit guide is?  Hint... you first have to find out your Maya birth sign.

Doña María is the heart and soul of K'aax Itzà. Translation: she keeps the entire place well stocked and well fed. She knows all of the old recipes by heart; where to get the freshest fruits and herbs; and when to pick what plants and roots. And, she's the one person you don't want to get in trouble with; lest you get served stale plantains for breakfast.

Max is a fun-loving, fact-hunting eleven-year-old who loves science more than almost anything else in the world. The "anything else" that trumps science, at least for Max, is the magic of Nature. And when he meets Itzel, he very willingly trades his data-heavy scientific world for the real deal: animals he can communicate with, mythic deities that come to life, and the very DNA of the origins of food unfurling before his eyes.

 

Max travels the world with his parents (Robert and Jane Hammond) as they study different beekeeping cultures. These incredible adventures have a price, however: it's hard to keep a lot of steady friends at school. His best bud back home is Claude, who understands him more than any of his peers.

 

Max's Maya birth sign is 13 Ik', the sign of the Wind. His nagual is the Hummingbird, embodied by Luna.

Don Rigoberto is the enigmatic shaman that conducts the fire ceremonies at K'aax Itzà. He is also the father of Don Francisco and grandfather to Itzel and Juan. He understands and speaks Spanish but much prefers his people's native tongue, Itzà Maya.

Max's father, and an esteemed bee researcher from a top university in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Hammond has a peculiar obsession with dark green socks, which he takes with him on all of his research trips. They're his good luck socks, according to him. His main obsession, however, are the bees. His single-minded goal in life is not only to get to the bottom of colony collapse disorder, but to bring back all species of bees into a healthy balance once again. This naturally means he's likely to make some powerful enemies.

He doesn't know it in the first book, but his Maya birth sign is Ben, whose nagual is the Bee.

The Twin Elders appear out of seemingly nowhere the night of the ceremony at the Sacred Cacao Tree. One of them—called the Limping Twin Elder in the book—limps, a condition he has had since early childhood due to a snake bite—one that should have killed him. But the fact he survived suggests he has great spiritual powers, not to mention a tough physical constitution.

Doña Victoria is the wife of Don Rigoberto, mother of Itzel's mother, and grandmother of Itzel, Juan and Eme. She is trained in the old Mayan healing ways and often serves as a mid-wife to the surrounding Maya villages. On top of that she gives the children of K'aax Itzà nature lessons, teaching them all about the forest and the cacao grove.

 

Doña Victoria's Maya birth sign is also 13 Ik', just like Max. But because she is much older, and therefore wiser and more experienced in life than Max, she's able to communicate with all hummingbirds, not just her own personal nagual.