Guillermo Arévalo Valera is a Shipibo curandero or medicine man, descended from a long generation of healers of the Shipibo Conibo indigenous Amazonian people.
His father Don Benito Arévalo was a very well known and respected healer in his community of Pucallpa, descended from a Shipibo and an Aymara indigenous tribe.
His mother doña Maria Valera is originally from a small Shipibo community of the alto Ucayali River. Today she supports his work with her wide knowledge of the ethnobotany and preparation of remedies, in particular perfumes and plants for protection, a knowledge that is traditionally kept by women.
Guillermo was initially educated in his indigenous community, surrounded by a tradition of healers, ayahuasqueros and medicine men. However, it wasn’t until after having been educated as a nurse in western medicine that he decided to initiate himself in the shamanic field. Guillermo was particularly moved in seeing his people (especially women and children), avoiding the use of traditional remedies when ill and he could see that the old traditions were starting to become lost.
Rather than following in the footsteps of any one Master, Guillermo undertook a year-long retreat under his own supervision in the jungle. Here, in total isolation, he learned the secrets of communicating with spirits, as well as the proper preparation of medicinal plants. His knowledge was particularly facilitated by the teachings of Master plants, in particular ajo sacha. In the late 80’s, after his year-long isolation, he returned to human society and began his work as a medicine man.
Throughout his life he has dedicated himself to the dissemination of Traditional Shipibo healing techniques, working as a practitioner but also, in the promotion of numerous projects and publications. He is one of the founders of the AMETRA organization (Aplicacion de la Medicina Tradicional) and has participated in many conferences in Europe and North America.
Today, Guillermo Arévalo, also known as Kestenbetsa or ‘echo of the universe’ is considered a Master healer by the Shipibo-Conibo as well as to westerners all around the world.
He leads now a shamanic healing center near the city of Iquitos where people from all over the world come to receive healing and teachings from him and his disciples.
Bibliography:
Arévalo Valera, Guillermo, 1984, Medicina traditional: conceptos tradicionales en relación con enfermedades, Causa Indígena (Lima), I(4):7-8.
Arévalo Valera, Guillermo, 1985, El ayahuasca y el curandero shipibo-conibo del Ucayali, Serie Amazonía: Shipibo-Conibo N°1, Instituto Indigenísta Peruano, Lima.
Arévalo Valera, Guillermo, 1986, El ayahuasca y el curandero shipibo-conibo, América Indígena, XLVI(1):147-151. [Written by a Shipibo scholar and herbalist; see Hansson et al.]
Arevalo Valera, Guillermo, 1994, Las plantas medicinales y su beneficio en la salud Shipibo-Conibo, Lima: Aidesep.
