Roberto Alencar Zuazo is a native Aymara Elder, storyteller, artisan, activist, author and educator, from a tiny village in the Amazon Rainforest. He grew up in the
traditional way with his family. His Grandfather was an Amauta, a Spiritual Healer, and his Father is a Native historian, Amazonian wisdom keeper, and River Pilot, expert in
traditional environmental knowledge and the Amazon ecosystem. Roberto, at the age of eighteen, became a jungle guide and cultural interpreter for European scientific expeditions into
the Amazon.
Amazon Arts School
From soundcloud.com - March 15, 9:34 PM
As a result, he now speaks eight European languages and several Indigenous tongues. He has also taught Environmental knowledge, Amazonian lore, healing medicine and the use of herbs. Along with his sister Auxiliadora, a well-known activist and artist, he co-founded the first “Amazon Arts School” to revive aboriginal art and provide ongoing income for native artists. They taught traditional arts, woodcarving, pottery and mask making. Roberto has organized ethnographic exhibitions of Amazon traditional arts and workshops on Amazonian Spiritual Healing. Nearly two decades ago he came to Canada and was later granted Canadian citizenship. Presently, he is beginning the process of publishing seventeen traditional stories and accounts of his experiences growing up in a remote Amazon Jungle village.