Eduardo Santiago Sumaeta Romaina comes from the community of Puerto Belén del Río Bajo Ucayali, where he lived until the age of 7. At 17, he left for Lima to help support his very humble family, and there he worked for many years before meeting his partner, Eliata, the niece of Maestro Deodomero. Together, they chose to return to their community with the family.
Although his ancestors were all Shipibo shamans, Santiago did not feel drawn to medicine at first. That changed when he met his cousin, Maestro Hernan, and made a decision that transformed his life. He discovered a deep calling to support his family and community through medicinal plants. In 2017, he asked the Maestro for a dieta and spent three months in diet with Jochi Papannete. After completing that process, he continued with 25 medicinal plants prepared for him by Maestro Deodomero. He later completed a three-month diet with the red pioneer plant, albaca, and mapacho.
After these diets, Santiago feels grateful to be a strong and healthy man for medicine and for graduation alongside his three teachers. He is now 36 years old and has five years of experience with ancestral Ayahuasca medicine. He continues learning how to better support many people who truly seek healing. Since last year, he has been living with his wife’s family at the Jochipapanete Center, and he expresses his deepest love and gratitude to Maestro Deodomero.