Maestro Francisco Huayta is a member of the Shipibo nation from the Pucallpa region of the Peruvian Amazon. He first entered the path of plant medicine through dietary work with plants such as Nihue Rau, Marosa, and Piñon, with the intention of helping people in his community recover from many kinds of illness.
At 70 years old, Don Francisco is a deeply respected elder in his community. He has served as an Onanya, the Shipibo term for an ayahuasca healer, for the past 27 years. His lineage carries generations of ayahuasca practice and traditional plant medicine used within Shipibo culture to protect, strengthen, and heal. This knowledge was handed down to Maestro Francisco by his parents and grandparents. Long before hospitals and Western doctors arrived, these shamanic traditions were the primary way illness was treated among the Shipibo people.
Today, Maestro Francisco is happy to share his wisdom and healing with guests from around the world at Soltara, alongside his wife, Maestra Maricela. He is known for his warm smile, easy laughter, and the deep knowledge of plant medicine and Shipibo cosmology that he generously offers to the community.