María Apaza Machaca, affectionately known as Mamita María, is the last living Altomisayoc, the highest rank within the Andean priesthood. At 100 years of age, she stands as a living guardian of ancestral wisdom, serving as an intermediary between the human and spiritual worlds through her profound relationship with the Apus & Pachamama, the spirits of the Andes and the Great Cosmic Mother. Chosen from childhood for this spiritual path, Mamita María underwent decisive initiatory trials that sealed her destiny as a Highest Priestess. In 1943, at the age of sixteen, she was struck by lightning while tending her animals in the highlands of Paucartambo, Peru. In Andean cosmology, lightning—known as Illapa—is not merely a natural phenomenon but a sacred force of fire, sound, and rain. This event marked the beginning of her formal initiation through twelve Karpay rites, which strengthened her communication with the Apus and the elemental forces of nature. The tutelary mountains of Cusco, Ausangate and Salkantay, have been her spiritual teachers among others. She learned to communicate with the mountains, heal with rocks, and work with the energies of the different dimensions. Through offerings to Pachamama, coca leaf readings, and Andean ceremonies, she has served her communities by safeguarding health, harmony, fertility of the land, and social balance within the ayllu, the traditional Andean social unit. With generosity and dedication, Mamita María has devoted her life to transmitting this wisdom, training Pampamisayok—practitioners prepared to dialogue with nature and co-create their own ceremonial universe through the Andean Misa. Her teachings preserve a living tradition where knowledge, ritual, and life itself are woven upon the sacred ceremonial altar. Her centennial marks not only a personal milestone, but the enduring strength of an ancestral lineage that continues to guide humanity toward reciprocity, balance, and reverence for the natural world.

Alejandro Apaza – Guardian of Inca Wisdom Alejandro Apaza, a native of Kiko in the Qeros Nation, is recognized as a living legend of Inca knowledge and the last great Chumpi Paqo of his generation. At 68 years old, he is the oldest Qero healer of his lineage, renowned for his ability to transform energy and work as a spiritual alchemist. With over 50 years of experience, Alejandro has dedicated his life to healing, serving both his community and people from around the world. He comes from a long line of Priest and Healers, inheriting ancestral knowledge that has been carefully preserved and transmitted through the Apaza family for centuries. Alejandro’s father Santos Apaza and mother Sebastiana Machaca were farmers and healers dedicated to helping their community with ceremonies for improving agriculture. The important events they participated in included weddings, solstices, harvests, ceremonies to heal sick members of the communities, practicing Inca medicine, and also protection rituals. From a young age, Alejandro traveled with his father, Santos Apaza, supporting the spiritual and physical well-being of communities across Southern Peru. Before his father passed, Alejandro was entrusted with the sacred mission of maintaining and transmitting the family’s healing lineage. His work centers on the use of Chumpis—a unique method based on energy nets, prayers, and wisdom stones of alabaster and marble—practices exclusive to his ancestral lineage. Alejandro’s calling emerged at age 16, when a serious illness revealed his spiritual path. Guided by the coca leaf oracle and the energies of the Earth and mountains, he received his first initiation from his father and began the lifelong journey to become a Pampa Mesayoq, a master healer and spiritual guide.