Puma Singona was the leader featured in 4REAL Peru. When he was six years old, he went swimming one day in a river and was struck by lightening. In the Andes, where Puma grew up, getting struck by lightening represents initiation, a sign that the person is ready to be trained to be a healer.

Under his grandf...

Puma Singona was the leader featured in 4REAL Peru. When he was six years old, he went swimming one day in a river and was struck by lightening. In the Andes, where Puma grew up, getting struck by lightening represents initiation, a sign that the person is ready to be trained to be a healer.

Under his grandfather’s guidance, Puma began his training as a medicine man immediately. By age fifteen, he was traveling to international conferences to speak about Peruvian Quechua traditions and culture.

Today, at 27, he sits on his community’s council of elders, runs Cusi Huayna—a cultural organization that teaches tradition to Quechua youth—and is internationally recognized for his powerful healing and teachings.

“For our young people, when there is a strong feeling of where they come from then wherever they go they become leaders,” says Puma. “It is who they are and where they come from that matters the most.”

Puma is also the founder of WILLCA, a cultural and healing center for youth in Chinchero, Peru.