THE TRADITION
A Living Tradition, Carried Across Generations
The traditions shared at Quechua Spirit Healing Retreat are not created for the retreat, nor are they presented as performance.
They come from a living Andean tradition carried through family, community, ceremony, relationship with the land, and years of practice.
At the heart of this tradition is the paqo—a practitioner trained in Andean spiritual and ceremonial practices. Within this worldview, wisdom is not separated from everyday life. Relationship with Pachamama, the sacred mountains, family, community, and the natural world forms part of the practice itself.
For Don Agustin Machacca Florez, this path is also a family inheritance.
THE PAQO TRADITION
A Path of Service
The term paqo is used for a practitioner of Andean spiritual and ceremonial traditions.
The teachings described by Don Agustin emphasize bringing three dimensions of life into relationship:
Munay — love and heart-centered intention
Yachay — knowledge and wisdom
Ll’anqay — work, action, and embodied practice
Rather than treating spirituality as something separate from life, these principles invite a person to bring heart, understanding, and action into greater relationship.
Within the tradition described by Don Agustin, practitioners may hold different responsibilities and levels of ceremonial service.
PAMPAMESAYOQ
A Pampamesayoq is associated particularly with relationship to Pachamama—Mother Earth—and with ceremonial practices such as the Despacho offering.
ALTOMESAYOQ
An Altomesayoq is traditionally described as having a particularly close ceremonial relationship with the Apus, the sacred mountain beings or mountain spirits of the Andes.
KUREKAKULLAC
A Kurekakullac is described within the lineage as a respected elder recognized for lived wisdom, spiritual responsibility, and a deep relationship with Pachamama and traditional practices.
GENERATIONS OF TRADITION
A Lineage Carried Forward
Don Agustin describes his path as part of a family tradition carried through generations. Knowledge was not simply studied—it was encountered through family relationships, observation, ceremony, practice, and responsibility.
MANUEL MACHACCA ZAMATA
Great-Grandfather
DON FRANCISCO MACHACCA ZAMATA
Grandfather
DON AGUSTIN MACHACCA FLOREZ
Pampamesayoq
SANTOS MACHACCA APAZA
Son • Continuing the Family Tradition
Each generation carries its own responsibilities. The lineage is not presented here simply as ancestry, but as a relationship between generations through which knowledge, ceremony, responsibility, and respect for the land continue to be shared.
THE SACRED TOOLS
The Hat, Poncho, and Mesa
The tools of the paqo are not merely objects—they are considered living relationships. The chullo (hat) and poncho are not just clothing; they carry the vibration of the community and the lineage, hand-woven with intentionality and deep symbolism.
Central to the practice is the Mesa (or Misha)—the sacred bundle. It is the practitioner's portable altar and map of the cosmos, containing khuyas (sacred stones) that hold the power and relationship with specific mountain spirits and Pachamama. Each tool is an extension of the practitioner’s Munay, Yachay, and Ll’anqay, serving as a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds.
A LIFE WITHIN THE TRADITION
Don Agustin’s Path
For Don Agustin Machacca Florez, the tradition was not something encountered later in life. It surrounded him from childhood through family, ceremony, the land, and the teachings of the generations before him.
Don Agustin has shared that his curiosity about the Despacho tradition became especially strong around the age of sixteen. His father recognized his interest, while his grandfather had already spoken of a dream in which Don Agustin would continue the family’s spiritual tradition.
According to Don Agustin, his path was further affirmed through dreams and traditional coca leaf readings conducted within his family. He later received karpay, or ceremonial initiation and transmission, from his father and from Q’ero teachers.
He describes a period of approximately four years of concentrated learning and preparation, while emphasizing that learning within the tradition continues throughout life.
His path eventually carried him beyond his home community, allowing him to share teachings and ceremonial practices with people from different parts of the world while remaining connected to his family and Andean roots.
“A tradition remains alive when it is practiced, respected, remembered, and carried forward.”