He is one of the most active and famed leaders of Santo Daime communities. In the 1960s he became involved in armed resistance against the military dictatorial regime in Brazil as a member of the VPR (Vanguarda Popular Revolucionária – People’s Revolutionary Vanguard). He participated in the kidnapping of the German ambassador in the 1970s. In 1971 he was captured and arrested at the DOI-CODI, where he was brutally tortured. There, he witnessed the murder of his friend Stuart Angel (the son of fashion designer Zuzu Angel). He was freed nine years later. He came into contact with the Daime, and was the founder of one of the first Daime groups outside of a forest. He works to promote the religion and its recognition by society and by government organizations. He lives and works in the state of Acre, where he heads the Céu do Mapiá community, in addition to doing organic farming and assisting the local population.