Actress, 33, dies after consuming frog venom during ‘healing ritual’ at retreat as search launched for shaman
On a spiritual retreat, an actress died after ingesting frog venom.
As part of her cleansing process, Marcela Alczar Rodriguez ingested Kambo, a waxy substance made from the skin of the Amazonian tree frog, Phyllomedusa bicolor.
When the 33-year-old consumed the drug, which is used topically to initiate a detoxification process, he started throwing up and getting really bad diarrhea.
The objective is to rid the body of evil juju, psychological trauma, and pollutants.
According to NeedToKnow, Marcela was sent to a Red Cross facility for treatment, but the medical staff was unable to rescue her.
She was in Durango, Mexico, on a spiritual retreat when the event happened early on December 1.
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The State of Durango’s Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation.
Jonathan Fernando, the alleged shaman who led the retreat, is being sought by police.
Mapache Films, a Mexican production business that worked with Marcela, expressed its sympathies to her family.
“With profound regret, we bid farewell to our colleague and friend Marcela Alc zar today,” they wrote in an Instagram post.
“Wishing also quick resignation for her closest family and friends.”
“Regrets the passing of Marcela Alczar ‘Marsh,’ a young woman who worked in various short films, series, and movies filmed in Durango,” the Durango Film Guild said in a statement posted on X.
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“She leaves a void in the hearts of the people who knew her working in what she loved, cinema.”
Diarrhea and vomiting are part of the “healing” process in a ritual, according to Luis Manuel Naranjo, head of the College of Psychologists of Mexico.
WHAT IS KAMBO?
Some South American tribes utilize a toxin called KAMBO in their traditional medicine.
- It is a waxy substance collected by scraping the skin of an Amazonian tree frog, Phyllomedusa bicolor.
- Kambo contains many different compounds, some of which have been identified as potentially toxic (poisonous) in very small amounts.
- At a kambo ceremony (or kambo circle), the top layer of skin on the arm or leg is blistered in several places with a hot stick, and small amounts of kambo are applied to the open wounds.
- The symptoms of Kambo include severe vomiting, dizziness, fainting, and swollen lips or face.
- In some extreme cases, people can suffer seizures or death.
- Kambo is banned in many countries.
The Matis Indians tribe in Brazil perform a coming-of-age ritual in which they inject themselves with Kambo poison and have bitter, painful juice poured into their eyes, sometimes temporarily blinding them.
Before letting the frog go again, tribe members stretch it over a fire and scrape the fluids off its back.
Prior to applying the spit-mixed toxin, the participant’s skin is burned and the blister bursts.
They are simultaneously massaged with toxic leaves and struck with plant stems.
The drug has a momentary calming effect, but the pain returns as the toxin enters the bloodstream.
Because it contains venom, kambo can have fatal consequences and other severe side effects.
Read More on The US Sun
The goal is to cause the stomach to completely empty.
As part of a wellness movement, many Americans have visited the Amazon in recent years.
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