Yajé purgatory and showbiz

In recent years, urban consumption of the Indian vine Ayahuasca or Yaje has become quite popular in Colombia amongst a population of urban middle-class people –college students, professional, houseviwes, clerical, white-collar people, artists, and people of the cultural establishment–. To a great extent, the rise of urban yaje, quite visible in the media, magazines and periodicals for the general public, is the work of prominent musicians and tv people. This essay intends to give an account of the process, and to explain the reasons behind its “ritual” use in a city such as Bogota, under the supervision of Putumayo Indian shamans or “taitas”.