On the 11th of September 2026, we inaugurated the Amazonian bookshop and library at Xapiri Ground. We invited creator and friend Brus Rubio to share his critical insights and personal experience on the transmission of stories, wisdom, and worldviews as a Murui-Bora artist.

He expands on the importance of the imagination and the creation of visual representations of the cultural myths that place their origins in his Murui and Bora heritage, expressing his deep commitment to understanding those complex worlds and the magical context in which he immerses himself as an artist. "Art is a space for dialogue," remarks Brus, for his paintings allow us to engage ourselves in narratives and cultural pathways that link the viewer to his identity, into his interpretation and experience as an Indigenous contemporary artist both in and outside of his community of Pucaurquillo, where he continues to reside today.

Everything that he's investigated, "from the mythologies to the stories, hasn't been that easy or that difficult," he comments. Rather, his personal challenge has been to grasp the logic that Nature itself has imbued in this mythology, the fiestas, and the dances of his people, which he reveals is the secret concept behind his art. His form of charging his spirit and his body is through the dance. "The body in its harmonious state can celebrate and bring you close to your truth."

He poses the question, "What am I doing? Because I'm searching for the abstract in something I haven't experienced. How can my heart, my center, attempt to navigate these stories that I'm recording?" He notes how some academics from Colombia have written about the Huitoto (Murui) mythology and belief system and how that contrasts with his experience of knowledge transmission, whereby his memory and practice come from the wise ones inside the maloca- a communal longhouse that serves as the central hub for daily to spiritual gatherings in the community. He asks himself, "How can I express that visually and, most importantly, the subjective part, that's what's at stake for me."

The narrative-filled tableaux he paints are his form of literature, anthropology, philosophy, and medicine, which are the source of his inspiration. Brus has collaborated with book publishers such as Tierra Nueva, anthropologist Alberto Chirif, and curator Gredna Landolt, where his paintings help to give depth and visual dimension to literary narratives and thought surrounding Amazonian themes.

His artistic proposal presents itself in the concept of the genealogical tree or the "tree of abundance," where he equates it to a great tree that is rooted in the world. He expresses that "each of us belongs to our own clan, which gives us our place in this world, a world of many cultures. We unite in the same thought of identity and nation." His messaging through his art is that culture is a voyage that will lead to cultural transformation; that is his hope.

He proclaims that Indigenous art should not be limited in its perception to mythology or a singular cosmovision, but that everyone from all walks of life can identify with the narratives that he is portraying. His path as an artist relies on his critical imagination and his commitment to not only give visibility to his culture but also to provide a way for the growth and transformation of cultures at large.

The Amazonian bookshop and library at Xapiri Ground is dedicated to providing a space for memory, discourse, and learning where everyone from all walks of life can explore the Amazonian narratives of yesterday and today. Additionally, it hopes to create dialogue around the work of our art house and NGO and how that weaves into the many relationships we hold with artists and communities throughout the Peruvian Amazon.

We'd like to express our gratitude to Brus Rubio for this intimate sharing of his reality as an Indigenous artist and for paving new ways of understanding his cultural expression. A thank you to our special guests, Liliana Galvez and Wilton Martinez, who spent many years getting to know Brus in his community of Pucaurquillo for their documentary film "Shiringa. Genocidio y resistencia en la Amazonía” (2025), which was screened at Xapiri Ground on Sept. 10, 2026.

The Amazonian bookshop and library is open daily, and we welcome you to explore our collection of books, special products, and to connect with our team.