Tatunca Nara has given his first on screen interview in a new HBO Max documentary series investigating mysterious Amazon disappearances and the lost city of Akakor.
The three-part documentary, titled Death and Mystery in the Amazon, premieres on the streaming service on Thursday, September 10. It presents Tatunca Nara, the central figure linked to the cases, offering his own version of events for the first time.
Co-director Tatiana Issa told CNN Brasil that locating Tatunca Nara was straightforward. However, she said that conducting an interview capable of questioning his long-standing claims without granting him an uncritical platform proved far more difficult.
HBO Max is a global subscription video-on-demand streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The platform produces original non-scripted content and investigative documentary series that examine historical cold cases and unsolved mysteries.
Confronting the primary suspect
Issa said the production team sought to strike a balance between hearing Tatunca Nara out and confronting him with evidence uncovered during their research. She emphasized that the filmmakers intended to prevent him from using the project to perpetuate stories he had told for decades.
Instead of giving him open visibility, Issa explained that the team confronted him directly with documents and gathered facts to keep him from evading scrutiny. She compared the conversation to a fencing match between Tatunca Nara, herself, and the lead researcher, where the interviewers had to press for answers without losing control.
Issa noted that Tatunca Nara had developed defensive mechanisms over many years to dodge direct questions and avoid self-contradiction. She described the interrogation as physically and emotionally exhausting, spanning many hours as the crew searched for clarity on cases that have remained unresolved for decades.
The director added that she kept her gaze fixed on Tatunca Nara throughout the recording sessions to ensure his attention did not stray during questioning.
The legend of Akakor and jungle vanishings
The mystery dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, when reports began circulating about Akakor. According to local legend, Akakor was a lost city hidden deep within the Amazon rainforest that had been inhabited by an ancient civilization for thousands of years.
Those accounts drew adventurers, researchers, and explorers primarily from Europe and the United States into the region. Multiple expeditions ended in mysterious disappearances, unexplained deaths, and police investigations that spanned several decades.
The Amazon rainforest is the world's largest tropical forest, covering over two million square miles across South America. Its dense terrain and remote wilderness have historically presented significant hazards for foreign expeditions navigating unexplored territories.
Tatunca Nara became the focal point of the investigations after claiming to be a descendant of the Ugha Mongulala, an Indigenous people he claimed was connected to Akakor. He also claimed to know the route to the lost city and operated as a jungle guide for foreign groups entering the forest.
Over the years, authorities and investigators associated Tatunca Nara with the disappearance and death of several explorers who traveled under his guidance. Despite decades of searches and official inquiries, the existence of Akakor has never been proven.
