Shivangi Sinha
Recovering from cuts, both physical and emotional, can be a grueling journey. The scars left behind serve as constant reminders of the pain endured. It’s a battle against not just the wounds themselves but also the haunting memories that accompany them. In Netflix’s documentary, ‘The Doomsday Cult of Antares de la Luz,’ Pablo Undurraga recounts his four-year ordeal within the manipulative grasp of a religious sect. Rising to prominence as Antares de la Luz’s right-hand man, Undurraga experienced coercion, indoctrination, and the erosion of autonomy. Despite the allure of belonging, he ultimately broke away, rejecting the deception and manipulation perpetuated by the cult.
Pablo Undurraga Became Antares’ Right-hand Man
Jaime Undurraga, Pablo’s father, characterized him as a gentle and reserved child, smaller in stature compared to his peers. Pablo endured bullying at school, which, despite its impact, he chose to internalize rather than confront. Finding solace in music as he matured, he eventually joined a band. As he progressed through life, Pablo began to build a semblance of normalcy: making friends in college, forming romantic relationships, and learning that he would become a father at 23.
Despite feeling mature enough to handle fatherhood, Pablo revealed that the emotional weight was overwhelming. Seeking clarity, he turned to meditation, reiki sessions, and exploration of various religions. His reiki teacher suggested a meditation session with Antares de la Luz. Within five minutes of this session, Pablo felt a profound connection, finding solace in Antares’s charisma and charm. This encounter left him viewing Antares positively, and Pablo described him as the “personification of my fantasy of teacher.”
As more individuals joined the small group, the guided meditations, enhanced by the influence of ayahuasca, began to feel increasingly potent. Pablo recounted a specific session where he experienced a profound internal shift as a deluge of vivid images flooded his mind’s eye. In this altered state, he perceived Antares in a manner akin to his conceptualization of Jesus. When he questioned Antares about his identity, she affirmed that he was indeed Jesus, asserting that he was a reincarnation sent to Earth to defeat the “darkness.”
Antares elucidated to Pablo that his recent experience was an “awakening,” signifying his role as a chosen warrior of Jesus tasked with purging the world of darkness before the prophesied doomsday on December 21, 2012. As Antares’s influence intensified in the lives of his followers, he implemented strict directives, such as shaving their heads, abstaining from wearing black, and avoiding contact with those she deemed “asleep.” She instructed Pablo to remove pictures of his son and even took up residence in his apartment, occupying a room originally intended for his child.
In a separate event, when Pablo’s cat became pregnant, Antares asserted that the kittens were offspring of the devil and subsequently killed the cat by placing it in a box. Antares instructed Pablo to discard the box containing the cat’s remains into a canal, though Pablo was unaware of the events due to his distance from the scene. Encouraged by the perceived positive impact of his association with Antares, Pablo persuaded his girlfriend, Natalia Guerra, and his friend, David Pasten, to join the group. The group relocated from Olmué to Mantagua in Chile before settling in Colliguay.
In 2011, Antares instructed Pablo to cut off all communication with his son. He further declared that his “inner self” dictated Pablo’s romantic involvement with Carolina Vargas while assigning Pablo’s girlfriend, Natalia, as his partner. Shortly after that, Natalia became pregnant, and Antares proclaimed the child to be an embodiment of Lucifer. On the day of the birth, November 21, 2012, when Natalia’s health began to deteriorate, Pablo insisted that she be taken to the hospital, prompting Antares to task him with accompanying her.
After the child’s return home, Antares denounced it as sinister and evil. On November 23, at Antares’s urging, Pablo gathered all the sect members, including Natalia and her child, near their cottage in Colliguay. Antares instructed them to strip the baby of its clothing, bind its hands with tape, gag it with a sock, and cover its eyes with masking tape. In compliance, Pablo and Natalia surrendered the child to Antares, who stood beside a fire pit. Pablo recalls that moments later, Antares approached him and asked him to tend to the fire, but he heard no sound. Suspecting the worst, Pablo feared that Antares had murdered the child before consigning it to the flames.
Pablo Undurraga is a Father Today
Following the traumatic event, Pablo Undurraga turned to ayahuasca and constant meditation in anticipation of the prophesied doomsday. When the anticipated day passed without incident, and Antares De La Luz extended the timeline, Pablo sensed himself withdrawing. Seeking refuge, he retreated to his parents’ home with his girlfriend, Carolina Vargas, who expressed her unwillingness to remain with Antares. For their safety, Pablo and Carolina decided to flee, sending an anonymous email to the group members and Antares announcing their departure before seeking refuge in the southern region of Chile. It was then that Pablo started identifying the last four years he had spent in a cult.
Pablo’s legal team argued that the group members, including himself, were victims of a shared psychotic disorder. Still, despite this defense, he was held accountable for the murder of the three-day-old child and sentenced to five years in prison. After serving two years, he was released on parole in 2019. Since then, Pablo has been grappling with the challenges of reintegrating into society, striving to overcome the stigma and not succumb to feelings of failure. With children of his own now, including a teenage son, Pablo is committed to being a devoted father and serving in his role every day. The Southern Chile resident also appears to be a woodworker at the moment.
Read More: Cecilia Steyn: Where is the Cult Leader Now?
