Navarrese naturopath Txumari Alfaro, popular for his television presence in the nineties, passed away this Saturday in Pamplona at the age of 73, for reasons that have not yet been disclosed. Born in Arguedas in 1952, Alfaro gained great notoriety thanks to the program La botica de la abuela, broadcast on La 1, where he offered advice based on traditional remedies to treat various ailments.
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His approach, far from conventional medicine and focused on natural alternatives, brought him great popularity, although it also generated controversy.
The success of the show was remarkable and made Alfaro a familiar face in Spanish homes. However, just two years after its premiere in 1997, the naturopath left TVE to join Sabor a ti, the afternoon magazine show hosted by Ana Rosa Quintana on Antena 3.
There he presented his own section, La botica de Txumari, which replicated the format that had brought him fame. The section eventually became an independent program, although its run was brief and it was removed from the schedule after four months due to lack of audience.
Over the following years, Alfaro participated in other television shows such as A tu lado, presented by Emma García, where he directed the section Los consejos de Txumari. He also collaborated on Salud a la carta, on La Sexta, and had a brief presence on Intereconomía TV with a similarly formatted show.
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Advocate of “urinotherapy”
Throughout his career, Alfaro was also surrounded by controversy due to the dissemination of practices without scientific backing. On several occasions, he was accused of promoting remedies linked to pseudoscience, which earned him criticism from both the medical community and part of the audience.
One of the most controversial episodes was related to his recommendations on “urinotherapy,” a practice he advocated as a treatment for various ailments. The naturopath even claimed that the most effective way to apply it was to ingest a glass of urine on an empty stomach upon waking, stating that it could contribute, among other things, to combating problems such as dandruff. These statements generated a strong critical reaction due to their lack of scientific basis.
The second major controversy, even more widely publicized, occurred during a conference where he claimed that, to cure cancer, one should not intervene. According to his approach, by becoming aware of the disease, it would pass into the unconscious and the body itself would fight the cancerous cells.
His words provoked widespread rejection and forced him to later clarify his statements. The Navarrese then clarified that he in no way intended to discourage medical treatments and attributed the controversy to a misunderstanding.
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