Holly Wissler

Originally from Iowa, Holly Wissler has worked as an adventure travel guide in the Andes of Peru since 1982 and the Himalayas of Nepal since 1987. She still guides annually in Peru and does an occasional stint in Nepal for Wilderness Travel: www.wildernesstravel.com.

Holly holds master's degrees from the University of Idaho, in flute performance and in music history. She is the producer of the video documentary Qoyllur Rit'i: A Woman's Journey (1998), about Qoyllur Rit'i, the largest pilgrimage festival in the Peruvian Andes and her inside role as mayordoma (sponsor) of a dance group. (This documentary is also available for purchase here.)

From 2005 to 2007, Holly conducted research toward a doctoral dissertation on the musical traditions of the Q'eros community, funded in 2007 by a Fulbright-Hays doctoral dissertation research abroad fellowship. Holly completed her Ph.D. dissertation from Florida State University in 2009, and has published articles about the Q'eros and their music in American, British, and Peruvian scholarly journals. She directs a music/cultural tour in Peru every summer, entitled "Andes and Beyond," sponsored by the Center for World Music: www.centerforworldmusic.org, and is currently co-writing a petition to UNESCO, with Peru's Ministry of Culture, that the Q'eros songs be placed in the international Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

"Living with the Q'eros people has had a deep impact on my life — the experience of singing their rich music with my comadres, their connection to the earth and spirit world, and focus on relationships and community,their childlike laughter, even in freezing rain,and their ability to just simply be."