The QUEST FOR PAITITI Team

Expedition Crew

The expedition group moved forward in their 20th Anniversary year as part of the Asociacion Cultural Exploraciones Antisuyu (ACEA), officially inscribed within Peru. Explorer, Greg Deyermenjian is president of the ACEA to which all the expeditionaries involved in this project belong.

Explorer, Greg Deyermenjian is a native Bostonian and a Fellow of The Explorers Club. Greg is also Chairman of the club's New England Chapter. Deemed The Explorers Club's foremost authority on the archaeology and exploration of the high jungle areas of southeast Peru, Greg has written many articles and presented to audiences of The Explorers Club, The Institute of Andean Studies, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the American Rock Art Research Association, and other settings within the USA and Peru. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. When not in the mountains of Peru, Greg works as a psychologist for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation.

Peruvian Explorer, Paulino Mamani is native to the highlands and subtropical valleys of the Province of Calca. He is a member of the ACEA and a Fellow International of The Explorers Club. Paulino has been with the Paititi exploration project since its inception in 1984. He is considered among the foremost of Peru's explorers of the southeast region.

Machiguenga Guide, Goyo Toledo belongs to the Machiguenga tribe and has been serving as a key guide to Greg and his exploration crew since 1984..

Crew member, Alberto Mamani is a cousin of Paulino's and served as a guide.

Crew member, Monica Silva de Deyermenjian is Secretary of the ACEA and joined the expedition group for the first time this year. She is native to Peru and assisted the crew during the first portion of the journey.

Production/Expedition Crew

Producer/Director, Garrett Strang is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work has been recognized by his peers with the New York's International Film Festival Award; CINDY Award; Telly Award; Videographer Award of Excellence:The Jade Award of Excellence; Columbia International Film & Video Festival Award; Chris Award; among others. For more than 15 years, Garrett has owned Image Studios, Inc. (ISI), a production house in Bethesda, Maryland. Under his direction, Image Studios has produced a variety of compelling stories from an hour long docu-drama on AIDS to a ten part series on cutting edge advances in scientific research for international release. In addition, ISI has created PSAs and spots for broadcast on Fox, ABC, CBS and cable affiliates in the U.S. and abroad. Crews have filmed on location in all parts of the world to include Africa; the Philippines; Pakistan, Southeast Asia, throughout Europe, Central America, South America, Canada and the U.S. www.imagestudiosproductions.com

Garrett has traveled extensively to South America as a director and to document one of his personal interests- the surviving cultures of its indigenous peoples. He captured a variety of traditional medicine practices during several visits to include the Qetchua Indians in Ecuador; the remotely located Guarani in Bolivia and the Ayumara Indians surviving above LaPaz in the El Alto region; and he filmed the culture of the people in the Altiplano.

Cinematographer, Erin Harvey is well recognized for his cinematography work with National Geographic, to include Explorer, Ultimate Explorer and Channel-Asia, as well as PBS. Erin has established himself as a documentary filmmaker with a unique and creative vision. He shot two award-winning PBS documentaries, Harold Hitchcock: Life in Light and Ramadhan in Indonesia, each won the coveted Golden Cine Eagle Award. As Producer / Cinematographer / Editor for National Geographic Explorer, Erin took his work from start to finish filming the fireboats of Venice in Venice Burning; chasing cheetahs in Botswana and Namibia in Cheetah Chase; and filming tigers from the back of an elephant in India in Tiger's Eye. As a Cinematographer whose at home scouring jungles and islands in Belize (Snake Wranglers - Boa Episode) to following snakes or trekking deep into Bolivia's Madidii rain forest (Maididi), Erin was a welcome addition to the Quest for Paititi crew.

Project Participants

Project partner, Jean-Christophe Vanderhaegen is an attorney from Belgium who is co-founder there of the "Centro Europeo de Informacion y Promocion para America Latina" (CEIPAL). Mr. Vanderhaegen is a long-time student of Incan and Andean history and was instrumental in the acquisition of and analysis of satellite photography of the exploration zones. He is a member of the ACEA.

Scientific Advisor, Professor Daniel Gade is Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of Vermont with a formidable writing history on the cultural, historical geography, and ecology of the Andes. Author of Man and Culture in the Andes, Professor Gade integrates the imagination of an expert geographer with the research skills of a natural and cultural historian. He is also a member of the ACEA.More about Daniel Gade... And even more...

Fernando Neuenschwander, son of Peru's foremost Andean explorer, the now deceased Dr. Carlos Neuenschwander of Arequipa. Fernando joined the exploration team on a couple of its journeys and continues to be a vital part of the project's mission. He is also a member of the ACEA.