by Alissa Munoz
AFS Intercultural Programs
Wanayran Angerer is a mystic, artisan, world traveler, mother, international woman’s rights advocate, and talented singer. She is also an AFS Returnee and former Hosting Coordinator for AFS Honduras. This extraordinary talent has been living in India since 2006 with her husband and daughters, performing her delectable jazz routine in clubs and festivals all over Delhi and neighboring eastern countries.
Wanny, as she is affectionately known, sings smoky renditions of classics, like Quisaz, Quisaz,(Perhaps Perhaps), infused traditional ballads, and latin-soul. When she isn’t crooning to international audiences, Wanny is involved in a number of advocacy projects including the use of music and arts as a means of developing self-esteem in children.
Wanny was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras into a diverse community that traces its ethnicity to infusions of Spanish, Native Honduran, and African. The amalgamation of culture had a huge effect on Wanny’s philosophy on life, cultivating appreciation of global connectivity from a very early age – Wanny was young when she first had the experience of recognizing “Different fusions of cultures getting together and because of that situation getting the idea that you not necessarily belong to one group.”
Reared in an AFS Returnee family, Wanny participated as an exchange student with AFS from 1983-1984 in Rockford Illinois. She recalls her arrival in her host country as the first time she had ever been away from home, an experience that pushed her to make “connections,” something she continues to do today. “AFS gave me awareness about how big the world is,” she explains, in terms of the exchange process, “If you are open to it, changes are permanent…. we can create long lasting links all over and transform not only our thoughts but relations” This is certainly true of Wanny’s experience – she remains in contact with her host family to this day.
Later Wanny would return home to work as a hosting coordinator for AFS Honduras while simultaneously launching her singing career. In her 10 years of service, Wanny was able to connect with participants, host families, and host schools, spreading her message of unification and global connectivity throughout the AFS community. In her marriage to a director of a development organization, she has had the privilege of living and performing in many countries across the world including Zimbabwe — “we were permanently exchanging information and styles” Colombia – “People responded not only to the music, but to the message behind it” and India –“[culling from] a rich tradition of music and art”. Some might expect that performing for an international audience might be rife with complications, for starters; how to overcome the language barrier, but Wanny has a no-fail solution for a unified audience – “I value diversity. I’m different then the audiences looking at me, [I] make sure they realize we’re united and we connect, it’s them and us on stage and everything else around us.” Part of Wanny’s mystic wisdom is recognizing material culture as a means of achieving greater, harmonious interaction between people of various backgrounds, “Art has been one of those instruments that have helped me to connect to more people from different social backgrounds”. She speaks of her exceptional formative education demonstrating that “Everything is related. Performing music helps me to reach different social sectors in order to promote global tolerance and understanding.”
Wanny remains in tune with the universality of a truthful message and always aspires for “An honest delivery and an honest message and concern for the collective – give to people without pretensions and people value it more.” Her delivery of encompassing performances has resonated within the Indian Press, which has described Wanny’s “husky Spanish numbers” as “enthralling”, “soulful” and “penetrating”.
Good reviews are a bonus, but transformation is what Wanny is concentrated on. In the universality of the musical experience, Wanny recognizes a journey that allows us “a moment out of tough situations and travel with [the] mind and with their heart. You can be anywhere in the world.” So what is it to be a world traveler, both of the body and through performance? Wanny sums it up in one word – “Magic”.
Wanny is part of the extensive “Find An AFSer” network.
To find out more about Wanny, please visit her MySpace page by clicking here.
See Wanny perform live at Jazzmandu 2008
Do you know an AFSer who has taken their AFS experience and done something fascinating and inspiring? Send us an email and you might see that person profiled in a future Find An AFSer Newsletter!
