Alexandra Edwards

Alexandra is a Chilean researcher in Cultural Anthropology, documentarian, and ethnoastronomer. For over 25 years, she has been working on projects that shed light on the life and times of the first peoples of the Americas and Oceania, more recently widening her scope to encompass the traditions and astronomical knowledge of indigenous cultures from other parts of the world.  Alexandra is a Latin American Studies and Film double-major from Wesleyan University, spending several years in Connecticut, New York, and Washington DC before returning to Rapa Nui (a.k.a. Easter Island), the place she has called home since 1995. Alexandra is an Explorers Club Fellow, having participated in six Explorers Club Flag expeditions and contributed to several documentary projects carried out by National Geographic, the BBC, the History and Smithsonian Channels, and CNBC Canada.  She is the co-author of When the Universe was an Island: Exploring the Cultural and Spiritual Cosmos of Ancient Rapa Nui, and between 2020-2022 while on lockdown on Rapa Nui she directed and produced a series of documentaries about the local history and culture, while also working at the Rapanui Planetarium and Observatory, the family business. Alexandra complements her research and film work conducting private tours, and lecturing aboard expedition cruise ships about her favorite parts of the world: the Americas, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and most recently also Western Africa!