Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

by Piers Paul Read

We decided that this book should be written and the truth known because of the many rumours about what happened in the cordillera. We dedicate this story of our suffering and solidarity to those friends who died for us and to their parents who, at the time when we most needed it, received us with love and understanding. Pedro Algorta, Roberto Canessa, Alfredo Delgado, Daniel Fernández, Roberto Francois, Roy Harley, José Luis Inciarte, Javier Methol, Alvaro Mangino, Carlos Páez, Fernando Parrado, Ramón Sabella, Adolfo Strauch, Eduardo Strauch, Antonio Vizintín, Gustavo Zerbino. Montevideo, October 30, 1973

Having sacrificed one pillar of their educational system in giving up the cane, the Christian Brothers were not going to give up the other. They held to their contention that soccer was a sport for the prima donna, whereas rugby football would teach the boys to suffer in silence and work as a team.

‘It is meat,’ he said. ‘That’s all it is. The souls have left their bodies and are in heaven with God. All that is left here are the carcasses, which are no more human beings than the dead flesh of the cattle we eat at home.’

‘I know,’ Zerbino went on, ‘that if my dead body could help you to stay alive, then I’d certainly want you to use it. In fact, if I do die and you don’t eat me, then I’ll come back from wherever I am and give you a good kick in the ass.’

‘It’s like Holy Communion. When Christ died he gave his body to us so that we could have spiritual life. My friend has given us his body so that we can have physical life.’

tears not only of sadness but of joy fell down their cheeks, for what they missed now showed them what they had had.

To Pedro, God was the love which existed between two human beings, or a group of human beings. Thus love was all important.

‘Tell me, commander,’ said Walter Harley. ‘What are the chances that the plane became trapped in the mountains and made an emergency landing in the snow?’ ‘With a bit of luck,’ said Massa, ‘two in a thousand.’ ‘One is enough for us,’ said Harley.

That evening, before he went into the plane for the last time, Parrado drew the three Strauch cousins to one side and told them that if they ran short of food they should eat the bodies of his mother and sister. ‘Of course I’d rather you didn’t,’ he said, ‘but if it’s a matter of survival, then you must.’ The cousins said nothing, but the expression on their faces betrayed how moved they were by what Parrado had said to them.

‘You can make it tough, God,’ he prayed, ‘but don’t make it impossible.’

‘Carlitos? Is that you?’ It was Colonel Morel. ‘Yes, it’s me,’ said Páez Vilaró, in a tone of mild irritation. ‘And I appreciate you calling me like this to say good-bye, but the plane is waiting for me … I’ll see you after Christmas.’ ‘Okay,’ said Morel. ‘I’m sorry to keep you. It’s just that I thought that since you’ve been looking for those boys of yours for so long, you might like to come and see them.’ Páez Vilaró said nothing. The puppy fell to the floor. ‘You could also help me with this note,’ Morel went on. ‘It might be a fake, but I don’t think so. It says, “I come from a plane that fell in the mountains. I am Uruguayan”.’ Blinded by tears, Páez Vilaró rushed from the police station out onto the tarmac. The engines of the plane had already started; they were only waiting for him to climb the steps before pulling them away. ‘Rulo, Rulo!’ Páez Vilaró yelled. ‘They found them! I’m staying.’ In a moment Rodríguez Escalada was at his side, and the two weeping Uruguayans fell into each other’s arms, shouting to the skies, ‘They’re alive, they’re alive!’ Then together they rushed back through the customs and passport control, shouting and weeping and causing some consternation among the various officials and fellow passengers.

Carlitos opened them and read first that which was for them all. ‘Cheer up and confidence,’ it read. ‘Here I give you a helicopter as a Christmas present.’ The second was to himself alone. ‘As you can see, I never failed you. I am waiting for you with more faith in God than ever before. Mama is on her way to Chile. Your old man.’

Since it is the teaching of the Catholic Church that anthropophagy in extremis is permissible, this young priest was able not so much to forgive them as to tell them that they had done nothing wrong. This judgment, backed with all the authority of the church, assured the peace of mind at least of those who felt uncertain.

After seventy days in the wilderness of the Andes he did not believe any the less that God was love, but it had taught him that the love of God was not something to count on for survival. No angels had come down from heaven to help them. It was their own qualities of courage and endurance which had seen them through. If anything, the experience had made him less religious; he now had a stronger belief in man.

Each day that passed had peeled off layer upon layer of superficiality until they were left only with what they truly cared for: their families, their novias, their faith in God and their homeland. They now despised the world of fashionable clothes, nightclubs, flirtatious girls, and idle living. They determined to take their work more seriously, to be more devout in their religious observances, and to dedicate more time to their families.

The parents showed the same selflessness and courage as their sons had done and rallied around the sixteen survivors. Dr Valeta, the father of Carlos, went with his family to the press conference and afterwards spoke to the newspaper El Pais. ‘I came here with my family,’ he said, ‘because we wanted to see all those who were the friends of my son and because we are sincerely happy to have them back among us. We are glad, what is more, that there were forty-five of them, because this helped at least sixteen to return. I’d like to say, furthermore, that I knew from the very first moment what has been confirmed today. As a doctor I understood at once that no one could have survived in such a place and under such conditions without resort to courageous decisions. Now that I have confirmation of what has happened I repeat: Thank God that the forty-five were there, for sixteen homes have regained their children.’

After all, it was not the sons or brothers or parents of their friends that they had eaten to survive. They had been already in heaven.