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Roberto Jorge Canessa Urta, M.D., (born 17 January 1953) is one of the 16 survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes mountains on 13 October 1972, and a Uruguayan political figure. He was portrayed by Josh Hamilton in the 1993 feature film, '' Alive''.
During an interview made at CNN en Español, Canessa expressed that he wanted to help the survivors of the tragedy of Chapecoense in Medellín, Colombia.
Roberto Jorge Canessa Urta, M.D., (born 17 January 1953) is one of the 16 survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes mountains on 13 October 1972, and a Uruguayan political figure. He was portrayed by Josh Hamilton in the 1993 feature film, '' Alive''.
13 October 1972 air crash
At the time of the accident, Canessa was a 19-year-old medical student. His fiancée was Laura Surraco, the daughter of a doctor. He graduated from theStella Maris College (Montevideo)
The Christian Brothers College of Montevideo, commonly referred as Stella Maris College – Christian Brothers or just Christian, is a private, co-educational, not-for-profit Catholic school run by the Christian Brothers of Ireland. The school, i ...
and played for their alumni rugby team, Old Christians Club. Between 1971 and 1979, he played eight matches with the Uruguay national rugby union team, and was also selected in 1980, for the South American Jaguars tour of South Africa.
It was Canessa who suggested to his fellow survivors that in order to stay alive, they should eat the flesh of the deceased victims of the crash. Together with Fernando Parrado, he spent 10 days trekking through the Andes in search of help for the survivors.
Post rescue
After the rescue, Canessa recounted how his drive to escape from the mountains was fueled by the thought of his mother and his girlfriend. He later married Laura Surraco, and they had two sons and a daughter. He works as a pediatric cardiologist andmotivational speaker
A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk.
Motivational speakers ca ...
.
Candidate for President of Uruguay
Canessa was a candidate in the 1994 Uruguayan presidential elections but he failed to gain public support. Canessa obtained only 0.08% of the vote, lagging far behind former President, Julio María Sanguinetti, whose party returned to power with 30.83% of the public vote.Public appearance in 2016
During an interview made at CNN en Español, Canessa expressed that he wanted to help the survivors of the tragedy of Chapecoense in Medellín, Colombia.
See also
* Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 * Nando Parrado * Carlos Páez Rodríguez * Old Christians Club * '' Alive: 20 Years Later'' * ''Alive: Miracle in The Andes''References
1953 births Living people Rugby union players from Montevideo Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 Uruguayan Roman Catholics Uruguayan people of Italian descent Candidates for President of Uruguay Uruguayan cardiac surgeons Uruguayan rugby union players Uruguayan autobiographers People educated at Stella Maris College (Montevideo) {{Uruguay-med-bio-stub