Roberto Canessa

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Canessa and the second or maternal family name is Urta.
Roberto Canessa, M.D.

Roberto Canessa in 1974.
Born Roberto Jorge Canessa Urta
(1953-01-17) 17 January 1953
Montevideo, Uruguay
Nationality Uruguyan
Occupation Physician, political
Spouse(s) Laura Surraco
Children Hilario, Roberto Martín and Laura Inés
Parrado (left) and Canessa with Chilean Huaso Sergio Catalan.

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 October 13, 1972, and a Uruguayan political figure. He was portrayed by Josh Hamilton in the 1993 feature film, Alive: Miracle in The Andes.

October 13, 1972 air crash

At the time of the accident, Canessa was a 19-year-old medical student. His fianceé was Laura Surraco, the daughter of a doctor. He graduated from the Stella Maris College (Montevideo) and played for their alumni rugby team, Old Christians Club. He played between 1971 and 1979, eight match 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,[1] 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 cardiologist and motivational speaker.[2]

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%[3] of the vote, lagging far behind former President, Julio María Sanguinetti, whose party returned to power with 30.83% of the public vote.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Useem, Michael (2009-03-24). The Go Point: When It's Time to Decide--Knowing What to Do and When to Do It. Random House Digital, Inc. pp. 73–. ISBN 978-1-4000-8299-5. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  2. ↑ "Roberto Canessa M.D., official website - Biography". Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Elecciones nacionales de 1994" (in Spanish). Corte Electoral del Uruguay. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
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