Roberto Canessa

Roberto Jorge Canessa Urta (born 17 January 1953) is a Uruguayan pediatric cardiologist, motivational speaker and former rugby player. He is one of the 16 survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes mountains on 13 October 1972. He was portrayed by Josh Hamilton in the 1993 feature film, Alive.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Canessa and the second or maternal family name is Urta.
Roberto Canessa
Roberto Canessa in 2010
Born
Roberto Jorge Canessa Urta

(1953-01-17) 17 January 1953
Montevideo, Uruguay
Alma materUniversity of the Republic
Occupations
  • Pediatric cardiologist
  • Motivational speaker
  • Lecturer
Spouse
Laura Surraco
​
(m. 1976)​
Children3
Websiterobertocanessa.com
Parrado (left) and Canessa with Chilean Huaso Sergio Catalan

Early life and education

Canessa Urta was born in Montevideo on January 17, 1953, the son of physician Juan Carlos Canessa Montero (1928-2009)[1] and María Mercedes Urta Stagnero (died 2011).[2] He is of Italian descent, tracing his ancestry to Rapallo, Liguria.[3] He attended Stella Maris College, located in barrio Carrasco, and was part the school's alumni rugby club, Old Christians.[4] In 1971 he began to study medicine at the University of the Republic.

13 October 1972 plane crash
Main article: Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

At the time of the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, Canessa was a 19-year-old medical student. His fiancée was Laura Surraco, the daughter of a doctor. He played for Old Christians Club. Between 1971 and 1979, he played eight matches with the Uruguay national rugby union team, and was also selected for the 1980 South American Jaguars rugby union tour of South Africa.

Canessa suggested to his fellow survivors that 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.

Career

Medical
Canessa with Chilean First Lady Cecilia Morel, 2010

After returning to Uruguay from the Andes, Canessa graduated from the University of the Republic with a medical degree, and later specialized in cardiology and pediatric cardiology. He serves as vice president of the Fundación Corazoncitos, which provides care for children with congenital heart disease.[5]

Throughout his career, Canessa has worked as a pediatric cardiologist and a researcher at the Italian Hospital of Montevideo and the Hospital Pereira Rosell.[6] He has also taught classes in graduate courses at the University of the Republic.

In 2019 he was conferred the title of honorary fellow of the American College of Cardiology.[7] In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, he led a group of professional volunteers to create respirators for ICUs.[8]

Political

In the 1994 general election, Canessa ran for President of Uruguay for the Blue Party.[9] He got 1645 votes, 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.

In 2012, he joined Sergio Abreu in founding the National Dignity faction within the National Party.[10] In 2019, Open Cabildo presidential candidate Guido Manini Ríos offered him the vice presidency, but Canessa turned it down.[11]

Personal life

Canessa began dating Laura Surraco in her adolescence and early youth, and they were a couple at the time of the accident. They were married in 1976 and have three children: Hilario, Roberto Martín and Laura Inés.[12]

In media

Books

In March 2016, Canessa presented his autobiography titled Tenía que sobrevivir: Cómo un accidente aéreo en los Andes inspiró mi vocación para salvar vidas, co-written with the Uruguayan author Pablo Vierci.[13] An English version, I Had to Survive: How a Plane Crash in the Andes Inspired My Calling to Save Lives was also released.

Film

Canessa was portrayed by Josh Hamilton in the 1993 feature film Alive, directed by Frank Marshall and based on Piers Paul Read's 1974 non-fiction book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors.[14] In 2023 he was portrayed by Matías Recalt in the survival thriller film Society of the Snow directed by J. A. Bayona and based on the book by Pablo Vierci.[15]

See also

References
  1. "SMU". SMU (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  2. "AVISOS FUNEBRES". LARED21 (in Spanish). 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  3. Desalvo, Thamara (2020-04-17). "Roberto Canessa: el hombre que nació dos veces". itMontevideo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  4. ""Vengo de un avión que cayó en las montañas. Soy uruguayo. Hace diez días estamos caminando..."". MARCA (in Spanish). 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  5. "Día del Cardiólogo – Fundación Corazoncitos". 2023-01-30. Archived from the original on 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  6. Redacción. "Roberto Canessa, el hombre de las mil cordilleras". El Observador. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  7. "Live From New Orleans: Opening Day at ACC 2019". TCTMD.com. 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  8. "El sobreviviente de Los Andes que creó un respirador para no ver morir "de sed de aire"". France 24. 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  9. diaria, la (2019-07-06). "Roberto Canessa rechazó ser vice de Manini Ríos". la diaria (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  10. "Roberto Canessa canta 'Las 40'". Montevideo Portal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  11. "Roberto Canessa rechazó ser el vicepresidente de Manini Ríos en Cabildo Abierto". subrayado.com.uy (in Spanish). 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  12. ""Todos los amigos se nos habían muerto"". EL PAIS. 2012-10-13. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  13. "Tenía que sobrevivir, de Roberto Canessa y Pablo Vierci". Radiomundo En Perspectiva (in Spanish). 2016-07-07. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  14. Bodega, Pablo F. (2017-07-13). ""'Viven' es una película de Disney comparada con lo que pasamos"". Cadena SER (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  15. "El regreso de Bayona al corazón de lo imposible con la tragedia de los Andes". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
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