WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Society of the Snow.
The J.A, Boyena film Society of the Snow tells the remarkable true story of the 1972 Andes plane crash and the passengers’ valiant fight for survival over the course of 72 brutal days. Society of the Snow, which is Spain’s official submission for Best International Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards, features a cast of entirely South American actors, many of whom make their feature film debut. Society of the Snow was released on Netflix on January 4, 2024, and has quickly become one of the most popular films on the streaming platform.
There were sixteen survivors of the 1972 plane crash and the subsequent 72 days in the frigid and dangerous terrain of the Andes Mountain Range. The Uruguayan flight’s destination was to the much warmer Chile, which is where two of the survivors, Roberto Canessa and Nando Parrado, miraculously hiked to and were discovered. Several passengers had initially survived the plane crash but died due to freezing temperatures and multiple avalanches, including:
- Carlos Valeta
- Daniel Shaw
- Numa Turcatti
- Francisco “Panchito” Abal
- Felipe Maquirriain
- Julio Martínez-Lamas
- Lt. Col. Dante Héctor Lagurara
- Graziela Augusto Gumila de Mariani
- Susana Parrado
- Gastón Costemalle
- Alejio Hounié
- Guido Magri
- Joaquín Ramírez
- Ramón Martínez
- Sgt. Carlos Roque
- Daniel Maspons
- Juan Carlos Menéndez
- Liliana Navarro Petraglia de Methol
- Gustavo “Coco” Nicolich
- Marcelo Pérez
- Enrique Platero
- Diego Storm
- Arturo Nogueira
- Rafael Echavarren
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16 Roberto Canessa
Roberto Canessa, portrayed by Matías Recalt in Society of the Snow, went on to become a pediatric cardiologist and a motivational speaker. Canessa was a medical student during the plane crash and offered aid to many of the survivors. Canessa later taught at the University of the Republic graduate school and even ran for Uruguayan President in 1994 but did not win.
15 Gustavo Zerbino
Gustavo Zerbino, played by Tomás Wolf, became Director and CEO of the Uruguayan Rugby Federation, a title which he still currently holds. He is also the President of the Proprietary Formulations Chamber in Uruguay, an organization that combines multinational laboratories. Zerbino is also a motivational speaker and an expert in areas of adversity management, leadership and motivation, speaking at many acclaimed colleges around the world.
14 Eduardo Strauch
Eduardo Strauch, played by Rafael Federman in Society of the Snow, is an architect and a painter who opened up an architectural studio with his best friend from childhood, Marcelo Pérez, in 1968. He is married to Laura Braga and they have five children together. Strauch wrote the book Out of the Silence: After the Crash in 2019 with award-winning Argentinean-Uruguayan writer Mireya Soriano.
13 Álvaro Mangino
Álvaro Mangino, played by Juan Caruso in Society of the Snow, went on to live a relatively quiet life following the events of the 1972 Andes plane crash. Mangino was one of the survivors who contributed to the book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Reed. Mangino got married, had a career working in air conditioning and heating, and is now a grandfather living in Montevideo.
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12 Nando Parrado
Fernando Parrado, played by Agustín Padrella, is now 74 years old and living in Montevideo. Parrado co-wrote the book Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home with Vince Rause, which was published in 2006. He has appeared in several television and film documentaries that chronicle the event such as Alive: Back To The Andes (2006) and I Am Alive: Surviving the Andes Plan Crash (2010), which aired on History Channel. He is a TV presenter, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker.
11 Antonio “Tintin” Vizintín
Antonio “Tintin” Vizintín, played by Agustín Della Corte in Society of the Snow, recently celebrated his 70th birthday in 2023. After being rescued from the 1972 Andes plane crash, he studied law and worked in plastic packaging and the food industry. Vizintín became the Vice President of the Uruguayan Rugby Union, an Administrative Board Member for Viven Foundation, a motivational speaker, and a grandfather.
10 Pedro Algorta
Pedro Algorta, played by Luciano Chatton in Society of the Snow, is currently 72 years old. Following the 1972 Andes plane crash, Algorta moved from Montevideo to Buenos Aires, Argentina where he continued his studies in Economics at the University of Buenos Aires. He eventually graduated with a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Stanford University in 1982. He wrote the book Into the Mountains: The Extraordinary True Story of Survival in the Andes and its Aftermath in 2016.
9 Alfredo “Pancho” Delgado
Alfredo “Pancho” Delgado, played by Valentino Alonso in Society of the Snow, was the person who convinced Numa Turcatti to join them on the flight to Chile. Following the vents of the plane crash, Delgado became a public and motivational speaker who spoke heavily about the religious aspects of the cannibalism that he and his fellow survivors partook in. Delgado has since lived a quiet life but he did appear in 2012 in Chile on the 40th anniversary of the disaster to play rugby with the survivors.
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8 Roy Harley
Roy Harley, played by Andy Pruss in Society of the Snow, went on to get married at the age of 28 in 1978. At the time, he had a young daughter and was studying civil engineering. He makes appearances in documentaries Alive: 20 Years Later (1993), Stranded (2007), and Independent Lens (2009).
7 José “Coche” Luis Inciarte
José “Coche” Luis Inciarte, played by Simon Hempe in Society of the Snow, died in 2023 at the age of 75 due to cancer and severe bone problems. Before his death, he got married and had three children and several grandchildren. Inciarte became the director of the National Association of Milk Producers and the director of the National Cooperative of Milk Producers (Conaprole) of Uruguay. In 2018, he wrote the book Memoria de los Andes.
6 Ramón “Moncho” Sabella
Ramón “Moncho” Sabella, played by Rocco Posca in Society of the Snow, became a businessman and spent time living in Asunción, Paraguay. He also, like many of the other survivors the the plane crash, became a public speaker, notably speaking with the survivors of the infamous 2010 Copiapó mining accident in Chile.
5 Javier Methol
Javier Methol, played by Esteban Bigliardi in Society of the Snow, died of cancer in 2015. After losing his wife Liliana during the events following the plane crash, he remarried Ana María whom he had four children with. He worked in the tobacco industry.
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4 Carlos “Carlitos” Páez
Carlitos Páez is played by Calritos Paez, his real-life son, in Society of the Snow. Carlos is the son of famous Uruguayan artist Carlos Páez Vilaró. After the plane crash, he went on to have a successful career in advertising, eventually starting his own agency, Rating Publicidad. He was later director of Bates Uruguay Publicidad and currently manages his company of Communication Consultancy and Public Relations.
3 Roberto “Bobby” François
Roberto “Bobby” François, played by Agustín Berruti, has lived a private life following the events of Society of the Snow. He has not written any books or participated in any documentaries and has rarely spoken publicly about the tragedy.
2 Daniel Fernández
Daniel Fernández, played by Francisco Romero in Society of the Snow, did not speak publicly about the events for 30 years before eventually becoming a public speaker. He is also a professor of agriculture.
1 Adolfo “Fito” Strauch
Adolfo “Fito” Strauch, played by Esteban Kukuriczka in Society of the Snow, went on to work in agriculture and became a father of four children. He has been featured in the documentaries Independent Lens, Alive: 20 Years Later, and Stranded: The Andes Plane Crash Survivors.
Society of the Snow
- Release Date
- December 15, 2023
- Director
- J.A. Bayona
- Cast
- Matías Recalt , Agustin Pardella , Felipe González Otaño , Luciano Chatton , Valentino Alonso , Francisco Romero , Agustín Berruti , Andy Pruss
- Runtime
- 144 Minutes
