Summary

• Society of the Snow retells the gripping story of survival after the 1972 Andes plane crash with a focus on the harrowing 72 days endured.
• The film features a cast of entirely South American actors and pays tribute to the victims with their names displayed on screen.
• Survivors like Roberto Canessa, Nando Parrado, and Antonio Vizintín went on to lead impactful lives after their rescue.

The J.A., Boyena film Society of the Snow tells the remarkable true story of the 1972 Andes plane crash and the engers' 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 plane crash and the subsequent 72 days in the frigid and dangerous terrain of the Andes Mountain Range who were rescued in December 1972. The rest of the engers were killed in the crash or subsequently died while awaiting rescue for more than two months with the Society of the Snow honoring each victim with their name displayed on screen to mark their deaths. The movie focuses on the ordeal, leaving the aftermath of what happened to the survivors unknown.

16 Roberto Canessa

Played By Matías Recalt

Roberto Canessa is played by Matías Recalt in Society of the Snow. Roberto is introduced early as one of the athletes of the team whose skills on the field also gained some criticism from his teammates who insisted he needed to the ball more. However, he proved to be one of the most helpful among the survivors as his medical schooling allowed him to help out many of the injured people. He later ed fellow survivor Nando in the 10-day trek across the mountains in search for help which proved to be a success.

Canessa was a medical student during the plane crash

Following the rescue, Canessa continued his pursuit of his medical career and 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

Played by Tomás Wolf

Gustavo Zerbino, played by Tomás Wolf, was also a medical student and did his best to help the injured survivors. In a harrowing moment in the movie, Zerbino points out to Canessa that they have done all they can as doctors among the survivors but the remaining injured people in their party cannot be saved. Interestingly, when the survivors are rescued at the end of the movie, Zerbino refuses to leave on the helicopter unless he is able to bring his suitcase onboard with him. He is even seen clutching it tight in the hospital after being rescued.

Zerbino 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

Played By Rafael Federman

Eduardo Strauch, played by Rafael Federman in Society of the Snow, was not one of the rugby players but rather was traveling on the same plane along with his cousin Adolfo "Fito" Strauch. After the team's captain, Marcelo Pérez, the Stauch cousins became the defacto leaders of the group and took charge of using the bodies of the deceased as a food source. Though there was shown to be opposition at first, Stauch helps to devise a way to protect the others from seeing the process, handling it himself.

Strauch 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

Played By Juan Caruso

Álvaro Mangino, played by Juan Caruso in Society of the Snow, was also not one of the rugby players involved in the crash. While many of those who were seriously injured in the crash eventually succumbed to their words as a result of infection, Mangino survived despite the fact that he broke his leg. Roberto Canessa is seen helping him in the aftermath of the crash, painfully repositioning the broken bone.

Magino 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. He mentions in the book that surgeons later itted that Cenessa's work on his leg was the best fix that could have been possible. Mangino got married, had a career working in air conditioning and heating, and is now a grandfather living in Montevideo.

12 Nando Parrado

Played By Agustín Padrella

Fernando Parrado, played by Agustín Padrella, was one of the most unlikely survivors of the crash. He was heavily injured when the plane went down with many of the other survivors assuming he was going to die. Parrado also lost his mother in the crash while his sister died days later from her own injuries. Despite all of this Parrado was the one who spearheaded several of the hikes up the mountain to get food, attempt to fix the radio, and eventually find rescue.

Parrado 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

Played By Agustín Della Corte

Antonio "Tintin" Vizintín, played by Agustín Della Corte in Society of the Snow, was one of the rugby players who survived the crash. Vizintín is actually responsible for the famous photo recreated in Society of the Snow showing the survivors at the crash site. Vizintín also ed several of the other survivors in the numerous hikes in an attempt to get help. He did not continue on with Nando and Roberto in the final hike, choosing to return to the crash site so they had enough food to continue on.

Vizintín 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 istrative Board Member for Viven Foundation, a motivational speaker, and a grandfather.

10 Pedro Algorta

Played By Luciano Chatton

Pedro Algorta, played by Luciano Chatton in Society of the Snow, was an economics student when the crash occurred. Algorta is one of the less vocal of the survivors group while at the crash site. However, he does offer valuable input at times, such as when he points out that they should wait for the thaw season in November before they attempt to make any trek in search of help.

Algorta 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 istration 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

Played By Valentino Alonso

Alfredo "Pancho" Delgado, played by Valentino Alonso in Society of the Snow, was the person who convinced Numa Turcatti to them on the flight to Chile. In one of the movie's saddest scenes, Numa and Pancho talk about all of the things Numa wanted to do in his young life that he fears he will never experience as he gradually dies from infection.

Following the events 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. One of the things Society of the Snow leaves out about the true story is the public backlash following the revelations of cannibalism. 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.

8 Roy Harley

Played By Andy Pruss

Roy Harley, played by Andy Pruss, was another one of the rugby players who survived the crash in Society of the Snow. Harley was seen in the movie to have a talent for engineering and electrical work as he is able to fix a small portable radio that is found among the luggage. Given that success, he agrees to accompany Nando to the debris from the tail section of the plane in the hopes of getting the radio to work so they can call for help.

Harley was one of the eight survivors who had to spend an extra night in the mountains before being rescued, which was not depicted in the movie. Harley 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

Played By Simon Hempe

José "Coche" Luis Inciarte, played by Simon Hempe in Society of the Snow, was not a member of the rugby team. Initially, he is seen as one of the survivors who refuses to resort to cannibalism in Society of the Snow. However, he eventually gives in like the others when it becomes clear that is the only way they are going to survive.

Inciarte 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 a touching show of their continued friendship, it was fellow survivor Carlos Paez who announced the news of Inciarte's ing. In 2018, he wrote the book Memoria de los Andes.