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.
100px Roberto Canessa in 1974.
Born	Roberto Jorge Canessa Urta (1953-01-17) 17 January 1953 Montevideo, Uruguay
Nationality	Uruguayan
Occupation	Physician, Politician
Spouse(s)	Laura Surraco
Children	Hilario, Roberto Martín and Laura Inés
Website	drcanessa.com

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. 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 cardiologist and motivational speaker.

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.

Book

On March 1st 2016, Roberto, along with Pablo Vierci, published the book "I had to Survive"(ISBN 978-1476765440) in which he tells the story of how he overcame adversity to become a prominent Pediatric Cardiologist.

See also

• Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
• Nando Parrado
• Carlos Páez Rodríguez
• Old Christians Club
• Alive: 20 Years Later
• Alive: Miracle in The Andes