In 1972, a private plane with 45 passengers belonging to a Uruguayan rugby team tragically crashed in the Andes on their way to Chile for a match. After 72 days, only 16 miraculously survived the inclement weather of the untamed region. Society of the Snow, directed by J. A. Bayona, takes us into the excruciatingly painful moments these young people endured during these days.
Focusing on their emotions, frustrations, and the uncertainty of not knowing what fate has in store for them, rather than on the historical facts, Society of the Snow truly takes our hearts and squeezes them hard to the point of almost breaking into pieces. However, learning that many of the survivors actually make some heartfelt cameos in the movie really shatters our souls.
Here are all the unexpected cameos of the survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571.
This is perhaps one of the biggest roles one of the survivors has in the movie. ‘Carlitos’ Páez plays his own father in Society of the Snow, mainly the moment he’s reading the list of survivors to the authorities. Carlos’ father spent all 71 days actively looking for his son and he managed to reunite with him.
Fernando Parrado is considered one of the heroes of the group. Despite being in a coma for a couple of days after the crash, the lack of food, the loss of his mother and sister in the mountain, and all the adversities, he was determined to get out. Together with Roberto Canessa, he was the one who ventured through the Andes mountains for 10 days to find help. He came back to find his friends. Fernando appears at the beginning of the movie opening the doors of the airport to the actors who play him, his mother, and his sister.
Roberto Canessa had just started med school when the tragedy happened. He worked untiringly to cure injured passengers throughout the day. He joined Parrado in the expedition for help. Many claim that without them, they would’ve never made it back home. In one of the most heartwarming moments, the real Dr. Roberto Canessa appears as the doctor who attends to his character after being rescued.
Daniel decided to join the group for the trip at the last minute. He was convinced by his cousins Fito and Eduardo, who also survived. As food became scarce it was the Strauchs the ones who took the lead of the group and the difficult decision to feed the group with the meat of the deceased. In the movie, Daniel Fernández has a small cameo during the mass scene.
Antonio ‘Tintín’ Vizintín was part of the rugby team and was characterized by his physical strength. Despite being extremely injured at first, he never gave up. He went into the first four exploring trips to find the airplane tail alongside Canessa and Parrado. ‘Moncho’ Sabella was one of the few passengers who barely knew the group. This made him very suspicious and scared of the rest of the passengers. He was also one of the weakest when they were rescued. Both appear as extras at the airport scenes.
‘Coche’ Inciarte is described by his friends as one of the most loving and caring people they’ve met. He was one of the passengers who found it really hard to join the rest in eating the flesh of the deceased and for that reason, he lost almost half of his weight in the 72 days. Although he sadly passed a couple of months ago, he managed to make a special appearance in the film as a bar customer while the trip was being planned.
Together with Canessa, Gustavo was the other medical student of the group who took the role of doctor during the 72 days strained in the mountain. He was the very last of the survivors to get into the helicopter that saved them proving he was really determined to help everyone else. Although he dropped out of med school he carried out his rugby career. For that reason, he was chosen to play the rugby coach at the beginning of the movie.
Not a survivor per se, Joaquín is the real nephew of Numa Turcatti, the movie’s main character, and the last to die in the mountain only 11 before the rescue. It was his death that inspired Canessa and Parrado to embark on the expedition to find help. Joaquín pays homage to his uncle appearing as Numa’s neighbor in the movie.
