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"After all these years this is the best advice I can give you: Savour your existance. Live every moment. Do not waste a breath.

-- Nando Parrado in his book, "Miracle in the Andes"

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“Construction Worker” by Vladimir Serov (1964)

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It's easter monday tomorrow so everyone remember to put out, uh, a submarine full of german weapons for pádraig pearse tonight

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Cuando la murte holpea las chapas del fuselaje, las costras banales se desvanecen, y personas comunes son capaces de gestos extraordinarios

"When death hits the feselage sheets, the trivial shells fade, and ordinary people are capable of extrodinary gestures"

Happy birthday to our beloved Adolfo "Fito" Strauch!

¡Deseamos un muy feliz cumpleaños, señor!

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Feliz Cumpleaños a cielo a nuestro eterno amado capitán, Marcelo Pérez del Castillo 💛

There are few words to describe how beloved Marcelo Pérez del Castillo was as a son, brother, friend and captain, as well as a surrogate father figure to his two younger sisters, Stella and Claudia, after the tragic early death of his father in 1968. Marcelo is described as charming, cheeky, loving, and energetic, with a magnetic and mischievous personality and a deep love for the sport of rugby. Whether he was running the Old Christian's Rugby Club (of which he was a co-founder along with his best friend, Eduardo Strauch), working in his architecture studio with Eduardo, riding his motorcycle along the streets of Montevideo or procrastinating on his homework, the testimonies of those who loved him make clear how much he lit up the world during his short life.

His deeply caring personality continued to shine through even in the worst of circumstances. Survivor Javier Methol wrote of Marcelo: "What those young boys needed was strong direction stemming from love, in a setting of orderliness and camaraderie. And what was Marcelo? He was all of that."

From taking immediate action in the moments after the crash, organizing the rescue of survivors trapped under crushed airplane seats and building the luggage wall that kept the survivors from freezing to death the first night, to volunteering to hand out the rations of dried human flesh after it became clear that rescue wasn't coming, Marcelo lived and breathed his values of honor, integrity, courage and kindness until the very end.

Today, the 26th of March 2025, would have been his 78th birthday. Today, I hope you take a moment to remember a brave, kind and beloved boy, who fought until his very last breath, and reach out to those around you with the same warmth and care Marcelo showed every day of his too-short life.

Happy heavenly birthday, Marcelo. I hope you're up there having the biggest party and dancing your heart out with your friends and family 💛

Hay pocas palabras para describir lo querido que era Marcelo Pérez del Castillo como hijo, hermano, amigo y capitán, así como figura paterna sustituta de sus dos hermanas menores, Stella y Claudia, después de la trágica muerte temprana de su padre en 1968. Marcelo es descrito como encantador, descarado, cariñoso y enérgico, con una personalidad magnética y traviesa y un profundo amor por el deporte del rugby. Ya sea dirigiendo el Old Christian's Rugby Club (del cual fue cofundador junto con su mejor amigo, Eduardo Strauch), trabajando en su estudio de arquitectura con Eduardo, paseando en motocicleta por las calles de Montevideo o postergando sus tareas, los testimonios de quienes lo amaron dejan en claro cuánto iluminó al mundo durante su corta vida.

Su personalidad profundamente afectuosa siguió brillando incluso en las peores circunstancias. El superviviente Javier Methol escribió sobre Marcelo: "Lo que aquellos jóvenes necesitaban era una dirección fuerte proveniente del amor, en un ambiente de orden y camaradería. ¿Y quién era Marcelo? Él era todo eso".

Desde tomar medidas inmediatas en los momentos posteriores al accidente, organizar el rescate de los sobrevivientes atrapados bajo los asientos aplastados del avión y construir la pared de equipaje que evitó que los sobrevivientes murieran congelados la primera noche, hasta ofrecerse como voluntario para repartir las raciones de carne humana seca después de que quedó claro que el rescate no llegaría, Marcelo vivió y respiró sus valores de honor, integridad, coraje y bondad hasta el final.

Hoy, 26 de marzo de 2025, habría cumplido 78 años. Hoy espero que te tomes un momento para recordar a un niño valiente, amable y querido, que luchó hasta su último aliento, y que te acerques a quienes te rodean con la misma calidez y cuidado que Marcelo mostró todos los días de su corta vida.

Feliz cumpleaños celestial, Marcelo. Espero que estés allí teniendo la fiesta más grande y bailando con todo tu corazón con tus amigos y familiares 💛

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"I don't see any god up here. But from here the earth is beautiful, without borders or divisions."

First words spoken by a human in space. Comrade Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut, April 12, 1961.

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"I don't see any god up here. But from here the earth is beautiful, without borders or divisions."

First words spoken by a human in space. Comrade Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut, April 12, 1961.

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Eduardo Strauch via his Instagram x (07/04/2025)

Caption translates to (alt ID in Spanish): On April 7, 46 years ago... Today I celebrate the strength of the bonds that endure, of walking together even when life shakes us up. To my family and all those who accompany me on this journey: may we never stop believing in deep love, the kind that transforms and transcends.

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Nando Parrado via his Instagram on Álvaro Mangino

Caption he wrote roughly translates as follows:

Today, my dear friend Alvarito, the silence leaves me speechless, but my heart continues to speak.

Together we fought against nature, and in that battle, our friendship was forged with indestructible strength.

What we shared in those 72 days is something I will never forget, and something I will always carry in my soul.

I took care of you and you took care of me. Even though you're gone today, know that I will carry you in my heart until the end of my days.

You'll always be with me, companion, brother, friend. I bid you farewell with the love and respect I've always had for you.

I'll never forget you.

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I am heartbroken to anounce, we have lost one of our beloved heros of the Andes today.

Álvaro Mangino, 30th March 1953 - 29th March 2025 💙☘️

I am deeply upset to say goodbye to him, I'm sure we all are.

May he rest in peace, and may he give his friends in heaven a big hug.

Descanse en paz, Señor 💙☘️

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What has determined your identity up until now? You've been acting out mechanisms wired into your brain before you had a choice in the matter, and from those automatic mechanisms and long-ago programmed beliefs you have fashioned a life. It is time to re-create: to imagine a different life, one truly worth choosing.

Gabor Mate, The Myth of Normal

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Gabor Maté, When The Body Says No

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Middle East in Early Photochromes: Young woman in Bethlehem, Palestine

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Artwork made by Carlos Páez Vílaró (Father of Flight 571 survivor, Carlitos Miguel Páez) dated 9th of May, (1)976

Text at the bottom reads: gracias Chile! CARLOS PÁEZ VÍLARÓ en. San Fernando, a su Hospital 9/MAYO/976

Photo credit to Arribaenlacordillera on Instagram, and the wonderful people in Grupo Re-Viven over on Facebook

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Kamdhenu, the wish granting cow. 15th-17th century sculpture from India.