La Sociedad de la Nieve (Society of the Snow), the movie based on the book of the same name, which tells the real-life story of the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, is now on Netflix. And three of the survivors of the 1972 crash have cameos in the movie – which tie back to their own story.
The first of those is Nando Parrado, one of the two who climbed a 15,260 ft mountain peak and hiked for 10 days and approximately 38 miles without gear to seek help. He appears very early on in the movie, during the airport scene. As the actor who plays his character, Nando, is entering the airport, we see the real Nando Parrado open the door for him and his family.
Then comes the turn of Carlos Páez Rodríguez, who plays Carlos Páez Vilaró, his very own father. Páez Vilaró was very much involved in the search for his son, not giving up hope even when most others had already given up. When information about Canessa and Parrado being alive was confirmed, the names of the other survivors were given to him so he could read them out loud and could be transmitted through the radio. That’s the scene we see in the movie.
Finally, we see Roberto Canessa get a cameo in the film as well, the second one of the survivors who went on the arduous trek that helped save his friends. Canessa – who was a medical student at the time of the accident and went on to become a doctor – is one of the doctors who receive the actor playing Roberto Canessa as he gets to the hospital near the end of the movie.
Society of the Snow is now available on Netflix.