Gustavo Zerbino

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Gustavo Zerbino
Gustavo Zerbino.jpg
President of the Uruguayan Rugby Union
In office
20 December 2007 –2011

Gustavo Carlos Zerbino Stajano (born May 16, 1953) is a Uruguayan businessman, motivational speaker, sports executive and former rugby union player. [1] He is known for being one of the 16 survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 that crashed in the Andes on October 13, 1972.

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Early life and education

Gustavo Zerbino was born in Montevideo on May 16, 1953, as the son of lawyer Jorge Zerbino Cavajani and his wife Susana Stajano Ferreiro. [2] He is one of the couple's nine children, [3] and a maternal descendant of Carlos Stajano, one of the founders of Carrasco Polo Club. [4] Raised in the Carrasco neighborhood, he attended Stella Maris College and played for its alumni rugby union team, Old Christians. [5]

In 1972, he enrolled at the University of the Republic to study medicine. [6]

Crash of Fight 571

On October 13, 1972, at the age of 19, Zerbino was a passenger on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes; of the 49 passengers, he was one of the 16 who were rescued from the mountain. [7] While the other survivors were rescued after 72 days, Zerbino stayed an extra day to return with the others' belongings. [8]

During an interview in 2022, he said of his experience on the mountain: [8]

First I would like to clarify what was a tragedy for some and for others, a miracle. There are mothers who talk about the miracle of life and others exclaim, "How will it be miracle if I lost my son?" Then, I would say it's a story of love, friendship, solidarity and vocation of service. Life is a miracle and death is a mystery. In the middle is what we have to live. I was 18 and I was 73 days on the mountain, and today I'm 68. While the mountain [experience] is something out of the ordinary, tragedy is the invasion of Ukraine. Life gives you the possibility to live things that mark you but that allow you to grow.

Career

After returning to Uruguay from the Andes, Zerbino continued studying medicine but ultimately did not graduate. [9] Instead, he earned a business administration degree from the University of the Republic. [10] He also continued playing rugby union, he was a member of the national team, and participated in the 1973 and 1977 South American Rugby championships, in which Uruguay finished as runner-up. [11]

Since 1980, he has been director of Cibeles S.A., his family's pharmaceutical company founded in 1975. [12] He also has served as president of the Chamber of Pharmaceutical and Related Specialties of Uruguay (CEFA). [13]

He is co-founder and vice president of Rugby sin Fronteras ( Spanish for 'Rugby without Borders'), a foundation created in 2009 with the aim of promoting the values of this sport through awareness campaigns, events, conferences and sporting events. [14] In addition, as a sports executive and administrator, in December 2007 he was elected president of the Uruguayan Rugby Union, [15] and in 2009 was re-elected for a second two-year term. [16] In 2011 he was succeeded by Marcello Calandra. [17]

Personal life

Zerbino was married for thirteen years to Paqui Paysée, with whom he had four children, Gustavo, Sebastián, Lucas, and Martín; the latter was a member of the band Toco Para Vos. [18]

In 2000, he began a relationship with the Argentine María González, whom he later married. Together they had two daughters, Luma—Gonzalez's daughter, whom Zerbino adopted—and Lupita. [19] After fifteen years together, they divorced; in October 2019, María González died of breast cancer. [8]

Filmography

Zerbino was portrayed by actor David Kriegel in Frank Marshall's 1993 feature film Alive , and by Tomás Wolf in the 2023 feature film, Society of the Snow . [20]

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993 Alive: 20 Years Later himselfvideo documentary
2007 Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains himselfdocumentary
2009Independent Lens' (Stranded: The Andes Plane Crash Survivors)himselfTV series documentary
2010 I Am Alive: Surviving the Andes Plane Crash himselfdocumentary aired on History Channel
2023 Society of the Snow Rugby Coachfeature film

References

  1. ↑ "'En las situaciones difíciles me muevo como un pez en el agua' | elmundo.es". www.elmundo.es. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  2. ↑ "Revista del Old Christians Club - July 2011". Revista del Old Christians Club: 41.
  3. ↑ "Gustavo Zerbino: «Sigo subiendo a aviones. El cobarde muere todos los días; el valiente, una»". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 2021-04-13. Archived from the original on 2023-07-04. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  4. ↑ "El Club". Carrasco Polo Club (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  5. ↑ "One of the survivors of the Andes tragedy will sell NFTs to support social causes in Uruguay". infobae (in European Spanish). 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  6. ↑ "A 50 años de la tragedia de los Andes, Gustavo Zerbino recuerda los 72 días que sobrevivió en la montaña: "Yo tengo la mente apagada permanentemente"". LA NACION (in Spanish). 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  7. ↑ Palomino, Por Ester (2024-01-12). ""La sociedad de la nieve": Gustavo Zerbino, la maleta y un poderoso momento llevado a la película". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  8. 1 2 3 Cabeza, María (2022-09-21). "Tragedia de Los Andes: conmovedor relato de un sobreviviente que "murió dos veces" en la montaña". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-09.
  9. ↑ "Gustavo Zerbino, superviviente del avión que se estrelló en los Andes: «En cada despegue me persigno»". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  10. ↑ URRABURU, BENITO (2016-03-13). "Gustavo Zerbino: «Lo que sucedió en los Andes fue una historia de amor»". El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  11. ↑ Hart-Vorobyoff, Geraldine (2019-07-19). "Gustavo Zerbino: Rugbista al 100% – Rugbiers" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  12. ↑ León, Mayte De. "Sin miedo a equivocarse". El Observador. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  13. ↑ "SMU". SMU (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  14. ↑ Blardone, Por Soledad. "La gran cena anual de Rugby sin Fronteras". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  15. ↑ "Asumió Zerbino con directiva de consenso". EL PAIS. 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  16. ↑ "Zerbino se mantiene por dos años más". EL PAIS. 2009-12-31. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  17. ↑ "Montevideo Portal | Movil". www.montevideo.com.uy. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  18. ↑ "La cumbia dulce: Meri Deal y el suceso de Toco para vos". EL PAIS. 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  19. ↑ "Gustavo Zerbino, uno de los 16 sobrevivientes de la tragedia de los Andes: "Fuimos plenamente felices en la montaña sólo por vivir un poco más"". Revista Para Ti (in Spanish). 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  20. ↑ "La lección vital de Gustavo Zerbino, superviviente en los Andes: "He vuelto 15 veces al lugar del accidente"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
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