Gustavo Zerbino

Last updated
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 sixteen survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 plane crash that occurred on October 13, 1972 in the Andes.

Contents

Early life and education

Gustavo Zerbino was born in Montevideo on May 16, 1953, 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] On October 13, at the age of 19, he was a passenger on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 that crashed in the Andes and was one of those who survived 72 days in the mountains. [7]

Career

After returning to Uruguay from the Andes, Zerbino continued studying medicine but ultimately did not graduate. [8] Instead, he earned a business administration degree from the University of the Republic. [9] 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. [10]

Since 1980 he has been director of Cibeles S.A., his family's pharmaceutical company founded in 1975. [11] He also has served as president of the Chamber of Pharmaceutical and Related Specialties of Uruguay (CEFA). [12]

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. [13] In addition, as a sports executive and administrator, in December 2007 he was elected president of the Uruguayan Rugby Union, [14] and in 2009 was re-elected for a second two-year term. [15] In 2011 he was succeeded by Marcello Calandra. [16]

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. [17]

In 2000 he began a relationship with the Argentine María González whom he later married. Together they had two daughters, Luma —Gonzalez's maiden daughter, whom Zerbino adopted—, and Lupita. [18] They both divorced and in October 2019, María González died of breast cancer. [19]

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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571</span> 1972 aviation accident in the Andes mountains of Chile

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 was the chartered flight of a Fairchild FH-227D from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile, that crashed in the Andes mountains on 13 October 1972. The accident and subsequent survival became known as the Andes flight disaster and the Miracle of the Andes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Lacalle Pou</span> 42nd President of Uruguay since 2020

Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou, is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, serving as the 42nd president of Uruguay since 2020.

Javier Alfredo Methol Abal was a Uruguayan businessman and lecturer, known for being one of the 16 survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571.

Roberto Fernando Jorge François Álvarez, better known as Bobby François, is a former Uruguayan rugby player and agricultural producer, known for being one of the sixteen survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash in the Andes Mountains in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberto Canessa</span> Uruguayan rugby union footballer

Roberto Jorge Canessa Urta is a Uruguayan paediatric cardiologist, motivational speaker, and former rugby player. He is one of the 16 survivors of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed in the Andes mountains on 13 October 1972. He was portrayed by Josh Hamilton in the 1993 feature film Alive and by Argentine actor Matías Recalt in the 2023 Spanish feature film Society of the Snow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Álvaro Delgado (politician)</span> Uruguayan politician

Álvaro Luis Delgado Ceretta is a Uruguayan veterinarian and politician of the National Party (PN), who served as the 18th Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic from 2020 to 2023. He also previously served as National Representative from 2005 to 2015, as well as Senator from 2015 to 2020. He is a candidate for president of Uruguay in the 2024 general election.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Uruguay has resulted in 1,041,263 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 7,679 deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Uruguayan general election</span>

General elections will be held in Uruguay on 27 October 2024. If no presidential candidate receives a majority in the first round of voting, a runoff will take place on Sunday 24 November 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of Luis Lacalle Pou</span> 42nd and current presidential administration of Uruguay, inaugurated in 2020

The presidency of Luis Lacalle Pou began on 1 March 2020 when he was inaugurated as the 42nd president of Uruguay. Lacalle Pou, a member of the National Party took office following his victory over the Broad Front nominee Daniel Martínez in the second round of the 2019 general election, which ended the 15-year leftist rule in the country and the return of National Party to the Executive since his own father was the president in 1990–1995. On 16 December 2019, after his victory in the second round and before his inauguration, he announced his cabinet consisting of leaders of National, Colorado, Cabildo Abierto and Independent parties, members of the Multicolor Coalition.

The Colomi bus crash took place on 2 March 2021, when a bus traveling along Route 7 between the departments of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, fell into an abyss, the accident caused 21 deaths and 17 injuries. The bus was carrying students from the Universidad Pública de El Alto, which had suffered another tragedy that same day, when a balcony collapsed at the college during a protest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sebastián Beltrame (presenter)</span> Uruguayan television producer and presenter

Sebastián Beltrame Bouzas is a Uruguayan television producer, director and presenter.

<i>Society of the Snow</i> 2023 film by J. A. Bayona

Society of the Snow is a 2023 survival drama film directed by J. A. Bayona and based on Pablo Vierci's 2009 book of the same name, which details the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's experience in 1972 after Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes mountains. The cast is composed of Uruguayan and Argentine actors, most of whom are newcomers.

Bautista Mascia Paysée is a Uruguayan singer, songwriter, former rugby union player and television personality. He is known for being a vocalist and guitarist of the band Toco Para Vos and for being a contestant in the eleventh season of the reality television series Gran Hermano.

Casi muerta is a 2023 Argentine-Uruguayan romantic comedy film directed and written by Fernán Mirás. Starring Natalia Oreiro, it is a remake of the 2012 Basque-language Spanish film, Bypass.

Porn and Ice Cream is an Argentine comedy television series created by Martín Piroyansky for Amazon Prime Video. Premiered on March 11, 2022, it stars Piroyansky, Ignacio Saralegui and Sofía Morandi.

Numa Turcatti Pesquera was an Uruguayan law student, known for being one of the victims of the 1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 plane crash. He is portrayed by Enzo Vogrincic in Society of the Snow (2023), where his character serves as the film's narrator.

Francisco Domingo Abal Guerault was a Uruguayan rugby player. He was part of the Old Christians Club and was considered one of the best rugby players in his country. In 1970 he was part of the Uruguayan rugby team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pablo Turturiello</span> Musical artist

Pablo Turturiello Rol is a Uruguayan actor, singer, songwriter and television personality who rose to prominence for his starring roles in the Buenos Aires Avenida Corrientes productions of the musicals Footloose, Rent and Heathers. He has also appeared in the miniseries Freeks (2023) and El amor después del amor (2023).

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. Infobae, Newsroom (2022-03-21). "One of the survivors of the Andes tragedy will sell NFTs to support social causes in Uruguay". infobae (in European Spanish). 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. "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.
  9. 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.
  10. Hart-Vorobyoff, Geraldine (2019-07-19). "Gustavo Zerbino: Rugbista al 100% – Rugbiers" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  11. León, Mayte De. "Sin miedo a equivocarse". El Observador. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  12. "SMU". SMU (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  13. Blardone, Por Soledad. "La gran cena anual de Rugby sin Fronteras". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  14. "Asumió Zerbino con directiva de consenso". EL PAIS. 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  15. "Zerbino se mantiene por dos años más". EL PAIS. 2009-12-31. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  16. "Montevideo Portal | Movil". www.montevideo.com.uy. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  17. "La cumbia dulce: Meri Deal y el suceso de Toco para vos". EL PAIS. 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  18. "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.
  19. 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 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.