Miracle in the Andes:
The Mind Can Change the Future
Akina Shirayama
ENG101
5/31/07
Many people share their own personal beliefs about God and religion.
Some people live their entire lives following the rules of their religion. Other
people choose not to believe in religion because they feel it gives them freedom.
It is difficult to say which is right or wrong. This causes many questions about
the purpose of God and religion. A good example of this can be found in the
story, Miracle in the Andes, by Nando Prarrado. In this story, the author,
Parrado, is the main character who wrote his views about how he felt and
thought. He deeply goes into detail how his experience in the Andes changed
his views towards God. And this change helped him survive in the Andes.
Parrado and his family were the devout believers in the Catholic
religion and he had grown up in Catholic school in Uruguay since he was a
child. He did not question God too much when he was with his family and
friends. But on October thirteenth in 1972, an incident happened that changed
his perspective completely. “Parrado was the member of the Old Christians
Rugby Club and Parrado and the other members were going to Chile to play a
rugby game” (Parrado 7). During this flight, a plane which carried forty-five
people hit the Andes. Aboard the plane, there were also Parrado’s mother,
sister and close friends who all died in the plane crash. Parrado survived but
was left cold, hungry and without his family. The remaining survivors
including Parrado prayed to God every night for keeping themselves alive until
the rescue would come, and they all became united in hope for their survival
through praying. All of them except Parrado were certain that the rescue would
come to save them. However, since Parrado lost his family and close friends,
Parrado doubted his belief towards God and heard the voice of his mind saying
“No one will find us. We will die here. We must make a plan. We must save
ourselves (Parrado 65).” And later, this mind drove him to do the surprising
things for the survival such as climbing the Andes, which is the second highest
mountain in the world, and eating the flesh of dead bodies for this survival.
In addition to the death of Parrado’s loved ones, Parrado’s father’s
words also gave Parrado the ideas of climbing the mountains and eating the
flesh. Parrado had many thoughts about his father while he was in the Andes.
He had a very close relationship with his father. His father owned a small
hardware store, and there was a time when the store was experiencing very
poor business. However, Parrado’s father made it the most successful
hardware chain in Uruguay by keep saying “I would not quit. I would suffer a
little longer (Parrado 72).” in his mind. Parrado’s father was a hero in
Parrado’s eyes and one of the people Parrado believed in most. The image of
Parrado’s father’s success kept him going. Parrado’s father also said Parrado
“Be strong, Nando, be smart. Make your own luck. Take care of the people you
love (Parrado 42).” And those words made Parrado adjust to his reality. For
the first month in the Andes, the team captain was the group leader. The
captain managed and organized the members to work well, but his goal was to
keep everyone alive until the rescuers would come. When he knew that a
rescue was called off on a radio, he lost his confidence and belief in his
decision. He became weak and died in an avalanche. After facing this realty,
Parrado’s goal of getting out of the Andes was coming to be accepted by the
other remainders. Parrado was more realistic and adapted to this situation
faster than the captain, and these characteristics of Parrado made the other
remaining survivors recognize Parrado as the new leader. Even though
Parrado couldn’t accept this situation, the others needed him as the leader in
order to survive. “The individual best equipped to help the group survive
would naturally become the leader” (Byars and Rue 243). And this change
made the group as a whole adapt to each situation properly because Parrado
took the lead in climbing the Andes and eating the flesh of dead bodies. When
he became the leader and when he came up with those ideas, he had already
lost his belief toward God which he had believed in since he was a child. He
had strong confidence in his decisions and followed what he believed the best.
Other reasons that helped the survivors keep alive were luck, strength,
wisdom, teamwork and love. First, people such as Guito and Panchito who
didn’t have luck died. Guito died because he was sitting on the back seat in the
tail section which was separated from fuselage and fell in the air. Panchito died
after he switched a seat with Parrado. Second, Numa, who couldn’t separate the
idea of the dead friends’ flesh as a source of food, accepted his death and died.
He weakened both mentally and physically. Third, wisdom prevented the
people from the death. There were medical students who cured injured people.
Moreover, in the interview of DVD of Alive, one member said that they used
their urine to prevent their hands and legs from being frozen and they often
punched each other to help their blood flow. They also used seats cover as
blankets and made sleeping bag. And they used aluminum sheets to gather
water from snow. Fourth, teamwork played an important role in this survival in
many situations because they had to act for a group. For instance, when two of
the remaining survivors, Parrado and Canessa, left for Chile, they faced a big
fear that they could die anytime in any situation in the snowed mountains.
They didn’t have even experience or enough equipment. However, they
climbed on the Andes for ten days as they supported each other. They cared
about each other’s condition and speed of climbing the mountains, and took a
rest together. Parrado’s presense encouraged Canessa as well as Canessa’s
presence encouraged Parrado. This made sixteen people including themselves
go back to their home. At this time, Parrado was one hundred percent sure that
God lived in his mind. All what led him alive was himself.
At last, Parrado often thought of love to his father and his future. He
wanted to see his father again and did not want him to be sad by losing all of
his family members. Some of the remaining survivors had also girl friends or
fiancé, and they could suffer for the ladies. There are many parts in a book,
Miracle in the Andes, saying “Eat for your family.” For example, there was a
woman who left four children at her mother’s house. Although she couldn’t eat
the flesh first, she finally began eating the dead bodies so that she could see her
children again. Unfortunately, she didn’t survive, but everyone had the same
reason of eating the flesh. They all wanted to go back to their home where their
families were. Besides, Parrado had longed for marriage and having his own
family. Parrado writes, “There was love, the love in my heart, and for one
incredible moment, as I felt this love swell – love for my father, for my future,
for the simple wonder of being alive – death lost its power. In that moment, I
stopped running from death. Instead, I made every step a step toward love, and
that saved me” (Parrado 261). He walked step by step to love. And the step led
him his home. Love was the strong emotion and had power to have kept
Parrado alive.
Through Parrado’s experience, he truly found out what he believed in.
He realized God lives inside of himself. After the story, some said “God had
played a fundamental role in their survival that he had been there, present on
the mountains. Others were more inclined to believe in all modesty that their
survival and escape could be ascribed to their own efforts.” (Read 311) In
Nando’s case, he says, “I realize now that what I really wanted was the comfort
of certainty, the knowledge that my God was the true God, and that he
rewarded me for my faithfulness” (Parrado 263). He believes each God lives in
each person and God tells each person to follow the way as he/she thinks. Most
importantly, people have the ability to change their minds about what they
believe in. Parrado’s view to God changed by doubting God. And by doing so,
he adjusted to this situation and struck upon the reasonable ideas for their
survival. Since Parrado returned safe from the Andes, he has followed his
father’s words, “Don’t let this be the most important thing that ever happens to
you. Look forward, you will have a future. (Parrado, 245)” Even now, Parrado’s
father is the hero of Parrado and Parrado takes over businesses from his father,
does car racing, owns TV station as a producer, and lives happily with his wife
and daughters. Parrado says in the compact discs of Miracle in the Andes that
“he became less Catholic and more spiritual.” His mind still keeps making his
future.
Works Cited
Alive: Based On A True Story. Dir. Frank Marshall. Perf. Ethan Hawke, Jack
Noseworthy, Vincent Spano, and Josh Hamilton. 1992. DVD. Buena
Vista Home Entertainment. 2002.
Byars, Lloyad l., and Leslie W. Rue. Management: skills and application.
New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007.
Parrado, Nando, and Vince Rause. Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the
Mountain and My Long Trek Home. New York: Crown, 2006.
‐‐‐. Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long
Trek Home. Narr. Arthur Morey; Prologue, and Nando Parrado;
Epilogue. Dir. Staci Snell. Interview with Nando Parrado. Arr.
Random House Audio. Maryland, 2006.
Read, Piers Paul. Alive: The Story of The Andes Survivors. New York: Avon,
1975.