Numa Turcatti Explained

Birth Name:	Numa Turcatti Pesquera
Birth Date:	1947 10, df=y
Birth Place:	Montevideo, Uruguay
Death Place:	Glacier of Tears, Argentina
Death Cause:	Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Education:	University of the Republic

Numa Turcatti Pesquera (30 October 1947^[1] 11 December 1972)^[2] was a Uruguayan law student, known for being one of the victims of the 1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 plane crash, dying 61 days after the crash. He is portrayed by Enzo Vogrincic in Society of the Snow (2023), where his character serves as the film's narrator.^[3]

Biography

He was born on 30 October 1947, in Montevideo. He had four siblings, his twin Leonardo, Daniel, Gastón and Isabel.^[4] He attended the Colegio Seminario, a Jesuit school located in the Cordón neighborhood.^[5]

After graduating from high school, he began to study law at the Law School of the University of the Republic.^[6] He was a member and captain of the Loyola FC team created by alumni of Colegio Seminario and affiliated to the University Sports League in 1970, which was renamed the Numa Turcatti after his death.^{[7] [8]}

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

See main article: Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571. Numa Turcatti was 24 years old when he was invited to travel to Santiago, the capital of Chile. He decided to travel well over the date, encouraged by his friends Alfredo "Pancho" Delgado, Gastón Costemalle and Alfredo Cibils. They convinced Turcatti to join the flight due to the affordability of the ticket and for that reason, on 12 October he boarded the plane of flight 571. Aside from Costemalle, Turcatti did not know any of the other players of the Old Christians Rugby team nor with Stella Maris, the high school they represented before the accident of 13 October. He played football for the San Ignacio de Loyola team. ^{[9] [10]}

Although Turcatti had no connection with the Old Christians rugby team and did not know most of the students and passengers, he actively participated in the expeditions and helped the injured.^[11] Despite the lack of food, he was reluctant to consume human flesh from the bodies of the deceased.^[12] Due to a leg infection, he had to remain immobile and stop being part of the expeditions.

Death

Turcatti had been surviving in the mountains for 61 days. Due to a septic condition, he died in his sleep weighing just 25kg (55lbs).^{[13] [14]} He was the last fatal victim of the tragedy of flight 571 in the Andes. During his lectures, Gustavo Zerbino Stajano tells that Turcatti had written a passage from the Bible on a piece of paper in his hand when he died:

Legacy

• Due to the importance that Numa had in what was San Ignacio de Loyola up to that moment, his teammates decided to change the name of the team, which became "Numa Turcatti" from the 1973 season onwards.^{[15] [16]}
• The character of Rafael Cano in Frank Marshall's 1993 film Alive is inspired by him and was played by actor Michael DeLorenzo.
• Turcatti is a focal character of the film Society of the Snow, dedicated to his support for other victims and because he was the last one to die.^[17] The intention of director Juan Antonio Bayona was to pay more attention to those characters who had not survived and who did not have so much recognition. He was played by actor Enzo Vogrincic.^{[18] [19] [20]}

See also

• Roberto Canessa
• Carlos Páez Rodríguez
• Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

Further reading

• ‘Society of the Snow,’ the spirit of Numa Turcatti and the soccer team named after him - El País, January 22, 2024.

Bibliography

• Book: Canessa. Roberto . Tenía que sobrevivir . Vierci . Pablo . Editorial Alrevés . 2017 . 978-8416328758 . Barcelona, España . 344, pp. s/n . Roberto Canessa . Pablo Vierci.
• Book: Canessa, Roberto. I Had to Survive: How a Plane Crash in the Andes Inspired My Calling to Save Lives. 2016 . Simon and Schuster . 978-1-4767-6545-7.
• Book: Read, Piers Paul . ¡Viven!: El triunfo del espíritu humano . Open Road Media . 2017 . 978-1504042895 . New York, Estados Unidos . 446, pp. s/n . Piers Paul Read.
• Book: 1974. Read, Piers Paul. . J. B. Lippincott Company. First . 039701001X.
• Book: Vierci, Pablo . La sociedad de la nieve . Editorial Alrevés . 2022 . 9788418584749 . Barcelona, España . 384, pp. s/n . Pablo Vierci.
• Book: 2008. Vierci, Pablo. La Sociedad de la Nieve: Por Primera Vez Los 16 Sobrevivientes Cuentan la Historia Completa [English:'' The Snow Society: For the First Time The 16 Survivors Tell the Complete Story'']. Editorial Sudamericana. 978-950-07-2975-8.

Additional:

• Book: Guiver, John . To Play the Game: A History of Flight 571 . 2022 . 9781913166694 . John Guiver . 582, pp. 33, 46, 64, 73, 79, 83, 88, 90, 100-101, 249, 269, 272, 308, 314, 346, 356, 364, 441, 453, 549 . en.
• Book: Chahuán, Francisco . Semillas de futuro: Voces para el Chile 2030 . Editorial Catalonia . 2015 . 9789563244045 . 1ra. . Santiago de Chile . 496, pp. s/n . Francisco Chahuán.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2024-01-26 . ¿Quién fue y qué hizo Numa Turcatti en 'La Sociedad de la Nieve'? . https://web.archive.org/web/20240127174821/https://www.muyinteresante.com.mx/sociedad/38813.html . 2024-01-27 . 2024-01-27 . Muy Interesante . es-MX.
2. Web site: Guevara . Mauricio . 2024-01-11 . ¿Quién fue Numa Turcatti, el último muerto del vuelo 571 quien se negó a comer carne humana? . 2024-01-11 . larepublica.pe . es.
3. Web site: Destape . El . 2024-01-09 . La historia real de Numa Turcatti, uno de los que falleció en la tragedia de los Andes: por qué es tan importante su muerte . https://web.archive.org/web/20240111185817/https://www.eldestapeweb.com/atr/curiosidades/la-historia-real-de-numa-turcatti-uno-de-los-que-fallecio-en-la-tragedia-de-los-andes-por-que-es-tan-importante-su-rol-20241915260 . 2024-01-11 . 2024-01-11 . www.eldestapeweb.com . es.
4. Web site: 2024-01-08 . Quién fue Numa Turcatti, por qué es el personaje central de "La sociedad de la nieve" y quién lo interpreta . 2024-01-12 . El País . es-UY.
5. Web site: González . María José . 2024-01-09 . La sociedad de la nieve: El motivo que llevó a Numa Turcatti a los Andes . 2024-01-12 . elgoldigital . es.
6. Web site: Meganoticias . 2024-01-08 . "La Sociedad de la Nieve": Quién era Numa Turcatti, joven que fue clave en el rescate de los 16 sobrevivientes . 2024-01-12 . meganoticias.cl . es-cl.
7. Web site: Numa Turcatti . Sociedad de la Nieve. 24 February 2023 .
8. Web site: 50 años de Numa Turcatti . 2024-01-12 . La institución celebró su primera mitad de siglo y fue reconocida por el Consejo de Neutrales. . es-es.
9. Web site: 2024-01-15 . La sociedad de la nieve: quién fue Numa Turcatti, por qué es el personaje central y quién lo interpreta . 2024-01-28 . La Nación . es.
10. Web site: 2024-01-26 . ¿Quién fue y qué hizo Numa Turcatti en 'La Sociedad de la Nieve'? . 2024-01-28 . Muy Interesante . es-MX.
11. Web site: 2024-01-11 . La sociedad de la nieve: quién fue Numa Turcatti, por qué es el personaje central y quién lo interpreta . 2024-01-11 . La Nación . es.
12. Web site: Guevara . Mauricio . 2024-01-11 . ¿Quién fue Numa Turcatti, el último muerto del vuelo 571 quien se negó a comer carne humana? . 2024-01-11 . larepublica.pe . es.
13. https://lavisionweb.com/deportes/futbol/la-sociedad-de-la-nieve-el-espiritu-de-numa-turcatti-y-el-equipo-de-futbol-que-lleva-su-nombre/ La sociedad de la nieve, el espíritu de Numa Turcatti y el equipo de fútbol que lleva su nombre
14. https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2024/01/24/quien-fue-y-como-era-numa-turcatti-interpretado-por-enzo-vogrincic-en-la-sociedad-de-la-nieve/ Quién fue y cómo era Numa Turcatti, interpretado por Enzo Vogrincic en “La sociedad de la nieve”
15. Web site: . 2024-01-22 . La Sociedad de la Nieve: 'Numa Turcatti' el equipo de fútbol con nombre del héroe olvidado en los Andes . 25 January 2024 . web.
16. Web site: Firpo . Javier . 2024-01-20 . La Sociedad de la Nieve: habla el mejor amigo de Numa Turcatti, que lo convenció para viajar a Chile pero se bajó del avión a último momento . https://web.archive.org/web/20240127102627/https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/sociedad-nieve-habla-mejor-amigo-numa-turcatti-convencio-viajar-chile-avion-ultimo-momento_0_wLlNsk25Yv.html . 2024-01-27 . 2024-01-27 . Clarín . es.
17. Web site: 2024-01-06 . ¿Quién es Numa Turcatti? La historia real del protagonista de 'La sociedad de la nieve', nominada a un Globo de Oro 2024 . 2024-01-12 . www.lasexta.com . es.
18. Web site: 2024-01-11 . La sociedad de la nieve: quién fue Numa Turcatti, por qué es el personaje central y quién lo interpreta . 2024-01-11 . La Nación . es.
19. Web site: Saldaña . Por Alejandro . 2024-01-10 . "Prefería morirse mirando el cielo": la razón por la que Numa Turcatti es el narrador en "La sociedad de la nieve" . 2024-01-11 . infobae . es-ES.
20. News: . 2024-01-12 . ¿Por qué Numa Turcatti es el narrador en "La sociedad de la nieve"? . El Comercio . 25 January 2024 . web.