Five keys to anthropophagy in the “Snow Society”: what does human flesh taste like, according to one of the survivors of the tragedy in the Andes

More than five decades have passed since the plane crash in the Andes marked the lives of its protagonists, or at least those who remained alive and managed to leave the mountains 72 days later. That terrifying story with 16 survivors is still latent today after the premiere of JA Bayone’s “The Snow Society” on Netflix.

The Spanish writer was based on the events that happened in 1972 and not only showed the disaster or the resistance, but also cannibalism or cannibalismwhich some of the passengers used to get out of it alive.

Eating the flesh of corpses was the only way out or salvation for them to stay in that valley located on top of the mountains with temperatures below zero degrees, as assessed by National Geographic in one of its publications on the subject.

The shell left over from the plane was a makeshift shelter, and the corpses were food, even for those who initially refused to try, and eventually did.

“I will never forget that first cut”, wrote Roberto Canessa in his book “I had to survive” published in 2016.

Five keys to anthropophagy in “Snow Society”

Although for many it was the “miracle of the Andes”, for others, the protagonists, it was nothing more than the cruel experience of practicing cannibalism as a hope for life. “We were never the same again,” Canessa admitted in one of his many interviews.

Those who were still alive were threatened with starvation, so after agreeing on what to do and considering moral and religious issues, they eventually had to agree to cannibalism. “Feeding on the bodies of his companions who died in the accident was the only way to get some protein and energy,” he mentions. National Geographic.

1. Why did they eat human flesh?

A few days after the accident, those who remained alive already began to feel the ravages of cold and hunger. The decision was not easy, as reviewed by CNN and as shown in “Snow Society”.

“The moment came when we no longer had food or similar things and we thought: if Jesus shared his body and blood with all his apostles at the Last Supper, he gave us a hint that we should do the same. Take his body and blood, which became incarnate. And the fact that it was an intimate togetherness between all of us was what helped us survive,” admitted Alfredo “Pancho” Delgado, one of the lucky ones who made it back to the first press conference offered six days after the rescue. .

2. What does human flesh taste like, according to a survivor

Carlos Paez Rodriguezone of the 16 survivors, admitted in an interview with Spanish YouTuber Jordi Wild what the human flesh, which he was forced to eat in the Andes in order to survive, tasted like, reports Univision.

“People ask what it tasted like and I’m sorry to say it didn’t taste like chilled meat, it doesn’t taste like anything, but somehow once you do it you know you have another chance,” he commented in the interview that went viral.

3. How much meat did they eat?

cnn details that the usual ration for survivors was 100 grams of meat per person per day. Although Fernando Parrado, Roberto Canessa and Antonio Vizintín, who put together an expedition to leave the mountains in search of help, could eat a little more than the mentioned amount.

Another National Geographic publication states that they didn’t just eat meat or skin, but also used entrails and bones.

4. What they used to cut meat

After the exchange of ideas, presentation of arguments and Robert Canessa, then a medical student, who explained to them what would happen to them if they did not eat, an unexpected agreement was reached.

“When the idea came up that we would offer each other as food, everyone was convinced: because no one knew who would feed the other,” explained Eduardo Strauch, one of the creators of body cutting.

Together with his cousins ​​Alfredo “Fito” Strauch and Daniel Fernández Strauch, he was in charge of measuring the meat from the carcasses, and only they knew who they belonged to.

They cut large pieces with a razor blade and glass, and then others cut them into smaller pieces, as described by CNN. From there they exposed them to the sun to dry because they had no way to cook it.

5. A photo where you can see a part of the body

While it’s true that “Snow Society” is based on a true story and photographs of the event, the grossness of anthropophagy almost takes a backseat as the narrative contemplates friendship and unity for survival.

However, there are traces of this crime in the photos, which for some is nothing more than mercy to morbidity, as mentioned in MendozaPost, where the scene in which the survivors take photos while observing a “human rib”” almost at his feet is mentioned.

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