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He is one of the 16 survivors of the 1972 plane crash in the Andes, when he was a 25 year-old rugby player, after surviving 72 days in the snow, and temperatures between -25 and -40 degrees Celsius. Tonight at 8:30pm, he will speak in person about this difficult experience, one of the less-talked about survival stories, while looking for his Basque roots on ETB’s program Origen. 

Donostia-San Sebastian.   Survival, human limits, and the strength of a group and solidarity are the theme of tonight’s episode of Origen on ETB, thanks to its featured guest, Eduardo Strauss Urioste.  Architect, artist and writer, his first last name is German, and his second is Basque, Urioste.  Eduardo is one of the survivors of the plane crash known as the “Tragedy in the Andes.”

In 1972, Eduardo returned to Montevideo from a tournament with his rugby team.  They were 45 in all between players and family members, when the plane crashed in the middle of the Andes, at more than 3,000 meters altitude.  Survivors of the accident, the majority of which were young students and athletes, were able to survive these extreme conditions, organizing themselves and supporting each other, in order to survive 72 days in a snow hell.  A chilling story of a terrible odyssey.

Today, Eduardo travels to the Basque Country to get to know more about his Basque roots and thanks to the program Origen, he will visit Urioste, the town that his surname comes from.  “We attach much importance to family, which I feel is very Basque,” he explains.

The program airs at 8:25 on ETB2, and in the early morning at 2:15am on Canal Vasco/ETB Sat (more info, here).   It can also be seen via EiTB’s website a la carte beginning tomorrow, here. 

A teaser: