Parrado, Nando 1949-

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Parrado, Nando 1949-

PERSONAL:

Born 1949, in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Education: Graduate of Stella Maris College, Montevideo, Uruguay. Hobbies and other interests: Racing motorcycles, sports cars, stock cars and watercraft.

ADDRESSES:

Agent—(speaking engagements) Gail Davis & Associates, Inc., 2319 Hall Johnson Rd., Ste. C, Colleyville, TX 76034.

CAREER:

Businessperson, television producer, television show host, public speaker, and writer. Chief executive officer of four companies in Uruguay; hosts several popular television programs in Uruguay, including shows on nature, public affairs, autos, and travel.

AWARDS, HONORS:

European Team Cup, for stock car racing; Open Watercraft Championship in Punta Del Este, Uruguay.

WRITINGS:

Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home (memoir), Crown Publishers (New York, NY), 2006.

ADAPTATIONS:

Miracle in the Andes was adapted as an audiobook, Books on Tape. 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Although now a successful businessperson in Uruguay, Nando Parrado was a member of the Montevideo rugby club team in 1972 when he, his teammates, family members, and supporters were traveling in a plane that crashed in the Chilean Andes. In his memoir, Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home, Parrado recounts the harrowing ordeal that cost the lives of his mother and sister, among others. Parrado details how, after waiting nearly two months for rescue, watching some of the initial survivors die, and eating the remains of the dead so they could survive themselves, he and another crash survivor set out in subzero mountain weather to find help—not only for themselves but also for the other sixteen survivors they had left behind. "The author claims to not have flashbacks, but his candid, vivid memories bring this nearly incredible story to life once again," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. James Scudamore, writing in the Spectator, commented: "The description of his epic journey out of the mountains to seek help is involving, and his dogged determination to escape and be reunited with his beloved father comes across well." In a review in Booklist, George Cohen called the memoir "an amazing story of bravery and courage."