Chilean Miners: Digging up the urban legends

In September and October 2010, the story of 33 miners in Chile trapped 700 meters underground dominated headlines of international newspapers. After being rescued from this infernal situation on October 12, “The 33″ have traveled, and gained a little bit of money along the way.

Six months later, the circus show moved on as journalists took the dreams of the 33 when they left. In fact, some of the miners are living a nightmare. Disease, antidepressants, boredom, poverty, and feeling manipulated by the president as a PR tool.

“I slept with one of the 33″

Florencio Avalos (the first to be rescued), Luis Urzua (the head of the 33) and Daniel Herrera discussed the situation in front of the Intendencia, a government institution located in Copiapo. They’ve been booked for a media tour in Los Angeles – but that trip will not make them a penny. People come and go from the Intendencia, but fail to turn around to look at the overall situation.

Daniel Herrera, 29 years-old who is slightly chubby with a doll-like face, is nicknamed “el negro” because of his skin color. He smiles:

Our story has sparked jealously. People think we are rich and have women at our feet!

In November, Daniel was displayed next to a charming Italian woman journalist. The photo has been floating around Facebook, but Daniel clarified:

The woman who are usually interested in me are so just for a night, and then they can proudly tell their girlfriends: ‘I’ve slept with one of the 33.’

Luis Urzua, past his fifties, has a more severe and worn appearance: “The rumors have been running rampant since we got out of the mine. God can testify to that.”

The rumor mill: sex, drugs, and money…

There are countless rumors around their story. Some came into existence during the drama, and other after the men rose from beneath the ground:

• The 33 came out of the ground with their pockets full of gold
• The 33 had sex with each other
• The 33 had inflatable dolls
• The 33 were using drugs
• The 33 have dozens of mistresses
• The 33 thought about cannibalism
• The 33 are rich
• The 33 have a great life…

…if great means anxiety-stricken.

Pockets full of gold? Mario Sepulveda, the most popular miner, lost the favour of his former friends because “He didn’t respect the pact: he doesn’t share the money he earns from interviews.” When he came out of the mine, he gave stones to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera – but nobody had pockets full of gold.

This is because there is simply no gold in this part of the San Jose mine. Also because the escape route was so narrow (70 cm in diameter) the miners mostly abandoned their belongings in their provisional tomb.

So are they gay now? In the words of one of the 33:

When we left, journalists on CNN made it seem like we were having sexual relations with each other! But this is false. We agreed to this as a strategy to give the story more traction and spark interest. We quickly learned how the media functions!

There weren’t reports of homosexuality, yet no one denied the claims for millions of viewers watching the American network. There were no inflatable dolls, as what was echoed throughout Copiapo.

In the Plaza Prat’s bar located in Copiapo, Daniel Herrera takes a sip of his mojito and glances at the giant screen which is playing a video of Vanessa Paradis. He confides:

Sexuality in San Jose was almost nonexistent. At the beginning it wasn’t even on our minds, we didn’t think we would ever leave. Towards the end the rescuers were sending down porn magazines and pin-up posters…it really was not a paradise!

The rumor is generally believed throughout the world that because of the lack of women, the miners developed forms of short-lived homosexual relationships. Daniel bursts into laughter: “Noooooo!”

As for rumors about the mistresses, apparently  Yonni Barrios has two lovers. Another miner confided to a psychologist that he feared returning to the surface, because his seven lovers were waiting for him. Overall, the 33 don’t have more lovers than the ordinary man.

Jimmy Sanchez was almost eaten?

At the surface of the mine there were more intense emotions. The waiting, anxiety, and boredom brought families, journalists, rescuers, and police together! In total, over 2,000 condoms were found at the “Camp Hope” reunion site.

Drugs? The 33 shared a drink from time to time, but there were no hard drugs. Even though the messages passing from the surface to the miners were censored, their psychologists ensured that illegal drugs were not passed along.  To compensate for the lack of drugs for entertainment, Edison Pena played sports (or at least what he could). Rescuers and families on their part lowered down medications and bottles of Pisco (a Chilean grape liquor).

Cannibalism? According to the rescue team, “Jimmy Sanchez, who was only 18 during the incident, almost got killed.”

Five days after the accident, he was at the bathroom spot (the only place where the 33 would be alone) and was jumped by a group of four or five men. They beat him very hard – they wanted to kill and eat him! Fortunately, other miners who were part of his clan arrived in time.

In April, we tracked down Jimmy Sanchez at a football stadium in Copiapo. What does the alleged victim of attempted cannibalism look like? A young 19 year-old man, 5′7” and a bit thin (He’s a good looking guy!).

As the sun beats down, a strong wind sweeps the earth. Men play with the agility of professionals. Woman and children gather in clusters to watch. Jimmy’s friends’ cars diffuse reggae music, doors and trunks open. Despite his dark glasses and the proximity to his closest friends, Jimmy seems more timid than the other miners. He eats a sandwich stuffed with guacamole and tomatoes. “I’m still physically weak and I can’t play yet.”

In relation to the cannibalism rumors, Jimmy’s version was more moderate:

In the most difficult moments, I was very scared. I thought that if they were going to kill someone, they’d start with me – I was the youngest.

He didn’t say anymore on that, but preferred to move along to another subject: The woman he recently met and fell in love with.

During dinner at Mario Gomez’s house,  he claimed “Cannibalism? It was only a thought. We wanted to stay together until the end.”

The 33 break into Hollywood?

The “truth” about the hidden stories is planned to be released soon in an “official book” on the 33 Chilean miners. For seven months negotiations with several editors tapered out. Yet recently the miners found the perfect writer to spread the authenticity of their story – journalist Hector Tobar, Pulitzer Prize winner in 1992.

A film produced by Brad Pitt is also planned to tell the drama’s complete story, with some juicy details. The 33 miners didn’t forget that the film could bring in millions of dollars.

Another Spanish film “The 33 of San Jose,” directed by Antonio Recio from Argentina, outpaced the film. The movie has already aired on Channel 13 in Chile, which Luis Urzua’s review is “bad.” It’s release date in movie theaters has not been determined, yet clips of the film can be found on the Internet. The production company has also not paid the 33 miners. As Brad Pitt has not put down money either, Daniel Herrera remains cautious:

It’s God who got us out of the mine, and God who only knows if the movie will be released one day.

Like other incredible stories, the media storm that brewed around the 33 Chilean miners quickly swept away. After all, the miners are poor people, remote, and not of particular interest – journalists have no reason to remain engaged! They also have little reason to take notice of taxi drivers, garbage collectors, supermarket cashiers, retail managers, maids, etc….

At least this story allowed people to see a foreign world. A world of masculinity, pain, passion, danger, and where the race for power and money shatters lives.

Thanks to its mineral resources, Chile is one of Latin America’s most powerful economic countries, and its neoliberal economy is very successful. Yet around 70% of the mines are owned by multinational corporations, leaving public services largely neglected in the country.

For what it’s worth, while the Chilean President has not kept the promises made to the miners, he is doing very well for himself! His ownership of the Colo-Colo soccer club, the Chilevision television station, and several copper mines in his country makes him among the top 500 wealthiest people in the world. According to Forbes magazine, he ranks as the 51st most powerful man on the planet. Le Monde Diplomatique claimed within the last year, his bank account expanded from $200 million to $2.4 billion.

This is significantly more than the 500 euros Daniel Herrera makes per month.

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Photo Credits: FlickR CC Secretaria de communicaciones / Anaëlle Veraux
Translation: Stefanie Chernow