Supermario and the pit of despair: He led 32 Chilean miners to safety after 69 days trapped in the dark... but only now can he tell the terrible price he's paid for fame
- Chilean miner Mario Sepulveda burst out of ground crying 'Viva Chile!' when he was freed from underground
- He says that life since the rescue has been 'hell'
- 'They thought our hell was over, but in fact it was only just beginning'
- Says now lives in darkness and on anti-depressants with no money
- Hollywood making £40m film and Mario will be played by Antonio Banderas
It is one of the most uplifting tales of courage and survival in modern times – a story of life snatched back from the jaws of almost certain death.
More than a billion people round the world sat transfixed in front of their televisions as 33 Chilean miners were finally hauled to freedom after 69 days trapped in the darkness thousands of feet beneath the unforgiving surface of the Atacama Desert.
And when Mario Sepulveda burst out of the ground joyfully crying: ‘Viva Chile!’, he was the undisputed star.
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Mario Sepulveda shot to fame when he came out of the mine crying 'Viva Chile' but he said that life since the ordeal has left him penniless and suffering from insomnia
‘Super Mario’, the leader of the miners, became an instant celebrity around the world.
There were free trips to Disney World, to the Greek islands, to Israel and even to watch his beloved Manchester United play at home. Hollywood came calling with a £40 million movie, The 33, in which Antonio Banderas plays Mario.
Filming is going on right now. Yet there is no heart-warming conclusion to his astonishing story, whatever the millions of film-goers might be hoping.
In a troubling indictment of what he calls the ‘hell’ of his new-found fame, Mario says that he and his fellow miners feel abandoned and exploited by the world and that, staggeringly, he is now preparing to go back down into the earth that once entombed him – to work as a miner once again.
Antonio Banderas will play Mario in the Hollywood film '33'. Mario is now working as an ¿extras co-ordinator¿ on the Hollywood movie that also stars Juliette Binoche as a miner¿s wife and Gabriel Byrne as the engineer who masterminded the rescue
Chilean miner Mario Sepulveda (right) is pictured with fellow minor Raul Bustos and Sir Bobby Charlton during his visit to Old Trafford, Manchester
‘People saw the pictures of the rescue and they thought our hell was over, but in fact it was only just beginning,’ he says.
‘I am going back to the mines because it is the one place I feel safe. They are making a film but our real life has no Hollywood ending.’
Mario, now 44, greets me at the door of his nondescript hotel room in Copiapo in northern Chile. A 90-minute flight from the capital, Santiago, this is the remote mining town where, in 2010, the drama unfolded.
Chilean miner Mario came bursting out of the ground crying 'Viva Chile' but now he says that he, and other miners, feel exploited and abandoned
He is back in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth working as an ‘extras co-ordinator’ on the Hollywood movie that also stars Juliette Binoche as a miner’s wife and Gabriel Byrne as the engineer who masterminded the rescue.
Mario has not spoken publicly since the first months of joy and relief – and it soon becomes clear why.
As he ushers me into his room, I am struck by the heavy curtains which are drawn to block out all trace of the searing desert sun beating down outside.
He shrugs: ‘I prefer to live in darkness. It is more comfortable. In the dark I feel safe. I feel safe alone.
‘When I leave this room I have people coming up to me, they want pictures and to shake my hand.
'I have fame but not money. It is the worst possible thing.’
Mario says he and his fellow miners suffer from nightmares and depression, brought on by the psychological trauma of being trapped for so long – and the stress of being thrust in front of the world’s cameras.
‘When we came up we had no idea what we were arriving into,’ he says, pointing at a Tupperware container full of the pills he now needs to take.
‘In there are antidepressants and tablets to make me sleep and have less stress. Most of the miners are on medication. I will be on it for the rest of my life.
‘We were all simple, working-class men who went down the mine and came up 69 days later into a circus.
'For the first few months we were superstars. But then slowly the world forgot about us and left us to suffer in silence.’
The Chilean government and the recently deposed President Sebastian Pinera come in for the most savage criticism. The San Jose gold and copper mine had a reputation as a death trap where safety measures were routinely ignored.
Here Mario embraces then president Sebastian Pinera but he says 'Chile is a corrupt country.' 'The president supported our rescue effort, and for that I am eternally grateful. But it was good PR for him. His popularity shot up'
Yet the official investigation into the cause of the accident was closed last August with no charges being brought against the mine owners.
‘Chile is a corrupt country,’ says Mario. ‘The president supported our rescue effort, and for that I am eternally grateful. But it was good PR for him. His popularity shot up.
‘We knew there would be a cover-up. They said there was insufficient evidence to hold anyone responsible for the accident. But that is bulls**t. There was plenty of evidence the owners put profit before people, but rich men in Chile stick together and that is what happened.
‘We were abused and exploited – by the government, by the media, by those who took us on trips. Everyone got something out of it except us. When they took us to Disneyland or Manchester United it wasn’t a happy time. We were on show. People got good publicity but it didn’t put food on my table.’
Poignantly, Mario says the first 17 days underground – when the men were trapped 2,300ft below the surface and had no idea if a rescue would be mounted – are now his happiest memories.
Their survival regime has become lore: how the miners banded together after a rock the size of the Empire State building crashed down in a shaft above them, blocking all access to their area.
'We were abused and exploited by the government, by the media, by those who took us on trips. Everyone got something out of it except us,' says Mario (centre)
Gathering in the ‘refuge’, an underground shelter, they lived off a thimbleful of tuna and a sip of rancid milk every 48 hours.
Mario pats his expanded girth – ‘the result of too many empanadas’ – saying: ‘Those days when we were alone showed me the best in humanity.
'We were a band of brothers, all 33 of us. We survived together and were prepared to die together. There was a dignity down there I have not felt since.’
Mario will be played by Spanish actor Antonio Banderas. Mario says he got on with Banderas on set, describing him as ¿a humble man¿, but he still has reservations about the movie. ¿This is Hollywood so they will take liberties with our story'
The men hold the record for the longest survival underground. Their ordeal captivated the world when, 17 days after the cave-in, a drilling bit that had broken through into the refuge was pulled to the surface.
Tied to it, with elastic from Mario’s underpants, was a note written by him.
His message – ‘We are well in the shelter, the 33’ – was the signal for journalists from around the globe to pour into Copiapo, setting up a makeshift town in the desert alongside the men’s families.
Camp Hope, as it was named, has been meticulously recreated by the film crew. Mario says he got on with Banderas on set, describing him as ‘a humble man’, but he still has reservations about the movie.
‘This is Hollywood so they will take liberties with our story,’ he says. ‘I don’t want to make any criticism until I see the film.’
Banderas, who is married to actress Melanie Griffith, gave a noble account of the miners’ story before filming started, saying: ‘The miners did not see themselves as heroes.
'They came to see themselves as human beings and probably came out of the mine better human beings than they were before – that is the important thing.’
Mario shrugs: ‘I don’t think I was better afterwards. If anything, my situation was worse, far worse.’
Banderas spent time hanging out with Mario at his hotel, studying the miner’s mannerisms and voice.
The Chilean miners are pictured here at Old Trafford. Mario said: 'We were abused and exploited, by the government, by the media, by those who took us on trips. 'When they took us to Disneyland or Manchester United it wasn't a happy time. We were on show. People got good publicity but it didn't put food on my table'
Miners were brought up to ground through the Fenix capsule. Pictured here Jimmy Sanchez, the fifth man to be brought up from the mine
Mario recalls: ‘He told me he understood what I’d been through, that he was a simple actor from Spain and, when he got famous, he was overwhelmed too. I said, “Yes, but Antonio you have millions of dollars in the bank. I have fame but no money.” ’
Mario begged the star for work. ‘I said I needed a job, that I would come and work as his gardener.’
Now he says he ‘worries constantly’ about money. When the miners emerged they were each given a gift of £9,000 by a local businessman, and a Kawasaki motorbike which Mario later sold because he needed the cash.
As the ‘face’ of the disaster he embarked on a career as a motivational speaker commanding between £3,000 and £10,000 a time, but says that after the first year invitations were ‘few and far between’.
And so the mine beckons. ‘I was offered a job recently in a mine close to here. I need to lose some weight and get fit and I will start the job, probably in the next couple of months. I can earn $3,000 [around £1,800] a month. I have to support my family.’
The miners were brought back to ground by this testing capsule. Mario said: 'We were a band of brothers, all 33 of us. We survived together and were prepared to die together. There was a dignity down there I have not felt since¿
The movie’s underground scenes were shot in a disused mine in Colombia in January and I ask if he was nervous about going back into the bowels of the Earth.
Mario says: ‘You have to understand, I am a miner, that is my job. When we went into the mine to film I had no fear.
'I felt like I had come home. I am not worried about going back in a mine. It’s what I have to do to support my family.
‘I feel safer in a mine than I do on the surface. On the surface I have anxiety. I have stress. Down in the mine I am calm.’
He is not the only one to fare badly. Edison Pena, who became famous for his Elvis impressions, ended up in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.
Mario is not the only one to fare badly. Edison Pena (pictured) who became famous for his Elvis impressions, ended up in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction
Two of the other men, Victor Zamora and Osman Araya, have eked out a living selling fruit and vegetables at a Copiapo farmers’ market. Another, Daniel Herrera, tried going back down a mine but suffered panic attacks and is being treated by a psychologist.
Yonni Barrios, who became famous when his wife and long-term mistress fought at the rescue site, ended up divorcing and marrying his mistress and now runs a mini-mart.
Fourteen of the oldest miners and those with the worst psychological problems were awarded a £300-a-month government pension. Mario says: ‘The rest of us are left to fend for ourselves.’
Bitter in-fighting among the miners over the movie rights has been resolved, and the men are hoping to make money from the film when it is released later this year along with an authorised book.
Mario’s wife Katty, an accountant, and children Scarlette, 22, a student, and Francisco, 16, have also suffered.
‘It is not easy for them to have a father who would rather sit in the dark,’ he says. A new baby – Mario Junior, born a year ago – brought a rare moment of joy. ‘The baby brings hope. But there is also responsibility,’ Mario adds.
Strangers have cashed in on the story, writing books and making documentaries. Mario is particularly hurt by some of the wild stories that circulated, including tales of sexual relationships developing between the trapped men, and of drugs being smuggled in through the rescue hole.
There were even rumours that, at their lowest ebb, the men considered cannibalism.
‘All lies,’ he snaps, ‘people trying to make up sensational things to make money off us. When you are fighting to survive, sex isn’t on your mind.
'And there were no drugs and no one tried to eat each other. They try to make us look bad to make money. It’s the final insult.’
Florencio Avalos was the first miner to be rescued. His brother Renan Avalos, another of the Chilean miners, jokes: ¿I was number 25 so was forgotten instantly'
There is a knock on the door and a fellow member of ‘Los 33’, Renan Avalos, stands outside.
Renan’s brother Florencio was the first miner to be rescued but Renan jokes: ‘I was number 25 so was forgotten instantly.’ There is no forgetting for the men who survived. ‘I have nightmares,’ says Renan, 33.
‘I split up from the mother of my son. I am back working down the mine. Every day is a struggle.’
In truth, Mario did better than some. Walking to a nearby cafe for lunch he is approached repeatedly in the street by well-wishers wanting to shake his hand or snap photos on their iPhones. But not everyone is as congratulatory, as Renan explains: ‘There is a lot of jealousy towards Mario from some of the other miners because he has made money from things like motivational speaking. I wouldn’t swap places.’
The survivors, it seems, need each other almost as badly now as when they were stuck in their tomb.
‘The only people who understand me are those who were down there with me,’ says Mario. ‘We were just ordinary guys who set off for work one day and didn’t get to go home at the end of our shift. To the world, ours was an incredible story but to us it has become a nightmare.
‘None of us can forget what we suffered down there, but to be abandoned again once we came up was a bigger insult.
‘Some days I think it would have been better if they had left us down there.’
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