Smithsonian opens exhibit dedicated to Chilean miners’ rescue

WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A. - On August 5, 2010, life for 33 Chilean miners went dark as night when the San José gold and copper mine in Copiapó collapsed.

For 17 days, the world didn't know they were alive - until black-and-white images showed they were alive, a half-mile underground.

Sixty-nine days later, an estimated one billion throughout the world watched as each of the miners was hoisted to the surface - showing how ingenuity and human spirit overcame what appeared to be insurmountable odds.

A year later, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History opened an exhibit about the miners' ordeal, named, appropriately, "Against All Odds: Rescue at the Chilean Mine."

Four of the 33 miners were in Washington D.C. for the opening of the exhibit. Mario Sepúlveda, the second to come out of the mine and nicknamed "Super Mario" because of his larger-than-life personality, was humbled by the event.

"I saw myself in one of the pictures of the exhibit," he said. "It's been a long time since I saw myself in that condition, very skinny. It makes me feel nostalgic about those days. They were very special days for me, especially spiritually speaking. [In some ways] I long to be there again, but that's life."

Carlos Barrios, Jorge Galleguillos and José Henríquez also were present at the opening.

The exhibit displayed about 20 objects connected to the historic rescue, including one of the three Fénix capsules built by the Chilean government. The Fénix 1was used as a test capsule before the officials used the Fénix 2 capsule to hoist the miners to safety.

The small Bible used by José Henríquez to keep the faith among the miners also is showcased.

"I preached for 17 days without a Bible," Henríquez said. "Then, they sent me this Bible to speak about God in a much deeper way. God's spirit strengthened us during weakness and kept us united during the good moments and the not-so-good ones."

Other objects included in the exhibit are: pipelines used to send food and letters to the miners; security equipment employed in the rescue; and miner Carlos Barrios' helmet, on which he wrote "Thank God."

"Against All Odds" will be open for 10 months, and officials expect that a large portion of the seven million people who visit the museum annually will learn more about the miners' ordeal.

The exhibit, which is in the museum's geological section, tells two stories: One is the tale of the miners' ordeal; the second is the importance of mining in today's world.

Cristián Samper, director of the National Museum of Natural History, said, "this exhibit is part of the Gems, Geology and Minerals section of the museum, which explain the Earth's formation. [With this exhibit], we are aiming to make a connection between the reasons why we need to extract ores from the depths of the Earth, and the strength of the human spirit that it takes to accomplish it."

Sorena Sorensen, the exhibit's curator, said, "people don't realize the value of what comes out of the Earth that we use every day. The [U.S.] Mint last year minted four billion pennies, and even though each penny has .0625 of a gram of copper in it, when you have four billion, it adds up. When you think of copper in your computer, pipes, cars, you realize that you are surrounded by it, and yet it is invisible. That paradox is important to understand."

Nicolás Bär, the Chilean Embassy's cultural attaché, said the exhibit's funding came mostly from American companies that do business in the Andean nation.

"Since day one after the rescue, we thought about installing an exhibition about the Chilean miners' rescue," he said. "We contacted the Smithsonian Institution and they were open to the idea, but we had to obtain the resources elsewhere. We contacted some private companies and the reception was wonderful. The exhibit cost US$300,000, but we were able to raise US$500,000, and the rest of the money will be used in some leadership programs that we will run with the Wharton Business School, specifically based on the rescue experience."

A year after the accident, President Sebastián Piñera's administration introduced a bill to Congress to improve safety in the mining sector.

"After the law is approved, we'll have a better environment for the miners to do their work," said Chilean Mining Minister Hernán de Solminihac, adding mining-related fatalities have decreased 50% since the accident at the San José gold and copper mine.

Chilean Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno said the country could not have rescued the miners on its own.

"For decades, we've always looked at the world a certain way, searching for the best solutions wherever we can find them," he said. "That's why, to face this challenge, which was filled with thousands of smaller challenges, we had to look for solutions throughout the world. We are very thankful for all the help we received, and also very appreciative of the museum to allow us to remember what happened to the miners."

Arturo Fermandois, Chile's ambassador to the United States, agrees with Moreno that Chile couldn't have made the rescue without international assistance.

"There's a reason why we could swiftly react and send drilling equipment, communication devices, special food and medical equipment that were offered to us from throughout the world for the rescue," he said. "We are an open country, which believes that friendship is forged through open markets. All our treaties allowed us to receive all this aid and that at the end proved successful."

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