María Belón

María Belón (born May 12, 1966)[1] is a Spanish physician and motivational speaker, known for surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami when she was on vacation in Thailand with her husband Enrique (Quique) Álvarez[2] and three sons Lucas, Simón and Tomás. She was severely injured in the tsunami and nearly died.[3]

María Belón
Born (1966-05-12) May 12, 1966
Madrid, Spain
Nationality Spanish
Occupation
  • Spokesperson
  • advocate
Years active2011–present
Known forSurviving the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
Spouse(s)Enrique Alvárez
ChildrenLucas, Simón and Tomás

She was portrayed in the 2012 film The Impossible by Naomi Watts (with the name changed to Bennett), who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.[4] The family's nationality was unspecified in the film.[5][6][7][8]

Belón now travels around the world as an advocate for survivors of the tsunami and gives motivational speeches about how she overcame the turmoil and two years of recovery following her injuries. She studied to be a physician and also previously worked as a professor of management with the ESADE Business School, and as a business consultant for companies like Pepsi. She has stated that some of her family is from the Canary Islands.[9]

She was the Spotlight Guest Speaker at the Share Iuvare Business Convention in 2015. Also in 2015 she was a speaker at the World Business Forum. In 2013 she was a guest lecturer at the Instituto de Cervantes in Gibraltar.[10]

Aftermath

Belón is credited in the cast of the 2012 film The Impossible for providing her story and working on the set in Thailand in the same locations as the original tsunami.[11] Belón chose Naomi Watts to play her in the film, stating that Watts was her favorite actress after seeing the film 21 Grams. She worked with screenwriter Sergio G. Sánchez to ensure her story was accurately told.[12][13]

Belón has appeared on numerous television shows, including Charlie Rose and The View, discussing her experience of making the film and her family's experience of the tsunami. She has been outspoken regarding the fact that her story of survival is not the only one, and that she is only one of many who suffered and survived. She now works as an advocate for those still recovering from the effects of the tsunami. She has said of her experience,

The tsunami was an incredible gift. I embrace life. My whole life is extra time. There is no difference between me—a Spanish woman named María who is alive—and thousands of moms who are under the sea. I do not deserve to be alive, but life is not fair. I feel pain and compassion for so many others who didn't come back up or lost the ones they love. My whole story is on my body. And it is wonderful because it means I am alive.[14][15][16][17]

References
  1. Maria Belon story accessed 3/21/2015
  2. Leonard, Elizabeth (21 January 2013). "Maria Belon: The Impossible’s Real-Life Survivor". People.
  3. Kenberr, Ben (14 December 2012). "Tsunami Survivor Maria Belon Reflects on 'The Impossible'". voices.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  4. Dawson, Angela (3 January 2013). "Maria Belon survived 'The Impossible'". frontrowfeatures.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  5. Howard, Courtney (13 December 2012). "INTERVIEW: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, J.A. Bayona, Sergio G. Sánchez, Belén Atienza & Maria Belon Talk THE IMPOSSIBLE". Very Aware Movie Blog. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  6. Randolph, Grace (13 December 2012). "WATCH: Ewan McGregor & Naomi Watts Talking About Preparing For 'The Impossible'". Movieline. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  7. Kenber, Ben (14 December 2012). "Tsunami Survivor Maria Belon Reflects on 'The Impossible'". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  8. Hayes, Brogen (31 December 2012). "THE IMPOSSIBLE – Behind The Scenes". Movies.ie. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Maria Belon bio accessed 3/21/2015
  10. World Business Forum 2015
  11. von Tunzelmann, Alex (3 January 2013). "The Impossible submerges the true impact of the tsunami". The Guardian. London: GMG. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  12. Fienberg, Daniel (19 December 2012). "Naomi Watts discusses the real life inspiration for The Impossible". HitFix. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  13. Maier, Jenni (21 December 2012). "The Impossible True Story: Maria Belon & Enrique Belon". crushable.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  14. Leonard, Elizabeth (21 January 2013). "Maria Belon: The Impossible's Real-Life Survivor". people.com. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  15. Parry, Tom (5 January 2013). "Miracle mum relives 2004 Tsunami ordeal which inspired new movie 'The Impossible'". Daily Record. Glasgow: Trinity Mirror. ISSN 0956-8069. OCLC 500344244. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  16. Curtis, Rachel (21 December 2012). "BBC News - Tsunami survivor's impossible story hits the big screen". BBC Online. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  17. Christy, George (2013). "The Impossible, Juan Antonio Bayona, The 2004 Thailand Tsunami, Ewan McGregor And More!". Beverly Hills Courier. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
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