The Men from Mexico

“ A true story and one of the most moving experiences of my life. I joined a small group visiting the site of the famous 1972 Andes plane crash. A team of young rugby players and family and friends from Uruguay were stranded for 72 days without proper clothing or food at 12,500 feet in the high Andes mountains.
16 survived and 29 bodies are buried on the mountain. Each summer it is possible to go by horseback to the grave and memorial.

Six young Mexicans and a priest were in the group and invited me to join a Mass for the Dead. It was deeply moving and, though I did not understand a word, the tears were soon rolling down my face. The love for each other first comes from finding it inside ourselves”

In the Cordillera, one December night

Came the men from Mexico
In the fading light

Far had they travelled
To honour those who died

Buried oh so long ago
On the mountainside

Standing by the doorway
I watched the Mass begin

Someone took my arm
And welcomed me within

Padre and the pilgrims
Solemn words and signs

His body and His blood
The wafer and the wine

CHORUS:
All that I am, is all I can be

When I find the love inside of me

BRIDGE:
Silent were the mountains

Bright the stars above

I bowed my head in prayer

And felt the power of love

So Holy was the worship
Tears began to roll

Joined in rivers down my face
Filled my very soul

I cried for all the mothers
The fathers and the friends

The sisters and the brothers
I cried for all of them

Then the Father blessed me
Hand upon my head

A stranger to the words
But I knew what he had said

And they put their arms around me
Those men from Mexico

How we cried and how we cried
How the tears did flow

CHORUS:
All that I am, is all I can be

When I find the love inside of me

BRIDGE:
Silent were the mountains

Bright the stars above

I bowed my head in prayer

And felt the power of love

Something moved within me
On that Andes night

And I will be forever
Bathed in love and light

CHORUS:
All that I am, is all I can be

When I find the love inside of me
When I find the love inside of me