Bosco Gutiérrez Cortina is a Mexican architect and businessman whose kidnapping, which occurred in August 1990, and later escape shocked Mexican society deeply. At the time, he was 33 years old and the father of seven children. His kidnappers planned to extort money from his father, a prominent industrialist, and brothers.
The experience lived by Bosco Gutiérrez Cortina had a lot of repercussion in the media due to its particular characteristics. Generally speaking, a kidnapping is not expected to last that many days. On the other hand, the life experiences that have been shared by this Mexican professional have served as inspiration for many people.
Source: Abilia Real Estate Intelligence. Interview with Bosco Gutiérrez Cortina - Part I
In total, Gutiérrez Cortina spent 257 days of his life confined to a cell 3 m long by 1 m wide and 1.90 m high. During the entire time he was in captivity, he did not hear any human voice and did not wear any clothing. He also spent long periods of time in the dark.
All his history and his experiences were later collected in a book entitled 257 days. In addition, this book was the script for a fiction film titled Interior Space. This film was the winner of the Audience Award at the Guadalajara International Film Festival in 2012.
His story
Capture
Bosco Gutiérrez Cortina was kidnapped in Mexico City by a group of criminals on the morning of Wednesday, August 29, 1990. According to his own account, the kidnappers beat him and threw him into the trunk of a car.
According to what he reported, that day he had left home early to go to mass, as was his custom. Suddenly, he was immobilized by some people who identified themselves as police officers and held him in handcuffs.
Additionally, they put on him protective glasses painted black so that he could not identify them later. From what he could see around him, Gutiérrez Cortina estimates that it was a group of about five people. After handcuffing, threatening and beating him, the kidnapping group began the journey to their hiding place with Gutiérrez Cortina as a hostage.
During the journey, two vehicle changes and three captor team changes were made. Upon reaching what would be his place of confinement for the following months, his dark glasses were removed and he was able to see his abductors for the first time, although they were wearing masks.
Captivity
Upon reaching the place where he would spend the next nine months of his life, his clothes and garments were taken from him. Next, he met who would be his guardians (at least two of them).
Then, he realized that he was in a zulo (hidden hole, of reduced dimensions, which is used as a hiding place). Their guardians were masked all the time.
According to his estimates, that pit was about three meters long and one meter wide, with no windows, so that he lost track of time. Also, to ensure their disorientation, the captors played a thirty-minute cassette of the same music continuously.
After several days in complete darkness, he received a questionnaire from his kidnappers. In it, he was required to answer in writing a series of personal and family questions under threat of death. They warned him that negotiations for his ransom would not begin until he answered the questionnaire.
After reflecting on the matter, he decided to answer only those questions that were easily verified. Only then could the process of negotiating his rescue begin to advance.
Release
After nine months of captivity had elapsed, an agreement was reached to pay the ransom of Bosco Gutiérrez Cortina. This would take place in Brazil, and his brothers would be in charge of carrying it out.
Unfortunately, due to various complications, it did not materialize. Meanwhile, Gutiérrez Cortina did not lose hope of escaping. For these purposes, he had built a small tool from a spring for his bed. Likewise, he had cultivated a fine location instinct for his vigilantes outside his cell.
Thanks to this instinct, one day he could detect that there was nobody watching. Then, using the tool he had built, he managed to open the small door where they gave him food and leave the chalet where he was being kidnapped. Later, he learned that he was kidnapped in Puebla, about 150 kilometers from his home.
The escape was not easy due to his lack of strength and the impact caused by natural light. In addition, his disheveled appearance caused mistrust in people.
As he could, he managed to get home to Mexico City. The relatives of Bosco Gutiérrez Cortina remember that he got out of a taxi and ran towards them. His first words were "I have escaped!"
257 days in el zulo
In his account of the events, Bosco Gutiérrez Cortina confesses that at the beginning of the kidnapping he was very impressed. Being thrown into the trunk of a car, stripped naked, and carried in a blanket "like a little taco" was beyond his ability to understand.
He also described as surreal the experience of seeing his captors disguised under white sheets, like the Ku Klux Klan. Similarly, being forced to provide information that put his entire family at risk had brought him down. This took away the desire to live.
For a couple of weeks, he sat in the corner next to the toilet in a fetal position, hoping to pass away. Her captors realized that if they did not do something she was going to die, so they told her that on Mexican Independence Day she could have a drink.
That day, Bosco Gutiérrez Cortina asked for a glass of whiskey. Upon receiving it, he tossed the glass without taking a sip. Then, he wrote on a sheet of paper “Today I won my first battle. I know that in the end I can still be free, that I am not a piece of anything.
After that event, he decided to dedicate himself fully to his faith, so he devised a regimen of prayer and regular exercise, and he studied the Bible. He also realized that he could not live with anxiety. At Christmas, he communicated to his captors that he wanted to pray with them that night and surprisingly they were present.
References
- Vértiz De La Fuente, C. (2013, August 16). "Interior space", the other look at the kidnapping. Taken from proces.com.mx.
- Manglano, JP (2012). 257 days: Bosco: the true story of a man who did not allow himself to be overcome by fear. Barcelona: Grupo Planeta.
- Religion in freedom. (2013, March 10). Bosco Gutiérrez, the man who prayed with his kidnappers; a story of overcoming. Taken from religionenlibertad.com.
- Gyapong, D. (2008, February 25). Kidnapped architect finds spiritual freedom in tiny cell. Taken from opusdei.org.
- Apaolaza, F. (s / f). The 257 days of Bosco. Taken from multimedia.opusdei.org.