When miner Yonni Barrios emerged from the capsule after being rescued from his 70 day stay in a cramped mine shaft, he actually thought he would be greeted by both his wife of close to three decades and his mistress of a decade.
There as a great deal of tension seen in his jaw as he was anticipating this awkward reunion where he assumed all would be forgiven and overlooked simply because he survived.But he was mistaken.
Only his lover Susana Valenzuela showed up to sob into his neck as she held on to him and hugged him for dear life.
She was there to reputedly kiss him on the lips.
But Yonnie Barrios did not reciprocate her affection . His body language was stiff as he showed no emotion. In fact he whispered something to Susana which may have been for her to back off with all the hugs and kisses. As a result, their embrace was quickly broken and she went into the crowd while Yonnie greeted others and no doubt searched the crowd for his wife.
His mind must have been was preoccupied with wondering when his wife 56-year-old Marta Salinas, would now come forward. But that was not to be the case.
THE GALL OF A TOXIC MAN
Marta discovered that Susana was also holding a vigil for her husband at the Camp Hope site. It was actually mistress Susana who broke the news to Marta that there has been an accident at the mine. Apparently after Marta discovered her husband’s infidelity with Susana, it was reported that they came to punches and had to be pulled apart.
To make matters worse, as Marta, the wife started to get involved in his affairs on Camp Hope, Yonnie instructed teams on the surface to only deal with his lover Susana instead of his wife.
This no doubt devastated Maria. It must have taken her all of these days to wrap her mind around the situation that she was betrayed and now discarded.
Then as the day of the rescue approached, Yonnie asked Marta to greet him at the site. She was prepared to forgive him. She was planning to go, until she heard that he also wanted his mistress Susana there to greet him as well.
MARIA IS A CLASS ACT
She refused to do so. She even had some kind f words for him as she managed to tell the press “I’m happy because he was saved. It’s a miracle from God. But I won’t attend the rescue.”
She let the other woman show up so there would be no problems. In fact the First Lady of Chile applauded her decision.
After the rescue took place, she was once again questioned by the press. She is quoted as saying:
‘I’m glad I didn’t go to the mine, it was the correct decision. It would have been wrong if the two of us were there – I have children and grandchildren. That kind of situation wouldn’t have been good for my family, and my sons come first.
Then she gave him a well deserved zing by stating He is crazy and cocky to think I would do such a thing. I have a sense of decency.’
She m also said she would not be visiting him at the hospital. ‘If he wants to see me or talk to me he can come find me. Otherwise we will talk through our lawyers.‘I have his belongings and all these gifts people have sent him – he is welcome to have them.’
She said she is not bitter but had words of wisdom for her husband and the other miners.
‘This is historic but soon it will be over to the next thing. People move on – in a few years everyone will have forgotten about this.‘They think they will all be millionaires overnight but it’s not like that. Only the skillful ones will make something from this.’
While Yonnie Barrios may have survived this ordeal as a hero, the real hero is Marta his wife. She serves as an inspiration to all women.
She will not allow herself to be disrespected or humiliated. At first, she was willing to forgive. But when she saw that Yonnie was continuing to be disrespectful towards her, she could no longer forgive. She is not bitter and appears ready to move on with her life. She knows what is important in life- her children, grandchildren and her self respect. www.drlillianglass.com
