Argentina: The Lagoon Creature

The Lagoon Creature: A Unique Argentinean Photo?
By Luis Burgos – Fundacion Argentina de Ovnilogia

From the days of the legendary Kappas, the “cane field beings” mentioned in Oriental writings down to the numerous events in which similar entities have been seen prowling Argentinean lakes, the constant remains the same: Water. It should suffice to recall the “suspected” case involving Wilfredo Arevalo in Lago Argentino (Santa Cruz) in the early days of ufology (1950) or the strange visitor of Villa Carlos Paz (Cordoba) in the vicinity of Lago San Roque (1968) or the famous and controversial Balvidares case (1973) in a lagoon at General Pinto, Buenos Aires Province, or even the startling manifestation of a tall entity to fishermen (1978) at Dique La Florida (San Luis), or the contact experience of Fermin Sayago (1980) in Santa Rosa (La Pampa) or the humanoid chase experienced by Modesto Coleman (1992) around Laguna del Pescado in Victoria (Entre Rios), to begin to understand that the reality of strange beings associated with water, as shown by the case histories, surpasses any sort of speculation.

In early 2008, when the country was about to undergo a massive UFO wave -- foretold by this author by means of the Decimal Hypothesis, tallying 550 reports through that year, a figure that cannot be questioned – a member of FAO had a unique experience at Laguna del Monte, located 140 kilometers southwest of the city of Buenos Aires. A place known for water sports and fishing, this body of water is a mecca for tourists, especially in the summer. This is where Nelson Rocha Polanco, his sister Rossana Rocha and their friend Nora decided to go. Once settled in, they got their fishing tackle together. It was a summery evening, January 29, 2008, and there weren’t many people using the campgrounds. Around 23:30 hours, they saw a strange source of light in the center of the lagoon, resembling flashes.

Minutes later, their astonishment increased considerably when they saw a sort of “luminous silhouette” suspended over that sector of the lagoon. It vanished later on. The three vacationers throughout the night and into the following day remarked upon this unusual event. Even so, Nelson Polanco spoke with the campground’s watchman, but was unable to find any corroborating witnesses.

The surprises continued on the next evening. Rossana walked way to locate a fishing line among the reeds, and her screams alerted Nelson and Rosa: a luminous, spherical white object, making no noise whatsoever and small in size, hurtled against her, nearly driving her into a state of shock. Polanco himself managed to see the object as it flew at low altitude, hugging the shoreline. This event, along with the previous evening’s events, hastened the group’s departure from Laguna del Monte.

Mr. Ivan D., 38, a resident of southern Greater Buenos Aires, in the district of Almirante Brown, owns a business in Capital Federal, and he commutes daily. One day in May 2010, he contacted this author to provide an unusual item in his possession: the alleged photo of an ET. In this state of affairs, and as is our custom, we offered to have our experts analyze the photo and dispel any doubts. Thus, Patricio Barrancos contacted the experiencer and received the material for study. According to Ivan D.’s story, on March 14, 2010, during Holy Week, he decided to spend that time with his family at Laguna del Monte. He headed for that destination with his wife Vanina, his two small boys, 2 and 8 respectively, and the rest of the family – a total of eight. Once settled beside the lagoon, he took several photos with his digital camera.

Between 14:00 and 16:00 hours that afternoon, he took several shots of the landscape and his family. The only thing that Ivan D. found unusual that afternoon was an “unusual roiling of the waters” not very far from the shore, taking place under a considerable dark cloud covering that part of the lagoon.

After returning home, he checked the photos taken that day on his computer. The photo taken of his 8-year-old son at 15:56 hours – who cannot be seen, as the boy darts behind a tree – leaves him bewildered. A strange and enigmatic silhouette – with no human characteristics – “appears” on the lagoon’s edge at a certain distance from the family group and to the left of the image. He reaches his own conclusions, certain that whatever it is, it isn’t a “normal” person. After reviewing the material, out of all the photos taken that afternoon, it is the only one that reveals the strange figure.

Therefore, any research on the photo was from this moment onwards in the hands of experts. The first study was performed by Patricio Barrancos and the second by Jorge Figueras, both with FAO (Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogia). The photo in question stood up to the efforts of both analysts.

Let us see the conclusions reached by Figueiras on the photo: the image is correct. The silhouette is visible in both thumbnails, and thumbnails cannot be hoaxed. The initial analysis by Patricio Barrancos is flawless and nothing further can be done, as the contour of the photo is “burned” by glare.

It is possible to create a hoax with “a cardboard or wood silhouette, or something similar, but the problem is the glare. It could also be done with mirrors reflecting sunlight on the figure and against the last tree. The problem is that this effect can be achieved with a minimum of three large mirrors (since the tree cannot be hoaxed – it is quite real). All of this requires tremendous ingenuity (worthy of Steven Spielberg) and adding ideal elements. Furthermore, if someone had created such a scene at the lagoon, it would have been in all of the country’s TV channels and newspapers, telling the story of how the apparition was added to the photo or else used to lend weight to the case...I am saying that it can be done, but I don’t think that someone has the ingenuity, elements and desire to do such a thing. And if we find someone with a similar notion, it would be someone able to do it on a computer, and would avoid such efforts. Nor has it been made by a computer. The image is clean and lacks any traces of editing. Furthermore, we have the two thumbnails in the photograph’s code, and these cannot be tampered with.”

The strange entity – with anthropomorphic outlines and apparently tall stature, according to the distance calculations in the image – falls into the classification of Grey entities. Loathsome aspect, triangular head and prominent eyes. A curious cloudiness, in this case, surrounds the upper part of its head, or else is emanating from the creature itself. The absence of a neck is very noticeable, almost as if separated from the head. In its left hand it gives the appearance of carrying something fastened to its body, around the waistline, and its clothing resembles a diving suit that sags around the knees. According to the location on the photo, the intruder was either in the water or above it, and was looking at the witness himself – that is to say, Ivan – as the photo was being taken.

The witness’s reliability, plus the contributions made by both experts, lend authenticity to the photographic material, making it a relevant case in National Ufology. A series of personal situations experienced by Ivan himself after the photo was taken, which are common to those who have had close encounters of the third kind, even if in this case only a photograph was involved, have kept this case open and in a state of active investigation on our part.

(Translation (c) 2010, S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Guillermo Gimenez, Planeta UFO)