Spain: A UFO Over Cabrejas, Witnessed by Three (1974)

Source: Diario de Cuenca
Date: 05.09.1974

Spain: A UFO Over Cabrejas, Witnessed by Three (1974)
By José Vicente Avila

A UFO in Cuenca? So it would seem. Mr. Amadeo Villar, the renowned industrialist who was on his way to Madrid at seven o'clock in the morning on Tuesday, accompanied by his daughter and his driver, Manuel Ruiz, saw a strange object in the skies over Cabrejas. Was it a flying saucer? The news isn't new because similar events are taking place in some parts of our country. Nor is it the first UFO to be seen in our province: as our friend and colleague Luis Calvo, from Radio Peninsular, was saying yesterday, this is the third one. The first one appeared around La Mancha some eight years ago and left ground traces. The second was seen by two residents of Cuenca who were heading to Madrid and their car suddenly died when the phenomenon came into view. The third is the one seen by Amadeo Villar. We have spoken with him and his driver, while his employees make humorous remarks about the "experience" that befell them.

"When did you notice the flying object?"
"We were on our way to Madrid, and when were up around Alto dee Cabrejas, I saw something strange that reflected through the windshield. First I thought it was the sun, but I kept looking at it, and said so to Rosa Mari, my daughter, and Manolo. We saw there was a clear space amid the clouds and saw the strange object perfectly. It gave the impression of being a very bright television set. I told them that it was a flying dart, but my daughter and Manolo said, "Can’t you see it's spinning? It looks like a flying saucer."
"What was its color?"
"A very bright color. Similar to a TV set when it’s turned on and a strong brightness appears. This was much more intense and orange in color."
"Manolo Ruiz, you were driving the car. What was your impression?"
"I had a strange sensation. I slowed down to see it better, since we were going at ninety, and I saw that there was a luminous object to our left."
"Had you ever seen anything similar?"
"No. I've traveled a lot and have never seen anything like it."
"Don't you think there could be some confusion with a sunbeam?"
"No, no," Amadeo interrupts. "I had been looking at it for a while and it hurt my eyes. When we were watching it calmly with my daughter, she said: "Daddy, this is scaring me."
"How long was it in sight?"
"Some forty or fifty seconds."
"Did it vanish completely?"
"No. It ducked into the clouds and we could see its reflection through them, just as we'd seen it before, thanks to its considerable brightness."
"This means that you no longer find the stories that appear daily at all strange, regarding similar cases elsewhere."
"I was rather skeptical about these things. I thought that UFOs didn't exist and that they were optical illusions. But when we saw it clearly, we realized that it was an object unknown to us, but rotating."
"Do you know about weather balloons?"
"No. I've heard them mentioned, but I've never seen one. I don't think this was a weather balloon, of course, because I imagine that they wouldn't have the brightness that this object possessed. It was exactly like a flying TV set, with a lot of glare."
"How does one feel when such things are seen, Manolo?"
"It was in our heads for a while and we kept turning the matter over and over.
"I came back yesterday," says Amadeo, "and didn't say a word to anybody, because people may take it in jest. But when Manolo came, I decided to tell the story because there was at least one witness. If anyone wants to verify this, my daughter is at school in Madrid. You can ask her over the phone, if you like."
"How did your friends react when they heard the news?"
"Some took it lightly, others seriously. Everyone has wanted to know and they've asked me a thousand times what it was like, since everyone is interested in these things when they occur."

What does appear to be the case is that an unidentified flying object has flown over Cabrejas for a few seconds. There have been witnesses who have found themselves having to describe their "vision" over and over, because when it comes to flying saucers and extraterrestrials, the veil of mystery is lifted little by little. Some will believe, others won't. The story, however, occupies the front page of our current affairs.

[Translation (c) 2015 Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic Ufology, with thanks to José Vicente Avila]