Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Argentina: Malargue - A UFO Hotspot?

 


 

Source: PLANETA UFO and Los Andes- Periodismo de Verdad
Date: 03.31.21


Argentina: Malargue - A UFO Hotspot? Photo of Alleged UFO in the South Goes Viral

A group of cyclists was going by one of the loveliest landscapes in the area; upon taking a photo, they became aware of a strange formation.

A photo taken of a group of cyclists touring the roads of Malargue quickly became the focus of attention, but not for the breathtaking southern landscaptes or the prowess of the athletes.

What capture the attention of many was that the image displays a strange object that many have associated with a UFO flying of the legendary Castillos de Pincheira formation. The image came about from a post to Facebook by Lucio Aguirre and which went viral immediately.

"Some friends from Alvear were pedaling around the Castillos de Pincheira region in Malargue. They took several shots of the landscape and in one of them, you can see this..." says the man in his profile.

The photo shows a dirt road only meters away from the rocky formation. Above it, meters above the structure, a blurry object seems to hover above the surface.

While the Castillos de Pincheira formation is clearly visible, many tried pouring cold water over the post. Users were inclined to explain the phenomenon with a simple 'dirty lens' explanation.

(Note: This is hardly the first time that Malargue has appeared in Inexplicata. A series of photographs taken a decade ago became the source of controversy in North and South America alike: http://inexplicata.blogspot.com/2008/04/)

[Translation (c) 2021 S. Corrales IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez Planeta UFO]

Friday, March 26, 2021

Argentina: María José Habiaga and The Dolores Triangle

 


 

YO FUI TESTIGO (I Was a Witness)

A Series by ICOU (Investigadores de Campo OVNIS Unidos - United UFO Field Researchers)

Episode 7

María José Habiaga and The Dolores Triangle

 "Greetings all. Welcome to a new installment of Yo Fui Testigo. My name is Maria Jose, I'm from Dolores, Province of Buenos Aires, and I am a member of FAO (Argentinean Ufology Foundation)in Dolores - I represent my city in FAO My experience was a brief one; it must have taken place around 2013. We were on our way back with friends from having done errands, and I have this habit of looking at the sky, which I love doing. I looked up and saw the glare of streetlights, but then I saw something anomalous, something unusual, but I couldn't tell what it was. I shielded my face from the glare, and that's when I managed to make out a triangle...ahh...flying very slowly from south to north, from Mar del Plata toward Buenos Aires. It contrasted perfectly against the sky, having a dark grey color, almost black, but it contrasted very, very well against the sky.

"I asked my friend to take a look, she scooted over to have a better view, she saw it, and we exchanged "what-could-that-be" looks. What is it we were seeing? We started talking among ourselves, conforming that we were seeing something that couldn't be, because it truly startled us. It moved super slowly - I had the impression that it was floating. It wasn't straight, it was somewhat tilted, and moved like this [gesticulates motion]. It had whitish yellow lights, and what struck me the most is that the lights were illuminated but cast no light. They didn't provide any brightness, as would a bulb.

"My friend and I disagreed on whether the object had lights on its ends. I saw an additional set of lights on it from my perspective. So, well...we were frightened and after having the conversation about not being crazy, that we were in fact seeing the same thing, we took off running toward my house. We were really frightened. Our eyes were glassy from our nerves. We were laughing and exchanging wide-eyed looks. This happened around my house, now I will check to see if I can show you the location more or less, if it's visible from yard, otherwise we'll go to [inaudible].

"This is the view from this perspective, behind my house. At the time, the white house wasn't there, and that yellow house either, so it would have been visible from my house. And now I'll show you the place from where we saw it.

"This is the route we took - we came this way - my house is over there, around the corner [gestures with hand] and straight in that direction is the backyard we were recording from. This is the streetlight whose glare didn't let us see clearly. [Points at sky] and there, above the bulb, was where the object was floating on a Mar del Plata to Buenos Aires heading. [Points at clouds] It was as high as those little clouds you see there, because I'm unable to estimate it in meters. So this was the place.

"Well, that was my experience. I hope you enjoyed it. I don't know if it was an extraterrestrial phenomenon, a terrestrial one, but I would like to see it again. This time I wouldn't run away. I would stay to see how this craft, or phenomenon, behaved. If you're interested in the subject of triangles, Luis Burgos has a re-creation and an interview about the Mechita Incident which is super interesting, and I also invite you to watch the other chapters of Yo Fui Testigo created by my ICOU colleagues. Much love and thank you for your time."

[Translation (c) 2021. S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Luis Burgos and María José Habiaga]

 

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Argentina: "Aggressive" UFO Flight over San Juan Caught on Video

 


 

Source: PLANETA UFO and Radio Mitre (Argentina)
Date: March 16, 2021

Argentina: "Aggressive" UFO Flight over San Juan Caught on Video

Recording was made by a group that studies strange manifestations in the heavens. They shared their images on social media and claim that "investigation is underway".

The groupm called Guardianes del Cielo Cuyano presented images concerning a strange UFO manifestation in the skies of San Juan. They made the case known through social media and said it was under investigation.

The released images show a flash of light recorded by witnesses during a skywatch at the locality of Pie de Palo.

According to television channel 13 in San Juan, the organization claims it is a still-unidentified flying object.

Argentina: Anomalous Lights over Pie de Palo

 

 


PLANETA UFO has shared a report from Argentina's Crónica (18 Mar 2021) written by Marco Bustamante and concerning the Guardianes del Cielo Cuyano group. An anomalous object has been recorded at the locality of Pie de Palo in the province of San Juan, department of Caucete. The video is accompanied by the following text: "Hello friends! We want to tell you that a few weeks ago, stemming from reports of Caucete residents regarding odd lights at Cerro Pie de Palo, we undertook skywatches and came across the phenomenon described to us by witnesses. Investigation is underway, and we will soon upload more incidents. This is something to tide you over. Best regards."

VIDEO AT: https://youtu.be/QxpcWs3EQ2c

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Charred Aliens in Argentina? When the Dead No Longer Speak

 

Charred Aliens in Argentina? When The Dead No Longer Speak

by Luis Burgos (FAO-ICOU)

 

PREFACE

 Anyone who deals with statistical data concerning Argentina's UFO case histories should know that the first major UFO wave occurred in 1962. While very interesting flaps occurred in 1947 (at the start of the contemporary UFO age), 1950 and 1954, it was from 1962 onward that veritable 'cascades' began to occur: 1965, 1967 and 1968, the latter being Argentina's record-breaking year, one that is hard to beat in the present age.

 The first major *daily* wave also took place in 1962, that is to say, a major amount of UFO reports in a 24-hour period. It took place in the early morning hours of May 13 between 02:00 and 04:00 hours, with nine provinces being affected and six cylindrical craft - escorted by several spherical objects - being reported, generating some thirty sighting reports. A true nationwide mass sighting.

 THE ACTUAL CASE HISTORIES OF THE MONTH OF MAY

 This month signals the start of the 1962 wave. We can highlight some significant events, such as:

 At 0300 on May 9, Juan Carlos Garcia, an employee at the Puerto Belgrano Naval Aviation Base, was traveling with friends along National Hwy 35 when they saw a luminous object that chased their Jeep for a few minutes, while releasing two lesser craft at the same time.

 On May 12 at 0410 hours, three truck drivers traveling along National Hwy 35 near Chasicó Creek reported a "luminous train" traveling at a considerable height, producing a buzzing sound, and splitting in two sections which headed westward (more on this case later on...)

 On May 14 at 0300 hours, Aurelio Lilli witnessed the descent of a flying object and the figure of an occupant within the structure in the vicinity of Zapala (Neuquén).

 On May 18 at 0230 hours, a resident of Bahía Blanca saw a small disc-shaped object, measuring barely 30 centimeters in diameter, reddish blue in color, flying at less than 100 meters over the Villa Harding Green airfield.

 On May 20, a local woman from Spelluzi (La Pampa) witnessed a UFO landing and the subsequent emergence of two very tall occupants who walked robotically. The intruders waved to the woman to come closer, which had the exact opposite effect, causing her to flee and suffer a nervous breakdown, which was treated at a local clinic. Police found a circular mark on the ground with flattened grass that gave the impression of having been "burned" (dehydrated).

 On May 21 at 1930 hours, photographer Miguel Thomé of Bahía Blanca's "La Nueva Provincia" took two photos of a white-hued UFO flying at low altitude. The object prowled over several sections of the city for some 20 minutes.

 Also on the 21st, a resident of Guaymallén (Mendoza) reported seeing a mysterious, small flying object, one meter in diameter and flying at a height of less than 50 meters. He described it as "straight in the front and semi-circular in the back."

 On May 22, in a field in Pehuajó (Buenos Aires) two hunters came across a mysterious object on the ground in broad daylight. Three small occupants could be seen - one within the object and a third one outside, inspecting the landscape. They fled when one of the witnesses shouted. Grass was left flattened in the landing area.

 At 1910 hours the same day, an air squadron from the Comandante Espora Naval Aviation Base made visual contact with for 35 minutes with several unknown objects prowling the region. Some of the aircraft suffered interference with their systems. The main witnesses were Lt. Rodolfo César Galdós and his two students, Roberto Wilkinson and Eduardo Figueroa.

 Two hours later, Hipólito Paloacaá took a sequence of five UFOs in the locality of City Bell, near the city of La Plata.

 At 0400 hours one early morning in late May, four residents of Jujuy reported witnessing the landing of a spherical UFO in the rain. The object remained on the ground for an hour before taking off.

 

THE SITUATION AT THE TIME

 While there were political differences among the military commands, the start of the infamous and sad strife between "blues and reds" was still four months away, in September 1962. Even so, UFO incursions did not cease during this moment.

 Faced with this agglomeration of reports from several Argentinean provinces, the reader can imagine the commotion this caused in the press and among the public. Since the late 1950s there had been talk of USO incursions (Unidentified Submarine Objects) in the Atlantic littoral, especially the region of the Patagonian gulfs, with official action in all cases. All of this resulted in the UFO phenomenon taking up a considerable part of print media with the arrival of the '62 wave. Furthermore, for some years now, the Argentinean Air Force and Navy had been using "Technical Information Forms" which were sent to witnesses to be filled out and returned to the UFO Section of the Air Force Chief Command and the Central Office of the Navy Chief Command, both located in Buenos Aires, and engaging in study and investigation of the phenomenon. Therefore, there wasn't so much suspicion or secrecy in having public opinion learn of the treatment given to the subject by officialdom - a situation that would endure until the late 1960s. In turn, information was also being gathered and disseminated from the Punta Indio and Comandante Espora air bases, as arises from documentation forwarded to Jose Miguel Lugones in 1967 due to the well-known Aeroparque case, which was later provided to us by Lugones himself, having been an advisor for over 30 years.

 

THE TWO MOST FAMOUS CASES

 We can say that these correspond to Miguel Thomé, the local press photographer, whose May 21 episode was attached as a CIA classified document under number C00015254, recently declassified by the United States along with a considerable dossier. But the most incredible aspect is that it was filed based on "press clippings' without further research. In this case, a mere AFP newswire from the Lima office, worthy of Ripley's Believe It Or Not.

 The second event, which involved the military, corresponds to May 22 case involving the aviators of the Comandante Espora naval station, which led to the issuance of an Official Naval Communiqué on the very same

 

THE CRASHED UFO YARN

 In the middle of all this, a story 'never-told-before' emerged only a few months ago. One of those unidentified flying objects had crashed in Argentinean territory only a few months ago - more specifically, in the vicinity of Bahia Blanca - and that it involved military figures of that time. This vehicle from outer space was taken to the United States by special air transport sent to the country to take over the situation (there was carnal knowledge with the USA at that time already). As a tale of wonder it's great, but what of the proof? In 1962, nearly 60 years ago, no one ever mentioned a crashed UFO, or to have seen a damaged one that could have crashed. Why is this materializing six decades later? It's as if 30, 40 or 50 years later, stories and rumors concerning a UFO crash are emerging with the aim to endow an event with credibility after the witnesses are all dead...everything turns to legend.

 

THE ARGENTINEAN ROSWELL

 As if this wasn't enough, the same sources giving rise to the foregoing story have returned with an even more daring one: "Charred Alien Bodies". Yes, it may be hard to believe, but how did this all come about? We have to go back to the well-known story involving the truck drivers on the morning of May 12: siblings Valentino and Mauro Tomassini, traveling with Humberto Zenobi by truck along National Hwy 35 between the towns of Berraondo and San German, in southern Buenos Aires province, not far from Bahia Blanca.

 Upon crossing Chasicó Creek, they noticed a very strange object flying at low altitude, and they stopped the truck. The time was 4:10 in the morning. The object looked like a "luminous train" which split in two, with both parts heading westward with a soft buzzing sound. On the next day, over the same spot over which the UFO had lurked, a large imprint measuring 60 meters in diameter was found, with 'dehydrated' grass and a damp, lead colored substance in its middle. It was analyzed by the Universidad Nacional del Sur de Bahia Blanca and it turned out to be a mixture of calcium carbonate and potassium. I made mention of this case some time ago, given that the same elements had been found in Trancas (Tucumán) on October 21 1963 - 17 months later!

 In short, the Trancas Incident found its "twin brother" with the passing of time. But there is also a significant detail: a number of 'charred insects' were found in ground mark's vegetation, according to news sources of the time. Was this fact the reason for changing the case from "insects" to 'bodies' with the passing of time? Regardless, some disturbed mind with unknown aims wanted and still wants to promote this Chasicó incident along with the other two - something that never took place! Using the names of anonymous and deceased military personnel.

 At a distance, 'someone' attempted to link the case involving photographer Thomé (May 21), the aviator sighting (May 22) and the Chasicó landing (May 12) to weave a single UFO story that took place in 10 days, lacking any support, taking advantage of the rise in UFO activity that year to make it credible, transcendent, before-and-after ufology, a Creole Roswell, the Navy's best kept secret, etc.

 

MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER'S STORY

 I remember my great-grandfather telling me a story when I was only 13 years old and was only just setting out on this lengthy ufological journey. As far as he could remember, "a strange object fell from the sky" had fallen from the sky around 1920. Many compared it to a large stone from space, surely weighing many tons. But - listen to this - the few locals who reached the impact site said the object was unknown for its time, as it did not resemble any known aircraft. Even more astounding was the fact that two small, charred bodies were found inside it, with very large heads. Word was issued to the police and even elements of the military reported to the scene. Over time, the incident became a focus of attention throughout the region and it was always remembered, as it had gone beyond the borders of the district. When I asked for proof or a search of witnesses, my great-grandfather said: "No son, don't trouble yourself. The few witnesses to the case are all dead. Only the myth remains."

 A great remark by my great-grandfather, who could have been yours. As it turns out, with over seven decades of the UFO phenomenon, the protagonists of the spectacular incidents of the 40s, 50s and 60s have - by natural law - passed away, and all we have left is the story or investigation done at the time, whether by journalists or UFO researchers of such times. Fifty or sixty years later, we cannot 'attach' more events beyond the ones that already occurred. We cannot tack on a UFO crash where there was none, much less 'charred alien bodies' on the ground. The cases took place as they were described at that time. If we want to garnish them like strawberries on a dessert for our own benefit, we already know where this UFO circus will lead us: more UFO congresses, conferences, forums, etc.

 

The Luminous Object Over Bahia Blanca

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrOTgSp5zfLNMVq7TKvhCH-EMtRJhMQx1HD_wOrqldJgjwnmXMHCa8QH4yjh96CRrv5Yze2umreAXM1cFdFLD75JkaV9XnlGPnMvOFCeVRIQKHpF97jm-c3fvrOfEyIQ_TzdVZg/w640-h556/02.jpg

Argentinean Navy Technical UFO Form for Unidentified Flying Objects

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPit0TZOOH7ZHjY_Xb6vXld_D_5eDQA4k16H-9-7ldqUFD9G_l_lkVVKPCf9JHjhvxj55QYTJRxQnLpJgnVDNBDKpdjoqIu-4WCAO5hDAfCN2moaeYY2ov7d3V6b5eGj1NNIo2Gg/w422-h640/03.jpg

CIA Declassified Document

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9TDFMxRMxLurNxj80g1BvhStTWoLJSOpLAMiM6Pvfg-6EJ-i_xFvJ5fVaiJ4ttatk57nwbOVWo-9oZUhnRNd5QQEsJr3_g-i8ID6k4BviQ9V8EZTb9ZsMFJwMKTUa3NyJmuJ2w/w640-h360/05.jpg

Confidential Document - Official UFO Report

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBq-27BzgYPpJRqtc1Y8z-NPYpjbXRhX1tsxo1ltSDQDEfTUTWS7ND_hsiXWn8x1PIFBUNYfXXHBNzjokTwOnEKsI6aYNHwfEDnPYG7qox6jLPGY-JamGGhd4CPiX6CHOJOaoPQ/w640-h522/06.jpg

Map - May 1962, location of the events

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjimiBcLrvuI4wQT0NJCsU8gDtChRFJ51dayCidDzeVIY8Jx9UBXUUSd87YvH3YbqWrj-RXcLwi17eBQ9DnmBmwISrK9AWcdCje48jb_Ik9OqErXFPJZps9DvvpNcARnifhGRwNgQ/w640-h548/07.jpg

 

 [Translation (c) 2021 Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic Ufology]

 

Friday, March 12, 2021

Paranormal: First Person Account from Rural Argentina


 

Yo Fui Testigo ("I Was a Witness")

A Series by ICOU (Investigadores de Campo OVNIS Unidos - United UFO Field Researchers)

An experience shared by Juan Manuel Spalletti

 I would like to share this story with all of you. One of many we've experienced in this location - Estancia Rincón in the city of La Plata - and this one occurred during a family supper, when my father...my mother told my siblings - I happened to be away with my uncles - to come back into the house as it was getting late. It was Sunday afternoon (clears throat), some of my father's friends were present. My siblings went to bed, and at a distance of some twenty meters, my father had a tambo (milking parlor) in front of the house, over which the light would hover. It was under a gasoline fixture.

 Suddenly the desperate barking of dogs could be heard, and everyone looked outside, wanting to see the reason. It was a warm evening, and well, the same story was told my entire life. It was something fantastic. They saw..uh...something luminous approaching them from between the trees, while the animals went wild. There was an uproar coming from pig pens, very impressive, and that luminous thing had a shape. The dogs began attacking it, and my father, a rural man, grabbed a knife, as did his friends, and they went outside to confront it.

 And that thing stopped in front of the house; it looked like a being some 20 meters distant in the wilderness. When all the men came out - it must have been six or seven of them at least, and this is something my father always talks about - I don't know how high their adrenaline levels must have been, but I do know that had consumed some wine, and furthermore my mother was present, and the wife of one...of one of the men present was there too. And that thing began moving away, as my father explains it, it looked like a large pig, luminous...uh...like a luminous being that ran through the wilderness. So it vanished into the wilderness. Uh, my mother was always a devout Christian, and when my father went to inspect the tambo, she went to look at the spot where the being had stood, and she says she found a crucifix, which she still had to the very last day of her life. An iron or silver crucifix, which is now kept in Maipú, my hometown. That was a place that was closely related to the activity in the 1970s, with the subject of the "desaparecidos" and all that.

 So what do I know? Well, this could've just been a tale, but my father still retells it verbatim to this day. He's seventy years old, and he's retold it while drinking a glass of wine, he's retold it drinking mate, and [the story] is the same from beginning to end. He had a lot of friends who were policemen and who patrolled that area, which was quite extensive. And they would tell him: "I don't know how you have it in you to live out here. We try to avoid entering Estancia Rincón at night because we've seen many things." This is what motivated me to develop a passion for these subjects - I'm not a researcher, I'm just a fan, and a listener of the kind of stories that sometimes make us wonder whether we're alone in the universe, or if there are other realities that we're not aware of. Kind regards to all, Juan Manuel, FAO Maipú.

[Translation & Transcrption (c) 2021 Scott Corrales, IHU with thanks to Luis Burgos - FAO/ICOU and Juan Manuel Spalletti]

 

Friday, March 05, 2021

The Forgotten UFO Wave of the 1980s

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Forgotten UFO Wave of the 1980s

By Scott Corrales

Many UFO authorities in the U.S. and Europe generally agree that the 1980s were a ‘lost decade’ for UFO research. Books were no longer published, magazines disappeared, and interest in the subject as a whole went into abeyance until the sensational claims of the early 1990s.

In his editorial “A Ufology for the 1980s” (International UFO Reporter, March / April 1985) Jerome Clark wrote: “For one thing, since 1947 there has never been a period that has seen so little UFO activity […]. It remains to be seen whether the absence of significant UFO activity is a fluke or whether it marks a return to things as they were before 1947, when UFOs were so rarely sighted that society at large didn’t even have a name for them. Now, of course, the firm place UFOs occupy in popular culture will assure the survival of flying-saucer mythology for some time to come, even in the relative absence of sightings.”

Across the ocean in Spain, researcher Ignacio Cabria had the following to say:” In early 1982, it seemed that UFOs had vanished from the skies, and some wondered if the phenomenon had gone extinct […]. UFO research had entered a ‘dark age’ and a mass defection from the ranks of ufology had begun. Some of those who had participated most actively in the development of ufology were sneaking out the back door, demoralized by the general rollback of interest in the subject, the lack of means and the absence of substantial theoretical gains achieved in so many years of devotion. Those who had entered the field with a passion, secretly hoping to witness humanity’s giant step in achieving contact with an alien civilization could not help but to feel dejected by the phenomenon’s disappearance, especially when in 1979, a level of euphoria had been attained that led many to believe that unraveling the UFO mystery was at hand.”

However, one could be tempted to quote the astronomer Galileo’s  defiant “Eppur si muove” as elsewhere in round the world, the phenomenon  showed the vibrancy that had characterized it a decade earlier.

During the Iran-Iraq War of 1980, Agence France Presse issued a news wire from its Tehran bureau concerning an intriguing incident. Iranian anti-aircraft batteries, it seemed, had opened fire against an unidentified flying object, believing it to be a secret weapon developed by the Iraqis or given to them by Western powers abetting Saddam Hussain’s efforts against the Islamic Republic. The Iranian news agency had also reported that a flash of red light had traveled at moderate speed over Tehran, seen by numerous onlookers, who remarked that it flew lower than the altitudes associated with Iraqi fighter jets. Citizens of Isfahan had also been treated to the sight of an unknown object in 1982.

Despite the dearth of UFO cases in Spain, it was still possible to come across the odd incident, such as the January 18, 1984 event in which two students photographed a UFO near Cádiz. The memorable photograph appeared in the Diario SUR newspaper with the following text:  "Around 11:30 yesterday, an unidentified flying object flew above the Cadiz Highway for a very brief span of time, its maneuvers being witnessed by some thirty people from the San Carlos district."

 

Suspicions arose as to the 'convenient' fact that the two young men involved in the photograph happened to have such a device available to them at that time (it may be hard for some to remember that we did not always carry cameras or have a culture of taking snapshots of everything and anything!), but the explanation given was that one of the two friends was testing a recently purchased camera and were outdoors taking a photo of a dog. Hence, when the intruder appeared in the early morning sky, they were perfectly equipped for it.

The object vanished into the distance at high speed.

Across the wide Atlantic Ocean and in the Southern Hemisphere, August ’85 was proving to be a powerhouse of UFO activity in Chile. News agencies reported that the “bizarre auditive phenomena” in the skies above Santiago de Chile, the nation’s capital, ‘appeared to be linked to the UFO phenomenon’. Three loud detonations – possible sky quakes – were heard over the city, with the military hastening to say that they were not related to army artillery practice or to sonic booms from aircraft. Not to be left behind, the weather bureau chimed in, saying that the phenomenon bore no relation whatsoever to meteorological events.

Against all odds, it would an astronomer – Prof. Rodrigo de la Vega – who would champion the UFO option. He was quoted as saying: “It is very likely that UFOs break the sound barrier much like aircraft do, as they fly at breakneck speed across the Earth.”

Across the Andean Range, Argentina was sharing in the UFO sightings. Reports came in from the provinces of Chaco, Santa Fe, Cordoba and Tucumán, describing sources of light projecting beams against the ground and fireballs colliding against the surface. The most significant of these occurred in San Pedro, a community north of Tucumán on August 17 – the very same day that Santiago de Chile had been rocked by explosions of unknown origin. The San Pedro event was confirmed by residents of another community – Cafayate in Salta Province – who said the UFO exploded against the mountains with the sound one would expect from an airliner collision.

August 26 1985 was a red-letter day for ufological journalism. Newspapers in both Argentina and Chile published the story of “The Ituzaingo CE-3” – an event that transpired on the highway linking Buenos Aires with the city of Corrientes. The experiencers – a married couple driving in their car – claimed having been detained by aliens who spoke fluent Spanish, and who had a message to deliver (in true contactee fashion): “We come from the planet Mait, which is in another space. Like on Earth, we are men and women, but we do not have this civilization (sic). We have come to learn about you. Tell everyone not to be afraid.”

Further corroboration for this improbable event was forthcoming from the city of Necochea (the base of operations of INEXPLICATA contributing editor Guillermo Giménez) where a photographer, Oscar Vallejos, managed to take a picture of a mysterious flying object. Other locals witnessed the object and were startled by its radiance.

We urge interested readers to check out Andrés Salvador’s fascinating analysis of the Ituzaingó CE-3 in INEXPLICATA, May 4 2014 - http://inexplicata.blogspot.com/2014/05/typical-elements-of-heros-journey-found.html

A case worthy of note emerged from Brazil in 1986. In May of that year, unidentified objects buzzed the international airport at São José dos Campos in the state of São Paulo. The presence of these unknown entities was confirmed by the air defense and civilian aviation radar in Brasilia (CINDACTA) but an hour would go by until an airliner captain would asked to confirm the radar contacts. The airliner in question was piloted by Alcir Pereira da Silva and Col. Ozires Silva, founder of the aviation giant Embraer. The crew confirmed the presence of luminous orange objects in night sky, and despite their best efforts at approaching them for a closer look, were thwarted by the prodigious speed of the UFOs.

 

At this point, the Brazilian Air Force scrambled a Northrop F-5 and two Mirage interceptors for visual contact, unable to engage the skittish objects, which were being reported and photographed in a number of cities, including Rio de Janeiro. During a press release held on May 20, 1986, the Ministry of Aeronautics stated that '21 unidentified objects had penetrated Brazilian airspace, confirmed by fifty radar facilities throughout the country'.

Activity had also dwindled in Mexico, a steady source of UFO and humanoid reports over the decades. But fascinating cases still emerged. Jorge Moreno of Yucatan’s SIPSE wrote in 2013 about an Eighties incident that had recently come to his attention – incidents in the jungle locale of Cobá in the state of Quintana Roo, long before the area became the tourist mecca that it is today.

“Raul Robles shares two experiences he shared a few years ago,” says Moreno, “which I found striking, as they were similar to other sighting reports in the municipality of Chemax, Yucatan, and on the road leading to Cobá, Quintana Roo, which could result in the witnesses having seen the same thing.

“Well, I would like to share my experience with you. I visited Cobá, Quintana Roo in 1980 and in 1983 I had two USO (unidentified submarine object) sightings, one within a 100 meters distance and another at five hundred meters. At the time, this little town only had a few palapas (shacks) and I came to work at a hotel facing a lagoon, 500 meters from the Cobá ruins -- covering ninety four square kilometers and four lagoons – and which are very famous today.

“The first sighting occurred in the lagoon facing the hotel at around midnight. It was witnessed by a local resident, who was the hotel watchman and yours truly, since we were checking the surrounding area.”

“What happened was that a very bright light emerged from the lagoon, very quickly, and the waters rose into the air, as though it were raining. We just stood there looking, startled and not saying a word. Once we recovered from our fright, we said “no one’s going to believe us” and that’s how it was. But it was unforgettable for us. I told my girlfriend at the time – who is now my wife – about the event and she said I was a fool and insane, to keep my feet on the ground because such things did not exist.”

“In a matter of seconds, the water fell down like rain.”

“She didn’t believe in any of this, and well, it upset me greatly that she should doubt me, and time went by. So at the end of 1983 we went out of the hotel I worked at around one in the morning (we had a child by then, too) and there were no lights in the town. Only the hotel had a generator. Imagine our surprise, as we left, to find a light covering a good portion of the pyramids.

“The light looked like when you’re going into a city, and you can only see the glow, but very powerful. I thought I saw it between the two pyramids where we find the one called “El Observatorio” (the observatory). We were stunned, and I asked her, are you seeing what I’m seeing? Weakly, she replied yes. And we stayed like that for around ten minutes until we saw how the light withdrew, becoming smaller, and then it shot off into the sky at a high speed, vanishing into infinity, until we could no longer see it.

“I asked my wife again if she had seen it, and she replied yes with a certain amount of fear in her speech. Then I said: “Now you believe me?” “Yes,” she answered.