Source: Sputnik News and Planeta UFO
https://mundo.sputniknews.com
Date: 08.24.2017
Argentina: The Boom of UFO Tourism
Between 100,000 and 200,000 people a year climb Mount Uritorco in Argentina in search of extraterrestrial sightings. We will tell you what is so special about the area and what promotes UFO tourism in Soutn America.
Luz Mary López, a Colombian architect and instructor, is the director of the Centro Internacional de Ovnilogia (International Ufology Center - CIO) located in Capilla de Monte for the past 20 years. She told Sputnik about how Mount Uritorco became the premier destination for UFO buffs.
On 9 January 1986, an event known as "la huella de El Pajarillo" (The El Pajarillo ground mark) occurred, kicking off the tremendous UFO boom.
On that occasion, an object with red lights - seen by a 12-year-old boy and two elderly women- appeared over the northeastern area of Uritorco. The next day, their relatives reconnoitered the area and found a burn mark measuring 120 x 70 square meters.
Ever since then, many Argentinean communities have used the subject as a tourist attraction. The event gave rise to a sociological phenomenon tied to the place, a one-of-a-kind tourist attraction. Tour companies have promoted it as a niche market, a new way of attracting those interested in visiting the planet's exotic locations.
"We estimate that between a hundred and two hundred thousand people climb the hill [Uritorco] hoping for a thrill," says López.
"We have been carrying out a cultural exchange with Colombia, which is also interested in developing this sort of tourism involving the UFO subject. So the events at Capilla del Monte were the starting point for the whole subject.
Is it true that UFOs can be seen here? This is the question that brings visitor here and motivates them throughout their stay. The reach Capilla del Monte either because the subject is internationally renown or because they are people who have studied, and specialized, in the field and learned about the place.
"They are looking for anything branded as UFO, including flying saucers, alien spaceships, and subsequently, the leave saying that they saw a light, or had a special experience. They receive the outcome they were hoping to find," López states.
Geographically, tourists find themselves in a mountainous location in the middle of the Sierra del Uritorco, which has some of the highest summits in the region. While the environment is desert-like, its topography and vegetation have particular characteristics, as does the climate, which is "out of character" with adjacent regions.
"The experiences you get here are sensations, and people feel them. This makes them depart feeling a great affection for the site," explains the architect.
López's work is a continuation of the efforts of Jorge Suárez, the Argentinean director of the Centro de Informes Ovni Colombo Argentino. He authored books such as "Luces Sobre el Oritorco" (Lights Over Uritorco). Suárez edited the Uritorco OVNI magazine and the www.ciouritorco.org website.
He held conferences on the subject for sixteen years in Capilla del Monete and 11 international conferences in Colombia. As a tribute to him, Luz Mary is furthering the projects they built together.
Capilla del Monte is the headquarter of the Festival Alienígena, now in its sixth year. The program includes photographs, lantern-guided hikes to the Agua de los Palos complex, free movie sessions where "ET", "Alien covenant" and "Star Wars VIII" are shown, and presentation of the "Ciudadano Alienígena" (Alien Citizen) award.
The Congreso Internacional de Ovnilogía - 20 years old in November 2018 - is also held here. Some of the subjects discussed are: "On the footsteps of the gods", "Exopolitcs", "Going ot Mars" and "Humans as Extraterrestrials", among others.
[Translation (c) 2018 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez]