Noel Rigau: The 1973 UFO Wave in Puerto Rico

 

Noel Rigau: The 1973 UFO Wave in Puerto Rico

[Eminent ufologist Noel E. Rigau’s casebook includes the intense UFO activity in Puerto Rico during the year 1973, particularly November of that year. Activity began earlier, of course, with the humanoid incident at El Yunque (Caribbean National Rainforest) and William Rosario’s stunning UFO photograph in Mayaguez, events from October of that year which we shall refer to individually. UFO events in the Caribbean and South America would extend into 1974 and even 1975 – SC]

Early November 1973 (exact date unknown). While the exact date is uncertain, at some point during the first part of that month, 55-year-old Mrs. Monserrate Cancel, together with some neighbors, observed a UFO for 15 minutes. At 9:30 p.m., the witnesses were praying in the backyard of a house when they suddenly saw a strange, round object featuring green and yellow lights; it was hovering about 30 feet (approx. 9 meters) above them and spinning on its axis. The object remained stationary for a time but then slowly moved away until it was lost from sight.

November 2, 1973: In the Piña neighborhood of the municipality of Toa Alta, witnesses claimed to have seen a strange, oval-shaped object "flying very low, almost silently, with a silvery phosphorescence." Its pilot appeared human; he waved and gestured, and was wearing a helmet and goggles of an unusual type. The UFO "hovered in the air for a few minutes, as if about to land, but then made a sharp right turn and headed north." Witnesses confirmed finding a "warm, ash-like dust" on the ground, a sample of which we were unable to obtain.

Later that night, a young man named Andrés Acevedo, from the neighboring Quebrada Cruz neighborhood, saw a UFO flying northward; it displayed a light positioned high up and another lower down, as well as two "antennas."

November 9, 1973: A biology teacher, Edwino Lebrón Lebrón, was reading in the backyard of his home in Villa Nevares, San Juan, at 8:00 p.m. ...of that day, when he saw "two luminous discs in military formation (one parallel to the other) flying at high speed from west to east."

November 10, 1973: Dozens of people in the town of Maricao saw "a very bright flying object that appeared to be rotating and seemed to be emitting 'flames of fire'." This event occurred at 8:30 p.m. and lasted 15 minutes.

Among the witnesses was Mr. Enrique Sánchez Rosado.

November 11, 1973: On this date, during the night, a series of UFO sightings took place, primarily in the vicinity of San Juan, the capital. At 6:30 p.m., a group of young people at El Morro saw six UFOs moving from north to south, heading toward Cataño. The objects were "round in shape, with a red light on top." At 7:00 p.m., Ms. Ana Soldevilla and her family saw a luminous object above the Parque Urbano Floral that they initially mistook for a star. However, the object "remained motionless for 5 minutes, emitting numerous twinkling lights," and then moved away from the area. At that same time, Mr. Guillermo Gandía and his family (Raquel, Walter, Edgardo, Iván, and Madeline) witnessed a UFO in the Sagrado Corazón urban area that "remained motionless for 5 minutes." This UFO was oval-shaped and featured a row of small lights at its base forming a ring that "spun rapidly." The UFO then began to move swiftly toward the west, at which point another object appeared in the spot previously occupied by the first. This second UFO was seen more clearly. "It appeared to consist of three layers arranged horizontally, one above the other; the predominant color was reddish-orange." Suddenly, this object accelerated toward the first one, changing to white; both objects hovered over Río Piedras for 10 minutes. At the end of that period, a commercial airliner passed nearby; both UFOs moved away vertically and then disappeared toward the north, passing out of sight.

November 17, 1973: A 20-year-old man (R.A.) was returning home at 10:30 p.m. after visiting a friend in the Santana neighborhood of Sabana Grande. While walking and carrying a flashlight, he saw a luminous object descending from the sky toward him. The young man quickly turned off the flashlight and hid behind some trees. The UFO, without making a sound, made a sharp turn and ascended again. The young man's mother later confirmed that he arrived home very frightened and nervous and told her what had happened.

November 18, 1973: Several residents of the Ramón E. Betances housing complex, in the municipality of Cabo Rojo, recounted to journalist Reinaldo Silvestri  the sighting of a strange object that was "flying relatively low and at high speed."

November 22, 1973: Mr. José A. Arroyo, a 43-year-old Social Security employee, recounts that at 3:30 p.m. he was in the garden of the Guanajibo Homes subdivision in Mayagüez when he saw an object that was "extremely bright and looked like a tilted saucer, moving silently and at high speed" at an altitude of about 400 meters. The UFO was also seen by a neighbor, Gerardo Molina, and by Luis Alicea, as well as by the witness's wife, Carmen C. de Arroyo. It all happened within a span of 10 to 15 seconds. The UFO was moving in a southwesterly direction.

November 24, 1973: During the afternoon, several radio stations in Mayagüez received numerous calls regarding an unidentified object flying over the town. At 2:00 PM, J.A. Ríos reported seeing a "cube-shaped" flying object coming from Cerro Las Mesas at a very low altitude, moving northeast at "high speed." He observed a sort of protrusion on its upper section. According to the witness, the object was spinning on its axis. At 6:30 PM, Ms. Marta Troche and her daughter saw a red UFO "with a white light circling it" throughout its journey toward the northeast.

At 8:00 PM, Ms. Nidia del Valle de Agrait heard a "sound like a vacuum cleaner" while hanging laundry in the backyard of her home in Cabo Rojo-Boquerón, located at kilometer marker 8. She looked up and saw a strange object—positioned almost directly in front of her—about 15 meters away and no more than 10 meters above the ground. The object was not clearly defined due to the dim evening light. The main witness, who was accompanied by her three children, described it as "an eye-shaped object with a light or window in its central section; ...it was like a pure eye." Faced with this unexpected situation, Ms. de Agrait began to scream loudly. The UFO then started to ascend slowly "while tilting to one side." At that moment, the local power supply dropped significantly. Two neighbors spotted the UFO after it had gained altitude and was moving away toward the west. Curiously, prior to this incident, Ms. de Agrait had experienced two dreams she considered "strange." In them, extraterrestrial creatures took her to another "place" where they showed her the wonders of their world. It is worth noting that Mrs. de Agrait is a teacher and is highly respected in the local community.

Late November 1973 (exact date unrecorded): At a time that could not be determined, Isabel Padilla de Madura, a lawyer residing in La Rambla (Ponce), observed a "group of luminous objects traveling in a 'V' formation at high altitude" over the city at 11:00 p.m. The UFOs were moving from the beach (to the south) toward the mountains of Adjuntas (to the northeast).