Puerto Rico: The Disks of November (1973)

 Puerto Rico: The Disks of November

UFO activity in Puerto Rico followed a similar pattern to what had been seen in the U.S. and Canada – considerable activity in the month of October, extending into the month of November and even December of 1973. This activity could be said to have continued well into 1975, including some high strangeness events like the “Moca Vampire” – a predecessor to the Chupacabras – and other humanoid-related events. We turn to the files of the renowned Noel Rigau to fill out the balance of November 1973 on the island.

November 17, 1973:

A 20-year-old man (R.A.) was returning home at 10:30 p.m. after visiting a friend’s house in the Santana sector of Sabana Grande. While walking and carrying a flashlight, he noticed a luminous object descending from the sky toward him. The young man quickly turned off his flashlight and hid behind some trees. The unidentified flying object (UFO)—which made no sound whatsoever—executed a sharp turn and ascended back into the sky. The young man’s mother later confirmed that he arrived home very frightened and nervous, and recounted what had happened.

November 18, 1973:

Several residents living on the property of Ramón E. Betances, in the municipality of Cabo Rojo, reported to journalist Reinaldo Silvestri that they had sighted a strange object "flying relatively low and at high speed." The sightings took place at 6:30 p.m.

November 22, 1973:

Mr. José A. Arroyo, a 43-year-old social security employee, reported that at 3:30 p.m., while in the garden of the Guanajibo Homes residential area in Mayagüez, he saw an object that was "extremely bright, resembling a tilted plate, moving at high speed and without making any sound" at an altitude of approximately 400 meters. The object was also seen by a neighbor, Gerardo Molina, as well as by Luis Alicea and his wife, Carmen C. de Arroyo. The entire event unfolded over a span of 10 to 15 seconds. The object was moving in a southwesterly direction.

November 24, 1973:

During the afternoon, several radio stations in Mayagüez received various calls regarding an unidentified object flying over the area. It was observed by dozens of people. At 2:00 p.m., J. A. Ríos claimed to have seen a "cube-shaped" flying object coming from Cerro Las Mesas at a fairly low altitude, moving toward the northeast at "high speed." He was able to make out a sort of protrusion on its upper side. According to this witness, the object was rotating on its own axis.

At 6:00 p.m., Mrs. Marta Troche, together with her daughter, saw a red-colored unidentified flying object (UFO)... with a white light that revolved around it throughout its entire path toward the northeast.

Late November (exact date unrecorded):

On a date 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 a high altitude" over the city at 11:00 p.m. The UFOs were moving from the coast (to the south) toward the mountains of Adjuntas (to the northeast).

In the municipality of Yauco, in the southeastern region of the island, several UFO sightings occurred; unfortunately, they lack certain fundamental details. A summary follows: two lights approached each other while moving "up and down," while a third light maintained a steady trajectory. Mr. Luis Correa, an employee of the Department of Public Instruction, observed from the Jaime C. Rodríguez residential development a bright yellow light that appeared to rotate on its own axis while pulsing. It was moving at high speed from north to south. Mr. Alberto Sánchez Ortiz, from his residence in the Méndez housing development, observed a UFO similar to the one described earlier. Mr. Ortiz added, however, that the object "passed over the Sun Oil Company refinery, heading toward the La Cuchilla de Pandura mountains." This event took place at 7:30 p.m. on or around November 23.

A few days later—on November 30, to be exact—Mr. Ramiro de Jesús Sánchez and Mr. Reinaldo de Jesús Reyes, both from the area known as Guayabotas, were on the main road in front of the "La Capa" bar... At 8:00 p.m., four very bright objects were observed in the sky. They were flying at an altitude of about 500 feet, moving in a "line formation." Two of the objects were very close to each other, while the others were further apart. The witnesses noted that they were "pulsing, without making any sound." Suddenly, the objects "vanished from sight”.