Varginha UFO incident
Encyclopedia
The Varginha incident is an incident in information transmission in Brazil broadcasting. In 1996, popular reports informed that strange creatures (allegedly extraterrestrials
) were supposedly captured by Brazil
ian officials. This reports was broadcasted by Sunday special program Fantástico of the Rede Globo
, the largest TV transmitter of Brazil, of very high audience, which sometimes show extra-normal incidents. The case generated extensive publicity in Central
and South America
, and was mentioned in The Wall Street Journal
.
The Brazilian government officially denies that anything unusual occurred, but some theorists
have charged that there was a cover up
. The lack of reliable sources is evidence against its actuality; the testimony of unnamed, anonymous "official" individuals are frequently featured.
UFO investigator Kevin D. Randle
writes that "this case is as complicated as any other in the UFO field." Randle notes that there is a lack of physical evidence supporting the case, and adds, "In fact, we have been unable to verify much of anything."
about 1.6 metres (5 ft), with a large head and very thin body, with V-shaped feet, brown skin, and large red eyes. It seemed to be wobbly or unsteady, and the girls assumed it was injured or sick. The creature was said to have a strong, unpleasant odor. Some have noted physical similarities between this alleged creature and the chupacabra
, a cryptozoological
creature reported in Puerto Rico
and Central America.
The Silva sisters say they fled, then told their mother that they had seen the devil
. She didn’t believe them at first, but when she had gone to the area they had seen the creature and smelled a strong ammonia
-like odor, her opinion changed. After relating their tale to family and friends, rumors began to spread throughout the city: UFOs were sighted, aliens were captured. Two days later, another creature was allegedly found lying along a road. Three military trucks were sent to retrieve it. It was captured by S2 officials (Brazil's military intelligence), and sent to a hospital to be examined.
As related by Moffett in the Wall Street Journal, "The army
finds itself besieged on several fronts. A local mystic predicts that Varginha will suffer some kind of cataclysm this September as retribution for its blitzkrieg on the interplanetary visitors. An armed-forces news conference marking 'Victory Day' in World War II
degenerated into a shouting match between a general and a television reporter pressing him about the extraterrestrials. An official briefing to debunk UFO conspiracies was overshadowed by an auto mechanic's claim to have seen yet another weird cylindrical aircraft, a cosmic encounter he re-enacted with the aid of an aluminum coffee thermos ... Stanton Friedman, a Canada
-based UFO expert, says Varginha has the makings of a 'cosmic Watergate.'"
Brazilian mass media
was saturated for some time with speculation, rumors and accounts regarding the UFO's and the strange creatures. A soldier, Marco Eli Cherese, was said to have died under mysterious circumstances related to the UFO affair.
Vitorio Pacaccini, a Brazilian UFO enthusiast, became a central figure in the Varginha affair. He appeared on television, offering testimony he reported was from reliable government officials, which confirmed the events as true. The sources, however, were anonymous, said Pacaccini, and feared reprisal. Randle notes that Pacaccini insists that the first to encounter the strange creature was not the girls, but rather, a group of fire department workers. In the early morning of January 20, according to Pacaccini, four firemen were alerted to a strange animal which had been first spotted by a group of boys, who began throwing rocks at it. They captured the dizzy creature, and whisked it away.
Moffett writes that there have been over half a dozen sightings of the creatures, though "it is unclear how all of these beings could have fit into the minivan-sized spacecraft that was spotted here in January." There was disagreement as to whether one creature had been sighted multiple times, or if several creatures had been sighted individually.
Officials in Varginha denied that anything unusual occurred, but considered dedicating a park to the creatures.
On the other hand, this incident made the city very famous, bringing numerous ET tourists. Now, the UFO tourism has become an important commercial activity of Varginha city. Many "Grey" dolls with famous football team uniforms are on sale in the main streets.
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
) were supposedly captured by Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian officials. This reports was broadcasted by Sunday special program Fantástico of the Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
, the largest TV transmitter of Brazil, of very high audience, which sometimes show extra-normal incidents. The case generated extensive publicity in Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and was mentioned in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
.
The Brazilian government officially denies that anything unusual occurred, but some theorists
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
have charged that there was a cover up
Cover Up
Cover Up is an American action/adventure television series that aired for one season on CBS from September 22, 1984 to April 6, 1985. Created by Glen A. Larson, the series stars Jennifer O'Neill, Jon-Erik Hexum, Antony Hamilton, and Richard Anderson....
. The lack of reliable sources is evidence against its actuality; the testimony of unnamed, anonymous "official" individuals are frequently featured.
UFO investigator Kevin D. Randle
Kevin D. Randle
Dr. Kevin D. Randle , is a prominent ufologist. Within the UFO community he is often regarded as one of the preeminent experts on the reported crash of a UFO near Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947....
writes that "this case is as complicated as any other in the UFO field." Randle notes that there is a lack of physical evidence supporting the case, and adds, "In fact, we have been unable to verify much of anything."
Overview
According to media reports, the creature was first sighted by three women ranging from 14 to 21 years old: sisters Liliane and Valquíria Fátima Silva, and their friend Kátia Andrade Xavier. They allegedly saw the creature in the afternoon of January 20, 1996: A bipedBiped
Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs, or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning "two feet"...
about 1.6 metres (5 ft), with a large head and very thin body, with V-shaped feet, brown skin, and large red eyes. It seemed to be wobbly or unsteady, and the girls assumed it was injured or sick. The creature was said to have a strong, unpleasant odor. Some have noted physical similarities between this alleged creature and the chupacabra
Chupacabra
The chupacabras is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico , Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities...
, a cryptozoological
Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
creature reported in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Central America.
The Silva sisters say they fled, then told their mother that they had seen the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
. She didn’t believe them at first, but when she had gone to the area they had seen the creature and smelled a strong ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
-like odor, her opinion changed. After relating their tale to family and friends, rumors began to spread throughout the city: UFOs were sighted, aliens were captured. Two days later, another creature was allegedly found lying along a road. Three military trucks were sent to retrieve it. It was captured by S2 officials (Brazil's military intelligence), and sent to a hospital to be examined.
As related by Moffett in the Wall Street Journal, "The army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
finds itself besieged on several fronts. A local mystic predicts that Varginha will suffer some kind of cataclysm this September as retribution for its blitzkrieg on the interplanetary visitors. An armed-forces news conference marking 'Victory Day' in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
degenerated into a shouting match between a general and a television reporter pressing him about the extraterrestrials. An official briefing to debunk UFO conspiracies was overshadowed by an auto mechanic's claim to have seen yet another weird cylindrical aircraft, a cosmic encounter he re-enacted with the aid of an aluminum coffee thermos ... Stanton Friedman, a Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-based UFO expert, says Varginha has the makings of a 'cosmic Watergate.'"
Brazilian mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
was saturated for some time with speculation, rumors and accounts regarding the UFO's and the strange creatures. A soldier, Marco Eli Cherese, was said to have died under mysterious circumstances related to the UFO affair.
Vitorio Pacaccini, a Brazilian UFO enthusiast, became a central figure in the Varginha affair. He appeared on television, offering testimony he reported was from reliable government officials, which confirmed the events as true. The sources, however, were anonymous, said Pacaccini, and feared reprisal. Randle notes that Pacaccini insists that the first to encounter the strange creature was not the girls, but rather, a group of fire department workers. In the early morning of January 20, according to Pacaccini, four firemen were alerted to a strange animal which had been first spotted by a group of boys, who began throwing rocks at it. They captured the dizzy creature, and whisked it away.
Moffett writes that there have been over half a dozen sightings of the creatures, though "it is unclear how all of these beings could have fit into the minivan-sized spacecraft that was spotted here in January." There was disagreement as to whether one creature had been sighted multiple times, or if several creatures had been sighted individually.
Officials in Varginha denied that anything unusual occurred, but considered dedicating a park to the creatures.
On the other hand, this incident made the city very famous, bringing numerous ET tourists. Now, the UFO tourism has become an important commercial activity of Varginha city. Many "Grey" dolls with famous football team uniforms are on sale in the main streets.
See also
- Nave Espacial de VarginhaNave Espacial de VarginhaThe Nave Espacial de Varginha is a 20 metres tall water tower with a disc-shaped water reservoir in Varginha, Brazil, which was built in 2001...
- List of UFO sightings
- UFO sightings in BrazilUFO sightings in Brazil- 1947 :* On July 23, 1947, topographer José Higgins was working with many laborers in Bauru, São Paulo. Suddenly, they heard an extremely sharp sound. Some moments later, a big object landed near them. Its diameter was about 45 meters, and it seemed made of metal, grey colored and landed on the...
- UFO