Those over 40 will remember well this time when the media regularly spoke of UFO sightings, billboards were filled with films about extraterrestrials and newsstands displayed specialist magazines on the subject, and even “meetings” were held in designated places to witness the arrival of our brothers from space in the front row. All this inspires an exhibition, Spanish filesinaugurated this Friday at the Almeria headquarters of the Andalusian Center of Photography (CAF), which assumes it as its own production, and is the result of four years of work by documentary photographer José Luis Carrillo.
Carrillo (Alicante, 1977) admits that his interest in the phenomenon is very recent. “A person close to me told me that he had seen a UFO, I found a book on the subject, and anyway, a series of coincidences happened that led me to investigate a little more. I think it was a positive point that I had no previous interest; that the outside perspective allowed me to see everything from a different place than the people who were fans of the subject. But when I saw the reality and the complexity of everything that lies behind it, I was fascinated.
The first thing, the photographer remembers, was to get an idea of the real impact of the case. For a year, he interviewed journalists and researchers, “without yet specifying that it could be transformed into a photographic work.” He continued to talk with the protagonists of the UFO cases of the 70s and 80s, and there he began to see clearly that the anecdotal could give way to another type of project, focused on the sociological and anthropological. “I began to be interested above all in the human side, and that’s how I spent another two years,” he says.
Social tensions
Another important element in the development of Spanish files It was the visit to the places where the UFO sightings had taken place, as well as the impact that all this had on the press of the time. “I stopped paying attention to the isolated cases and seeing how the experiences of one and the other were reported in the media and relayed,” he explains. “With everything I had, I made an initial selection of about thirty cases, to finally have between 15 and 20. I needed to have contact with the protagonists, to put them at ease and to see if they worked photographically. In my work, the photo is only the last part, and sometimes the least interesting. Sometimes it is enough to press a button, something that someone else could do. “The hard work has already been done.”
What motivated this true UFO fever is something that Carrillo’s work also highlights. “If we put it in context, we see that around 68 or 69 things start to appear in the national press, but it is from 74 or 75 especially that the boom occurs,” he comments. “We are at the end of the Franco regime, at a time of uncertainty and social tension, with a great fear of a return to what had happened before the civil war. Carl Gustav Jung, in his book Things seen in the skyanalyzes the psychological aspect of the phenomenon and explains that it manifests itself in these moments of tension: in the United States, with the end of the Cold War, in Spain with the end of the Franco regime.
A Franco regime that had also tried to manipulate this nascent passion for flying saucers, as several theses point out: “With the idea of justifying a strong military state that protects its citizens, it encouraged the phenomenon,” he adds. .the photographer. “If we look at the first news item published in ABC magazine, in 1974, we see four soldiers inspecting the terrain. “I’m not saying it was an intentional use, but since it happened, they took advantage of it.”
love messages
Already during the Transition, Carrillo had discovered that the first to be interested in the phenomenon were not crackpots, but “real intellectuals, writers and scientists.” Spain was emerging from a dark period and in search of modernity, and it found a place to open up to the question of UFOs. Those who were looking for a bit of fresh air and trusted science came there.
For other analysts, the UFO phenomenon also had a dimension that could be considered religious. “There is a great similarity between the religious fact and the ufological phenomenon, in the forms, the places… There is a whole current that assures that what we used to call angels, we now call extraterrestrials. Human beings still need to believe in it, they seek and find an alternative: they will come from another planet to save us.
In fact, the hostile versions of aliens that have been so successful in the movies barely show up in Carrillo’s research. “Witnesses are afraid, but in general the message is one of love and friendship, and there is also a consonance with religion. These are messianic speeches centered on the need for love and equality. “I have not found anything negative.”
In fact, the researcher believes that the seventh art “created an imaginary, created in the United States, which projected a vision and exerted an influence. In my case, it had no relevance, even if, as a photographer, I of course have a debt to cinema. But I have not seen any UFO films, I preferred not to let myself be contaminated.”
Coming out of the UFO closet
When asked if the witnesses fit a specific profile, Carrillo assures that “there is everything: from the most normal and ordinary people, with studies and training, to others with psychological disorders. But the community of people contacted does not distinguish social classes or levels of education. “Often, it is associated with people from rural areas and with little training, but that is a mistake.”
And when did that balloon deflate? “Starting in the 1990s, the intensity of the cases, the frequency, the attention to the subjects and the spectacular nature of the material began to diminish. The lack of media attention also had a big impact. Things that we saw in the 1980s, like UFOs that would come crashing down on military institutions, fighter planes that chased lights… We don’t see them anymore. But I’ve visited hot spots and people still talk about them. Even some mayors I’ve spoken to, or who helped me set up the exhibit, have admitted to having had UFO experiences. “This is what we call coming out of the UFO closet.”
The time has passed when, without resorting to social networks, many people would gather in places where sightings had taken place or were supposed to take place. “There were thousands of people who participated in UFO outings. The idea that aliens were about to invade the planet was very real, and even El País, El Mundo or ABC published news about it. It is a part of our history that cannot be denied. There is much talk about the political transition and the Madrid movement, but many other things happened at that time.”
