The Varginha UFO Incident

The Varginha UFO Incident

Incident Name:	The Varginha UFO Incident
Incident Date:	January 1996
Location:	Varginha, Brazil
City/Town :	Varginha
Country :	Brazil
Documentary :	Moment of Contact (2022)

“The Roswell of Brazil” or “Brazil’s Roswell.”

The Varginha UFO incident involves a series of events in 1996 when residents of Varginha, Brazil claimed seeing one or more strange creatures and at least one unidentified flying object (UFO). Other associated claims include the capture of one or more extraterrestrial beings by the Brazilian authorities, animal fatalities at a zoo, and a woman impregnated by an extraterrestrial. The reports have garnered extensive media coverage.

Overview

According to media reports, a creature was sighted on the afternoon of January 20, 1996, by three women ranging from 14 to 22 years old. The women described the creature as a large headed biped with "spots like veins on the skin and some bumps on the head [...] eyes were two red balls." The creature (later termed the "ET de Varginha") seemed to be wobbly or unsteady, and the girls assumed it was injured or sick. The women said that they fled and told their mother that they had seen the "devil".

Rumors afterward began to spread through the area, with some people claiming to have observed UFOs in the days prior. Later, claims were made of additional unidentified creatures/extraterrestrials being collected and observed at a hospital, military/police/government trucks and personnel being active in the area, an unidentified animal "prowling" a local forest, the death of a police officer, and unexplained animal deaths occurring in the local zoo. Ufologists would later allege links between these and other claims, including the claim that one of the initial creature witnesses was impregnated by the creature.

Occurring in January 1996 in Varginha, Brazil, this event captured international attention and ignited a whirlwind of theories and debate. Let us delve into the details of the incident, separating fact from fiction and exploring the events that transpired during those fateful days.

The Encounter

On January 20, 1996, in the city of Varginha, multiple witnesses reported witnessing a strange creature in their vicinity. Descriptions varied, but most witnesses mentioned a being with a short, dark, hairless body, large red eyes, and an overpowering smell. It is important to note that these descriptions were inconsistent, adding to the confusion surrounding the incident.

Three young girls, Liliane Silva, Valquíria Silva, and Katia Andrade Xavier, claimed to have seen the creature in a field. The girls allegedly observed the being crouching and moving slowly, exhibiting signs of distress. In a panic, they sought help from their mother, who reported the incident to the authorities. This was the catalyst that set off a chain of events that would forever be etched in Varginha's history.

• the Varginha gallery
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  Varginha-brazil-roswell-08.png Time of Sighting
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  Varginha-datia-xavier-valquíria-silva-liliane-silva.png Present Day

Contact

The documentary(Moment of Contact) features firsthand accounts from witnesses who witnessed the craft crashing and went to help, only to be threatened by the Brazilian military. We also hear from the Doctor that went on camera for the first time after retiring. The Doctor that treated Military Officer Marco Chereze, the who captured one of the creatures with his bare hands and later died unexpectedly from an unknown illness. The Doctor also confirms Marco told him what happened breaking National Security policies in order to safe his own life.

The film presents Marco Chereze's medical records and an interview with his wife, who reveals how the Brazilian military asked doctors to bury Chereze immediately and the difficulties she experienced in obtaining his medical data. Additionally, Chereze's Boss is shown threatening the film crew after they approached him in questioning of the transfer of the creature.

Perhaps most shockingly, the documentary features testimony from a military personnel who drove the creature from Varginha to the base where the USAF picked it up. Many military officials confirm the US involvement in the retrieval of the evidence alongside the secrecy. There was a Multi-government cooperation in ridiculing and gathering evidence.

On January 20th of that year, three young women – Liliane and Valquíria Fátima Silva, and their friend Kátia Andrade Xavier – decided to take a shortcut home through a vacant parking lot, where they allegedly encountered a strange creature. The creature was reported to have large red eyes, oily brown skin, V-shaped feet, and three rounded bulges on its head. It was later compared to the South American mythical creature called the Chupacabra. Accompanying these physical attributes was a strong, unpleasant smell. When the creature focused on the women, albeit in a dazed, wobbly manner, they ran off. They returned later with their curious mother to the site, where the mother reported an offensive ammonia-like odor.

A few days later, another creature was allegedly found on the side of a road, and picked up by three military vehicles. Through gossip and other events, such as the gathering of military troops around a base and a strange commotion at the hospital, the opinion was quickly formed in Varginha that several aliens had been taken into custody by the Brazilian military. In the following year, more eyewitnesses approached the media with reports of “cigar-shaped” spacecraft and additional creatures being found in areas such as the local Varginha Zoo, and were covered mainly by TV reports. The Wall Street Journal even featured an article on the phenomenon.

The creature allegedly communicated to one of the young Brazilian women “please help me” because “it’s weak, it’s feeble and it’s scared,”.

The smell of the unknown creatures was overwhelming and stayed with people for an extended period of time. The witnesses were also allegedly pressured by unknown men to take a suitcase of money and go elsewhere to start over.

Inquiry

An official inquiry led by the Brazilian military concluded in 2010 that the young women had encountered a homeless, mentally unstable man nicknamed "Mudinho." The Commander of 24th Police Battalion Military "presented photographs (...) a citizen known as Mudinho, who probably has some mental disability and whose physical characteristics matched the description (...) make it likely that the hypothesis that this citizen, probably being dirty, due to the heavy rains and seen crouching by a wall, was mistaken by the three terrified girls as a space creature." The head of the official inquiry reported that the military trucks and personnel were performing routine duties on the night they were observed, stating, "the presence of the Firefighters in Jardim Andere, the parking of Army trucks in the vicinity of the concessionaire where their periodic maintenance would be carried out ... and the departure of EsSA vehicles ... were real facts ... incorrectly interpreted as Firefighters and the Military participating in the capture and later the transport of the alleged creature to Campinas."

The Brazilian authorities also reported that the aliens allegedly seen in a hospital were actually an expectant couple who had dwarfism.

Government Intervention and Speculation

In the wake of the reported sightings, Brazilian military and civil authorities swiftly intervened. What ensued was a series of alleged covert operations, as government officials scoured the city in search of the unidentified creature. The events of those days became shrouded in secrecy, leading to rampant speculation and conspiracy theories.

Speculation about a crashed UFO gained traction, suggesting that the military had recovered a spacecraft and its occupants. Witnesses came forward, claiming to have observed a saucer-shaped object descending in the vicinity of Varginha. The alleged retrieval of an extraterrestrial entity only fueled the fervor surrounding the incident, captivating the imagination of the public.

Official Statements and Controversies

While the Brazilian authorities initially denied any involvement, they eventually addressed the incident. The city's military and police officials held a press conference on January 22, 1996, in an attempt to provide an explanation. Their statement dismissed the sightings as a misinterpretation of ordinary animals and denied the existence of extraterrestrial beings.

However, this official explanation failed to quell the public's curiosity. Many remained skeptical of the authorities' statements, accusing them of a cover-up. Conspiracy theories flourished, and Varginha became a hotbed for UFO enthusiasts and investigators seeking the truth behind the incident.

The incident sparked a massive tourism industry for the city, which now proudly features UFO merchandise in local stores. In 2001, a water tower shaped like a UFO (duly called the Nave Espacial de Varginha, which is Portugese for “Varginha Spacecraft”) was built in Varginha.