Argentina has not been widely known for receiving crop circles – if ever – but a recent spate of markings in grass, related to UFO sightings in the Buenos Aires area, and sounding not unlike crop circles, has recently broken out…
Recent reports in ‘INEXPLICATA: The Journal of Hispanic Ufology’ suggest that Argentina is the latest country to be visited by something very like the crop circle phenomenon. In the February 2005 edition, it outlines reports of strange markings in first soil, and then grass, following an outbreak of UFO sightings in the Buenos Aires region. These events have been widely reported in the local media, press and television. Writing for ‘INEXPLICATA’, Christian Quintero (as translated by Scott Corrales) writes:
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“The various reports suggest that the initial events took place in the early hours of Monday (07.02.05) at the El Paraiso sector of Sierra de los Padres, some 20 km away from downtown Mar del Plata (for those lacking firsthand knowledge of the site, it can be described as an undeveloped area filled with orchards and farms). Around midnight Sunday or early morning on Monday, some residents noticed that dogs and farm animals were exhibiting an unusually high state of nervousness, howling and braying as though aware of a strange presence.
Romelio Tapia, a local resident, reports hearing a strange noise around 2.00am "similar to that of a strong wind or turbine," and he raised the blinds in his bedroom to see what was going on. At that time he noticed a pair of yellowish lights - similar to mercury vapor lamps - floating above the top of a copse not far from his home. Tapia estimates that the lights were some 3-4 meters above the ground. The lights seemed diffused, as though surrounded by a mist, and rose into the air until they vanished. This information is corroborated by other local residents, like Mrs Carmen Aranga.
Upon examining the terrain at first light, locals discovered that two strange circular marks of equal diameter (some meters) had appeared at the Tapia Farm. Upon closer examination, they ascertained that it was some kind of ash that left a greasy black residue upon contact with the skin.”
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After this, local police apparently arrived to take samples and removed ALL evidence of the markings.
Curiously, a local girl, in the days before the appearance of the markings, had nightmares about flying saucers and luminous objects arriving in her area.
Soon after the blackened rings, came something akin to crop circles, though they do not sound quite like the UK variety. Quintero continues:
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“After this case became public knowledge, it was learned that marks on the grass had also appeared elsewhere in the city. This time it involved a business establishment [a potato processing plant] located on Route 88, some 10 km from the Tapia Farm. No lights or sounds were reported in this case, since the facility is closed at night, but at least 10 marks were found the following day, featuring the same type of greyish ash. Unlike the event at Sierra de los Padres, the circles were only marked in their outline and several of them were not completely finished. For this reason they more closely resembled the phenomenon known as ‘fairy rings’.”
"The circle is completely closed and (the area) was monitored by closed-circuit TV cameras. No explanation for the strange phenomenon has been found."
“The crop circles, around ten in number, appeared in a broad lot in the middle of the establishment, next to a greenhouse and a truck loading and unloading dock. The premises are fenced in and monitored, thus dismissing the possibility that a stranger could have broken in during the night. One of the first to become aware of the situation was Hugo Giovannangelo, who performs maintenance duties for the company. 'I arrived at 7.00pm and, when I went out to the lot, I saw some very strange rings. I was accompanied by a co-worker, with whom I jested that UFOs might be involved.’ According to company management, no activity was carried on in that part of the premises which could account for the strange phenomenon. We only mow the grass there. No chemical products are dumped there, and trucks weren't allowed to park on it.”
“More mysterious circular formations were found yesterday (Thursday, February 10, 2005) on the grass in several local areas, similar to the one found at El Paraiso, at the 20-kilometer marker on Route 226.”
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Meanwhile, ‘rock circles’ have also been appearing in Argentina, as the same journal reports the discovery of “A strange cylindrical impression measuring approximately 4.25 meters in diameter” found at “the summit of one of the hills adjacent to the San Bernardo”:
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”The hill stands approximately 1200 meters high and lacks vehicular access, since the road, constructed by an association of hang glider enthusiasts, has fallen into disrepair.”
The discoverer, primary school instructor Omar Ruiz, stated: “I was startled to see those strange prints, almost a perfect circle," he said. "But I was more startled by the curious drawings," stressed the educator after making his discovery known to El Tribuno. A team of reporters was immediately sent to the site.”
”A reporter and a photographer ascended the hill in the company of Ruiz elder and junior, attesting to the veracity of their report: the mark was on the hard, rocky summit of the hill, which is flat and chosen for that reason as a takeoff point for hang glider pilots: a perfect circle that left three types of grooves at different depths, a continuous inscription of notches equidistant to each other and in a diagonal position, similar to the drawings on certain types of special vehicles.
But that wasn't all. At the center of the shape was a rhomboidal form with a curious formation of straight lines, pressured into the rocky surface. Some salient rocks could be seen around the circumference, showing signs of having been polished by the effect of powerful friction.
A tourist from Santiago, vacationing with a large group of relatives who were engaged in rock climbing, reached the summit along with the El Tribuno team and the imprint's discoverers. They all expressed their amazement. "I don't know what could have made those marks. It's the weirdest thing I've ever seen," said businessman Marcelo Ruiz, absorbed in contemplation of the peculiar inscriptions.”
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With thanks to David Haith.