On the night of June 22, 1976, the northwest of Gran Canaria became the scene of an aerial sighting that transcended borders and, 50 years later, still holds an aura of mystery. The incident, which included televisions turning off and the appearance of figures up to three meters tall, has been classified as an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) in an official report from the Spanish General Staff.
The event took place in Las Rosas, Gáldar, and was witnessed by a doctor from Guía, Francisco Padrón, his taxi driver, and other witnesses. This occurrence, one of the most impactful unexplained phenomena in the islands, sparked numerous debates and is remembered for the sense of peace and well-being experienced by the main witness, who expressed a willingness to "go towards them."
A military instructor commander noted that the observed beings did not correspond to any known racial type on the planet, suggesting the craft might be an exploratory 'escooter' rather than a star-faring vessel, powered by electromagnetic force.
The official report from the Air Force, declassified in 1994, details that the corvette Atrevida of the Spanish Navy detected a white light that was not picked up by radar. Minutes later, taxi driver and Dr. Padrón described a spherical object about 30 meters in diameter with two red figures inside. Other witnesses also reported sightings of lights and spheres.
The Air Command collected 13 statements, including those of three military personnel, assessing the credibility of the witnesses. Regular flights, meteorological phenomena, or meteorites were ruled out as explanations. The official report, however, considered it probable that the main witnesses mutually influenced each other, although it did not dismiss the event's veracity.
Dr. Padrón described the figures in detail, standing between 2.50 and 3 meters tall, with long torsos, short limbs, and elongated heads, covered by what appeared to be spacesuits. He recounted a feeling of peace and enthusiasm, and the impulse to approach the beings, to whom he attributed "mental faculties that do not exist on Earth."
In the following days, residents reported that the UFO had burned an onion crop in Piso Firme, with burn marks and signs of high temperatures within a 30-meter diameter, coinciding with the dimensions indicated by Dr. Padrón. Thousands of people reportedly witnessed the strange object.
Dr. Padrón, who passed away in 2014, insisted that the craft was observed for nearly half an hour and that the beings possessed "mental faculties that do not exist on Earth," capable of "making your mind erase itself." In 1977, he had already stated that "the public cannot remain ignorant of these things; they must know that these are beings superior to us."
