Capilla del Monte is located in the province of CórdobaArgentina. Its name is due to the fact that the first chapel in the country was founded there by a Spanish family, 500 years ago; later it received the name of Church of San Antonio de Padua.
Over time, the locals changed its name and referred to it as the Chapel of the Mount, because it was located on top of a hill. In fact, the topography of the place is characterized by the presence of several elevations such as the mountains, Cerro Las Gemelas and Cerro Uritorco, among others.
There is also the El Cajon dam and natural geoforms such as El zapata., Los Paredones and Los Mogotes. All these geographical features, distributed over an enormous plain, make up the perfect setting for the novel UFO tourism to be promoted there since the 1980s.
Capilla del Monte: world capital of mystery
The welcome sign to the town shows the figure of a being “from another world”; It is green in color and has a huge head. In the shops of souvenirs Incense, quartz, small sculptures of aliens and books with the technique to balance the chakras are promoted.
The International Congress of Ufology is also held there annually., which brings together a multitude of enthusiasts of the subject. Additionally, there are any number of conferences around ufological and holistic experiences, as well as tours and activities that complement the experience.
In the region there are archaeological remains of the Ayampitín culture, dating from the year 6000 before our era. There is also a Zen Buddhist monastery on the western side of Cerro Uritorco. These places, added to the apparent extraterrestrial encounters and all sorts of esoteric conceptions, feed the atmosphere of “the world’s energy place par excellence”.
A place from another world
All kinds of stories are interwoven in Capilla del Monte, such as the one that speaks of the existence of a baton originating from an unknown culture. This would have more than 8000 years old and is said to contain the keys to the wisdom of humanity.
There are also centers for healing the body and soul and astrology places, where you can check what will happen in the future. Likewise, there are lodgings and restaurants with decorations that combine murals of aliens with Hindu gods, including dreamcatchers hanging from anywhere and types of hieroglyphs made on the ground.
In Capilla del Monte the mystical merges with the mythical, the esoteric with culture, the extraterrestrial with art and creativity with fantasy. Definitely, it is a place from another world that seeks to transcend in this way.
The origin of CIO
In addition to all the above, in this place is the UFO Reporting Center (CIO). This has the function of investigating and collecting all the information associated with UFO experiences. It has an agenda of conferences and a radio program in which topics ranging from the monumental English Stone Hedge stones to the Peruvian Nazca lines are broadcast.
Documents of the event that gave rise to the creation of the Center are also preserved there: an event known as “the Footprint of the Little Bird”, which took place on January 9, 1986. It recounts the appearance and parking of a UFO over the Sierra del Pajarillo, which left a trace of charred vegetation 122 meters long by 64 meters wide.
The event was widely covered by various media. local and national and became an obligatory topic of conversation. Later, theories arose stating that it had been an arson attack or a weapons testing range created by the Argentine military.
academic ambiguity
Researchers from the National University of Córdoba have carried out several studies with different purposes in this area. However, they only limit themselves to stating that the phenomena related to lights in the sky could be the result of an optical effect produced by quartz and mica. They add that these materials abound in this region and question the alleged encounters with extraterrestrial civilizations.
Something that reinforces this position are the testimonies of a large number of inhabitants, who after decades of living in the town say they have never seen anything strange. These people point out that the closest thing to an extraterrestrial experience has been the sighting of shooting stars.
other points of view
Other scholars define what happens as a cultural phenomenon. They explain it as an effect of the state of isolation and loneliness in which the residents of Capilla del Monte live. This, added to a local imaginary influenced by readings, stories and sensational films, gives this type of results.
They add that this is not new and that it dates back to the 1940s, after the end of World War II. Since then, it was said that the Nazis had come to the area looking for the Holy Grail. and pre-Columbian objects of immeasurable power.
Equally, there was talk of the existence of hidden passageways inside Cerro Uritorco and the discovery of non-human remains belonging to a culture of unknown origin and thousands of years old.
Finally, they conclude that the most positive aspect of this situation is that the popular imagination has reached such a level that it is considered intangible heritage of the region by some organisms.
Tourism in Capilla del Monte
The struggle between believing or not believing has reached the point where some rulers promote ‘desovnize‘ the town. Therefore, they propose undertake an ambitious tourism campaign that rescues and gives value to the natural beauties of the region.
The truth is that, beyond the entire belief system that accompanies Capilla del Monte, this place houses a wide range of interesting places to visit. Among them are museums, archaeological areas, natural parks and train stations. But, without a doubt, the best thing about Capilla del Monte is the imagination and warmth of its people.
