Jose Luis Carrillo gave a guided tour of his Spanish Files exhibition
Credit: Centro Andaluz de la Fotografia
UFO enthusiasts and conspiracists can now witness the Spanish Files, exploring the history of aliens in Spain.
The Andalusian Centre for Photography (CAF), part of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, is hosting the exhibition Spanish Files by photographer Jose Luis Carrillo, running until November 24.
The exhibition delves into the UFO phenomenon in Spain during the 1970s and 80s, a time when sightings and close encounters were widely reported across the country by people from all walks of life.
Carrillo’s exhibition captures this era, focusing on the people whose lives were impacted by these mysterious events.
It showcases the rise of ufology in Spain, where journalists, researchers, and enthusiasts formed associations and investigated sightings, driven by the belief that “we are being visited by beings from other worlds.”
One of the exhibition’s highlights is its focus not on the UFOs themselves but on the witnesses and researchers who devoted their lives to understanding the phenomenon.
“Because, perhaps, only perhaps, the elusive flying saucers were always piloted by souls, yes, but very human souls,” as the exhibition catalogue states
The CAF director, Juan Maria Rodriguez, describes it as a reflection on how flying saucers became a part of the collective imagination and popular culture in Spain.
The director defined the exhibition, stating the “Spanish Files combines contemporary photography with a reinterpretation of archives to understand how flying saucers became a new mythology in the collective imagination.”
Juan Maria Rodriguez also spoke on the importance of photography, saying “Photography has always oscillated between the imprint of reality and the dream of phantasmagoria, and in the 70s there was nothing more fantastic than the optical illusion of seeing an extraterrestrial UFO.”
To complement the exhibition, the CAF hosted several activities, including a guided tour and a roundtable discussion titled ‘UFOs in Almería in the 70s’, held with Carrillo, Pablo Vergel from the University of Alicante, and Emilio Asensio, head of the Avance association, who studied UFO sightings in Almeria during that time.
For much of the 20th century, the UFO phenomenon captivated Spain, inspiring countless books, films, and media coverage. Spanish Files offers a unique look into this fascinating chapter of Spanish history.
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