On September 27 or 28, 1954, the major newspaper Diario de Lisboa, of Lisbon, Portugal, published a reader's letter and/or an article based on it. The author claimed to be Cesar Cardoso and to have been driving in the Gardunha hills near Almadesa, in the Castelo Branco region, Portugal, when his car's engine stalled, while he was hearing a buzzing sound.
He pulled up on the roadside and tried to start the engine again but all he got was ridiculous noises, so he came out of the car to open the hood to check the engine.
The buzzing sound became louder, and looking up, he saw a flying saucer or a sphere - depending on the newspapers - which he said to have watched as it launched multicolored flashes and it landed without noise on a hilltop below his location at some 200 meters.
The man specified that only the "poles" of the sphere were rotating and that the transparent equatorial part let them see moving shades inside.
He then claimed to have seen two silhouettes or men of 2 meters or 2.50 meters height approximately, come down of the apparatus. They looked like aluminum men, they first picked up grasses and flowers and brushes or collected stones which they put in a shining box.
They then saw this witness and three other people who had also been watching the display, and they came towards them, emitted some sounds the witnesses did not comprehend. They then invited the people by gesture to come into their apparatus, but the latter declined the invitation and the beings did not insist.
Instead, they boarded their apparatus which took off vertically and flew off producing a shower of sparks.
The Diario de Lisboa apparently did not buy the story at face value and quickly found out that the story had been made up by one Francisco Antonio Fereira, actually Cesar Cardoso's nephew, who admitted this hoax in an interview published thereafter in the newspaper "Diaro de Lisboa" for October 1, 1954. The youngster apparently explained that he was a flying saucer buff who wanted to get the Press pay attention to the flying saucer issue, and to pay attention as well to the sorry state of the road of his remote village.
The initial hoaxed story was re-told worldwide in newspapers who did not seem to are to publish that is was only a hoax.
It then entered UFO books, apparently first in an Harold T. Wilkins book, this author expressing much skepticism on the story, albeit putting it twice in the same book with different dates. It was picked up by Jacques Vallée for his "Magonia" catalogue, citing Wilkins as source but omitting the negative feeling this author had about the story. Other authors picked it up, adding some distortions on the date or the size of the alleged beings and generally omitting to cite the primary sources and/or the information or suspicion that the story was a hoax.
While several ufologists have pointed out several times since that the story was a hoax which was admitted in the very newspaper that published it initially, other ufologists simply continued to copy the brief an uninformed summary by Vallée without further checking, and this goes on even nowadays.
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[Ref. pr1:] "LE PROVENCAL" NEWSPAPER:
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"Martians" of 2 m 50 collected grass and stones in PortugalThey went away in a flying saucer Lisbon (A.F.P.). Visitors of another world, "Martians" undoubtedly, landed, on September 24 at 10 o'clock in the morning, in a point located in the mounts of Gardunha, at the Spanish-Portuguese border. This is what reported to the newspaper "Diario de Lisboa", a Portuguese peasant who, with three others of his comrades, worked in this area. "A sphere appeared in the sky, in the East, states the witness, it flew at a vertiginous speed and launched multicolored flashes. It landed without noise, within 200 meters of us and two silhouettes 2 m 50 tall approximately, came down of it. They looked like aluminum men. These visitors first picked up grasses and collected stones which they deposited in a box of dazzling shine. Then, seeing us, they came to us and emitted some sounds. In front of our incomprehension they invited us, by gestures, to go up in their craft. On our refusal, they went up in their apparatus, which took off vertically and disappeared towards the South as quickly as it had arrived." The witness specified that only the "poles" of the sphere were rotating and that the transparent equatorial part let them see moving shades inside. |
[Ref. hl1:] "LE QUOTIDIEN DE LA HAUTE LOIRE" NEWSPAPER:
AT THE SPANISH-PORTUGUESE BORDER, MARTIANS HAVE COLLECTED GRASS AND STONESVisitors of another world landed on Friday September 24, at 10:00 in the morning in a point located in the mounts of Gardunha, at the spanish-portuguese border: This is what reported a Portuguese peasant to the newspaper Diaro de Lisboa, who, with three others of his comrades, worked in the area. A sphere appeared in the sky, in the east, claims the witness. It flew at an incredible speed and launched multicolored flashes. It landed without noise at with 200 meters of us and two tall figures of approximately 2,50 meters went out of there. They looked like aluminum men. These visitors initially collected grass and collected stones which they deposited in one limps of a plugging glare. Then, when they saw us, they came to us and emitted some sounds. Face with our incomprehension, they invited us by gestures to go up in their machine. On our refusal, they went up in the craft which took off vertically and disappeared towards the south as quickly as it had arrived. The witness specified that only the "poles" of the sphere rotated and that the equatorial part was transparent and let see moving shades inside. [... Other cases] |
[Ref. es1:] "EVENING STAR" NEWSPAPER:
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[Other cases ...] On September 24 at 10 a.m. in the Gardunha Mountains near the Spanish border, three Portuguese peasants were stratled by a fast flying sphere which landed in a field 200 yards from them. This time, two tall creatures emerged in shiny metallic outfits and started collecting grass and stones in a brightly polished box. Spotting the peasants, they strolled over and invited the men by gestures to climb into their machines, where moving shadows could be seen behind the semitransparent center section. when the offer was declined, the strangers disappeared through a hatch. A few seconds later, the sphere took off vertically and rapidly disappeared. [... Other cases] |
[Ref. hw1:] HAROLD T. WILKINS:
The author indicates that the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Lisboa for September 28, 1954, published a letter by Senhor Cesar Cardoso, who stated:
"I was near the village of Almaseda, when I saw a flying saucer, out of which stepped three beings in suits of shining aluminum. They were six feet seven inches tall. They picked and cut flowers, snipped off twigs from bushes and put them in a shining box. I and three friends were invited to enter the saucer, but when we refused the beings did not insist. They climbed back into their saucer and ascended vertically at an immense speed, emitting a shower of sparks."
Harold Wilkins says that Senhor Cardoso is meticulous about the stature of these beings, and no doubt, if pushed to it, his three friends, like the witnesses to similar claims in California, might be persuaded to come forward as signatories to an affidavit sworn before a notary public.
Irony aside, Harold Wilkins explicitly and rightfully comments that in the absence of any witness or corroboration, this is a "believe or not" story, and that his own opinion is that it looks like a hoax.
Further in the same book, the author repeats the same story but with another date, that of October 13, 1954, indicating that two men in Castelibranco [sic] in Portugal saw two entities in metal suits emerge from a grounded saucer, to collect flowers, twigs and shrubs "as if gathering data data."
[Ref. jv5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 138 | 24 | 09 | 1954 | SIERRA GARDUNHA | F | 021 | G | * |
[Ref. jv1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
Jacques vallée indicates that on October 13, 1954, in Castelibranco [sic] in Portugal, two witnesses saw two individuals dressed in shiny clothing who emerged from a craft and gathered flowers, shrubs and twigs, and then took off.
[Ref. jv2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
Jacques Vallée indicates in his catalogue of UFO landings that on September 24, 1954 in Almaseda, near Castelibranco [sic], Portugal, at 10:00, Cesar Cardoso and three other peoples saw two individuals, 2.5 m tall, dressed in shiny clothes, emerge from a landed craft and gather flowers, shrubs, and twigs in a shiny box, and then take off. Vallée adds that they seemed to be inviting the witnesses aboard, but their language was not understood. The indicated sources are "Wilkins U 55, 245; 24"
[Ref. lg2:] LUIS R. GONZALES MANSO:
In a 1983 listing of negative humanoid cases of the Iberic Peninsula, this ufologist notes the September 24, 1954, case at Almaceda, Portugal, as to discard, indicating Stendek N.3 as reference to the commonplace explanation.
[Ref. go1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
This ufologist indicates that on September 24, 1954, in Portugal, Cesar Cardoso was driving his car on a rural two tracks road close to the village of Almaseda, not far from the Spanish border, when he heard an odd buzzing sound.
His engine sputtered suddenly and he pulled up on the roadside, from where he tried to restart the engine several times using the key, but he only got noises resembling nails which one would shake in a metal box. He thus came out to open the hood, and the heard buzz increased in volume and he saw below him, close to the peak of a hill, a silver disc approximately 13 meters in diameter.
The witness is quoted saying: "Three entities in shining aluminum uniforms came out of it, they measured nearly 2 meters in height. The entities went on the hill, lowering themselves from time to time to pick up a little of the vegetation which grew there: flowers, leaves, brushwood; which they put in a shining box."
These extraterrestrial beings saw Cardoso and three other Portuguese along the road and started to make gestures at them, to invite them to come closer to the flying saucer.
"We refused and they did not insist. They went up in their apparatus which took off vertically and left at an extreme speed in a shower of sparks."
Godelieve Van Overmeire indicates that her sources are "Flying Saucers Uncensored" by Harold T Wilkins, The Citadel Press, New Jersey, 1955, page 55, and "Diario de Lisboa" for September 28, 1954, and she specifies that Janet and Colin Bord report the case as having occurred on September 20.
Godelieve Van Overmeire adds that in reality, it was a hoax, performed by Cardoso's nephew, Francisco Antonio Fereira, who admitted this hoax in an interview published thereafter in the newspaper "Diaro de Lisboa" for October 1, 1954.
[Ref. jt1:] JOSEPH TRAINOR:
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from the UFO Files... 1954: ALIENS LAND IN EASTERN PORTUGALOn September 24, 1964, Cesar Cardoso was driving on a two-lane road near Almaseda, a village about 216 kilometers (135 miles) northeast of Lisboa (Lisbon), the capital of Portugal. While driving in this hilly rural area not far from the border with Spain, Cardoso heard a strange humming noise. All at once, his car engine began to sputter and cough. He pulled over to the side of the road beside a low green hill. Frowning, Cardoso turned the ignition key and tried to restart the car. The engine made a noise like nails rattling in an empty coffee can. As he stepped out of the car, he saw two other cars pulling over. The humming sound grew louder. Then a circular shadow passed over his car. Looking up, Cardoso let out a yell of excitement. Floating downward toward the nearby hilltop was a flattened silver disc about 13 meters (40 feet) in diameter. Afterward, Cardoso reported, "I was near the village of Almaseda when I saw a flying saucer, out of which stepped three beings in suits of shining aluminum. They were two meters (6 feet, 7 inches--J.T.) tall." The aliens moved around the hilltop, taking samples of the local vegetation. Cardoso reported, "They picked and cut flowers, snipped off twigs from bushes and put them in a shining box." Then the aliens noticed Cardoso and the other three humans on the roadside. Without speaking, they made gestures of invitation, pointing to the saucer's open hatch. "I and three companions were invited to enter the saucer. But when we refused, the beings did not insist. They climbed back into their saucer and ascended vertically at an immense speed, emitting a shower of sparks." (See the book Flying Saucers Uncensored by Harold T. Wilkins, The Citadel Press, New Jersey, 1955, page 55. See also the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Lisboa for September 28, 1954.) |
[Ref. jt2:] JOSEPH TRAINOR:
PORTUGUESE UFOLOGIST SAYS THE 1954 ALMASEDA CASE IS "A HOAX"Portuguese ufologist Joaqium Fernandes says the UFO landing at Almaseda in eastern Portugal in September 1954 "was a hoax." The newspaper Diario de Lisboa for September 28, 1954 reported that Cesar Cardoso and two other motorists witnessed the landing of a silver saucer on a grassy hilltop in Almaseda. (For more details, see UFO Roundup, volume 5, number 39 for September 28, 2000, "1954: Saucers lands in eastern Portugal.") Fernandes, author of Extraterrestrial Imagery in the Portuguese Press, reported, "The letter received by Diario de Lisboa was written by Cesar Cardoso's nephew, Francisco Antonio Freiere. He confirmed the hoax in an interview published in Diaro de Lisboa on 1 October 1954." Freiere, he added, "used to read about UFOs in the newspapers. He may have gathered the elements for his story from the first news of the French UFO flap in September (1954)." "He regarded himself as a young enthusiast for UFOs, which he believed were 'radio-guided probes.' His main motivation was to call the press's attention to 'the lack of a road to Almaseda.' In fact, several reporters went there, and his objective was certainly achieved." (Obrigado a Joaqium Fernandes por esos articulos do diario.) (Editor's Comment: The Almaseda case appears in several UFO books. Apparently, the initial news of the "landing" circled the world, but the followup stories in Diario de Lisboa never made it past Portugal's border. I am reminded of that quotation by Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain... "A lie can run halfway across the world before the truth has even got its boots on.") |
[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that in Almaseda, Portugal on September 24, 1954 at 10:00 a.m., Cesar Cardoso Ferreira and 3 others saw two eight feet tall giants clad in shiny metallic suits emerge from a cup-shaped landed craft and gather flowers, shrubs, and twigs in a shiny box, then take off.
The beings seemed to be inviting the witness aboard, but their language was not understood. After a few moments the tall humanoids boarded the craft, which ascended leaving a shiny wake behind.
Albert Rosales indicates that his source is Jacques Vallee's Passport to Magonia.
[Ref. lg1:] LUIS R. GONZALES MANSO:
The ufologist indicates in his catalog that on September 24, 1954 in Almaseda, near Castello Branco, Portugal, at 10:00, a hoaxed story told that Cesar Ferreira Cardoso and three others saw two individuals, 2.5 meters tall, dressed in shiny clothes, emerge from a landed craft and gather flowers, shrubs, and twigs in a shiny box, then take off.
They seemed to be inviting the witnesses aboard, but their language was not understood. The witness sent a letter to the Diario de Lisboa, which published it on September 27, 1954. After investigations were made, Ferreira had confessed that it was a hoax trying to attract public attention to his isolated village.
Luis Gonzales indicates that his sources are the MAGONIA Catalogue # 154, the newspaper articles in the Diario de Lisboa for September 27, 1954 and October 1, 1954, and the article "Fin de una controversia: la mixtificación de Serra de Gardunha" by Vicente Juan Ballester Olmos and Jacques Vallée, in the ufology magazine Stendek #3 for December 1970.
[Ref. jb1:] JEROME BEAU:
The webmaster indicates that on September 24, 1954, at 10:00, in Almaseda, close to Castelibranco [sic] in Portugal, Cesar Cardoso and three other people saw two individuals of 2.50 meter height dressed in brilliant clothing, come out of a machine which had landed, to collect flowers, branches and brush in a brilliant box. The occupants seemed to invite the witnesses to go up on board, but their language was incomprehensible, and the machine took off. The source indicated is "Wilkins U 245, U 55, P. 24".
Once again, a case from Jacques Vallée's listing prove that distortions, errors and a complete lack of any effort to check for the facts even when earlier authors suspected a hoax strongly diminishes its value.
Probably under the impulse of Juan-Vicente Ballester Olmos and his information, Jacques Vallée however rectified the matter thereafter, but that is not largely known, although other ufologists also explained that it was only a hoax.
| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
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Hoax.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
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| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 8, 2006 | Creation, [pr1], [hl1], [es1], [hw1], [jv1], [jv2], [go1], [jt1], [jt2], [ar1], [lg1], [jb1]. |
| 0.2 | Patrick Gross | December 8, 2006 | First published. |
| 0.2b | Patrick Gross | December 9, 2006 | Addition: [lg2]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | June 30, 2010 | Conversion from HTML4 to XHTML Strict. Addition [jv5]. Correction at places where I mispelled "Castello" instead of "Castelo". |
