One Friday in late November, 1978 (evidently November 24 — trans.), the four witnesses, plus another friend, were hunting just east of the Guadiamar River in the area between the towns of Gerena, Aznalcollar, and Olivares, in the province of Seville, southwestern Spain.
They each had a six-battery flashlight.
The night was dark, without any wind, with good visibility and temperature, under a rather cloudy sky.
One of the friends decided to return to the car, so he saw nothing of what subsequently happened.
The area of the observation is at approximately 6°20' west longitude and 37°30' north latitude.
It is part of the estate "La Pizana," 3 kilometers (2 miles) southwest of Gerena.
Its principal characteristics are: low hills with some farming, clumps of eucalyptus trees, vegetation located especially near the Guadiamar River, the remains of a Roman aqueduct, and beef cattle.
The place where the incident occurred is a very dense grove, primarily of eucalyptus trees, with some open areas inside.
Our four witnesses went into the thick grove, after having waded across the stream.
It was about 3:30 a.m.
They had been there several hours already, and, using their powerful flashlights, continued looking for their prey between the trees, following a road made by tractors.
But let witness Manuel Gordillo tell us what happened:
"While still on the other side of the river, I told the others, 'Wait a moment, look at the red lights of a car.'
The gypsy who was with us (who could not be interviewed — I.D.) began to say 'Hey, what is that?
In my mother's name, in my grandmother's name, what is that?'
'That is a strange thing.'
We were seeing it on the ground in the distance.
We put out the flashlights and approached.
The closer we got, the more light was seen, and then I thought, well it isn't a car.
If the car had its back to us, we would have been looking at the drivers, but since we were walking, it was not logical for it to be always red.
Then we threw it off the track a little.
We crossed the river to the other side, where it was.
We began to hunt and forgot what we had seen, enthusiastic in what we were doing.
I was practically alone, without hearing any of the others.
I shone the light here and there and didn't see anyone.
I turned off my flashlight and whistled for them to answer.
Then they turned on their flashlights and I said to myself, 'There they are,' because with the trees no one could be seen.
Then they came quickly and asked me, 'Hey, didn't you see that again?'
I really hadn't seen it, until they told me about it.
What we had seen from the other side was still in that place.
There was really a light there, and then I told them, 'Are we going to get closer?'
They were very scared.
The red light was there and it was doing a strange thing, as if it was shaking.
Then I told them, 'Watch me from behind, I'm going to get a little closer.'
"The trees did not let us see the place completely.
Another companion wanted to approach with me, and we went on ahead of the other two.
There was a person or something walking around it."
It was not just one light, but a row of lights.
He could not see everything, and didn't know how tall the being was.
But his legs were very big, and he saw just the legs.
"The object seemed round to me, and it was near the ground, right close to the ground.
The lights were low.
They were about 3 meters (10 feet) high and they must have been about 4 or 5 meters (13 or 16 feet) across.
The lights were of different colors.
The man advanced about ten meters (33 feet) and we lost sight of him.
He approached again and grabbed something.
I don't know if he went in the object or around it, I couldn't see.
I didn't see any door in the object.
"I saw the man up to the waist, as I was stretched out on the ground.
The light was behind him, and I couldn't make out well what he was wearing.
It seemed to me he was wearing shoes or boots, and he was speaking.
The voice seemed as if he was in a deep well, it was like 'Mnn, mmm.'
The steps were slow, he came toward where we were and went back. I was a little afraid, and I thought of my wife and my children, so I didn't feel very safe.
"The object was about 30 meters (100 feet) away, and the man approached us.
Finally, we got out of there very scared.
We no longer felt like hunting.
So we left running, and I fell and the others fell on top of me."
From Francisco Lopez Rivero's testimony we can indicate the following:
This witness remained behind his companion, and observed the scene in a similar manner, though with additional details.
The object seemed to him like a large earthen jar, upside down, with a red light on top, stationary.
Toward the center of the object he saw several rows of lights of different colors, green , orange, red, and yellow.
A little below he observed some bright-colored, silvery legs.
He had the impression that at the height of the man's eyes and mouth there was a window, like on a motorcyclist's helmet.
He only saw the figure to the waist, and didn't see any arms.
The helmet was black or dark, and the rest of the body silvery.
As to the sounds emitted by the being; as well as his movements, he agrees with the other witness.
He seemed to be a very strong and tall being, of some two meters (6'7") or more.
On Sunday, January 14, 1979, the investigators went to the site of the supposed landing with Francisco Lopez.
After certain difficulties in finding the spot where his observation was made, they carefully studied the ground and observed the following:
The place is, as a matter of fact, very wooded, and it is not easy to see.
Nevertheless, the exact place where it is supposed that the object landed is a rather circular area, where the trees themselves are situated in this curious geometric pattern.
The land was relatively soft, due to the rains that had fallen since before November.
They found no sign of traces except for a curious footprint, which seemed to have been impressed into the ground many days before.
After carefully drawing the mark, they measured it, and its size was 42 cm. (16.5 inches).
Several meters (yards) farther on they found two more marks, made in the soil, and they were the same size as the first.
The appropriate experiments showed the mark, in proportion to the height, would correspond to an individual some two meters, ten centimeters (6'11") tall.
The distance between the marks was about 13 meters (43 feet).
