“Clever Gallego. Oscar Ray Brea: The Man Who Discovered UFOs” by Manuel Cabalal.

Many books have been published on Spanish ufology, but few on Hispanic ufology. I don’t hide that the latter is more interesting to me. smart galician Perfectly suited to this thematic subcategory is the work of Ignacio Cabria (Between believing and experienced ufologists1993, and its expanded republication A Cultural History of Spanish UFOs 1950-19902022), Josep Mª Ibáñez (Dolphins and stars.The life of Antonio Ribera1995), Antonio Ribera (Letters from Three Heretics1999), Ignasi Puig (Andreas Faber Kaiser2011), Fernando López del Oso (bear legacy2019), and not much else.

Manuel Cabral’s book is timely, as 2023 marks the centenary of a figure who has been almost completely unknown to the vast majority of ufology enthusiasts in recent generations: Oscar Ray Brea , Spanish pioneer of ufology. At the same time, it’s also an ode to his image as what the author calls “the man who discovered UFOs,” having become interested in UFOs before the Arnold case and abandoning Ford’s strict sense of the unknown. The identity of a aviologist is too broad because it is the latter’s area of ​​interest.

This thick book is divided into two large sections: his life and work. In both projects, Kabbalal carried out UFO archaeological work, revealing documents that allow us to understand the historical basis of the study of the UFO phenomenon. He also traces his own life, almost obsessively comparing the smallest details that have been published to date. According to the letters provided, this necessary and grateful obsession was shared by wise Galicians. With the thoroughness of a detective, he managed to correct some information, such as his date of birth.

The fact that he devotes a great deal of space to his enlistment and experience in the Blue Division marks the beginning of his relationship with the unidentified man, a sighting of his comrades on the Russian front. Out of curiosity, the book quotes another unit member, actor Luis Ciges, who was also interested in UFOs, as he claimed to have witnessed a sighting: “I saw one, and at that time They were not yet called UFOs. Then I devoted myself to studying them as an amateur (…) I was in the anti-aircraft gun command office (…) We saw something moving very slowly across the sky of Seville. Pagers and other devices cannot detect it”(weekly supplementIssue 581, December 13, 1998).

At the beginning of his investigative journey, we meet a lonely and misunderstood King of Brea, who is looking for a soulmate to share his worries. Along the way he meets different characters and when he spots Antonio Ribera, he thinks he has found her. It can be seen that Ribera is one of the protagonists of this work. In fact, it was he who gave him the nickname “The Clever Galician”. Kabalal provided letters, documents and keys to the relationship, some of which have so far not been made public. With them he writes and records the story of a human relationship, of lights, shadows, encounters, disagreements and painful consequences, in which the case of San José de Valderas and the entire Umo affair and its spin-offs take center stage stage. In fact, Ray Brea was the first to point out that the photos were fraudulent, prompting an angry reaction from Ribera. Everyone must draw his or her own conclusions after reading the dialectical exchange between the two, not so much about the unlikely veracity of the case as about the human condition.

In terms of his work, Brea is best known for his contribution to ufology, the “two-year cycle theory,” which contends that periods of closest proximity between Earth and Mars coincide with greater number of sightings. As dispassionate analysis of the data proves, some things just aren’t true. But one thing is indisputable: He was a pioneer. What is more debatable is at what level. In quoting a chapter from the first book on ufology published in Spain, Cabalal forgets exactly the chapter related to this theory: Mars will attack in 1956 (European Economic and Social Committee, 1951). It was written by Professor Danhac Bode, the pseudonym under which Jesús Murciano Lasso de la Vega, uncle of the poet Carlos Murciano, once hid.

Manuel Carballal has written a richly documented work, with commendable enthusiasm and research dedication imbued on every page. The entire second half is a very extensive selection of Rey’s different writings, some of which are unpublished, and must be read with a forgiving eye, as the passage of time reveals successes and mistakes. The book concludes with a letter from the author to the protagonist, expressing his desire to meet his compatriots. In the best sense of the word, Kabalal was the romantic of ufology.

 

personal hobby baby boomers: The inclusion of QR codes in books repulses me in a way that is as strong as my repulsion from books.

will generate this opinion among readers Millennials. I don’t like reading with a book in one hand and my phone in the other. Fortunately, in this case, its use is measured and relevant.

I quote a quote from Rey Brea that I completely agree with: “Personally, I don’t have any interest in whether UFOs exist, I’m just moved by curiosity… “. I would add: their history and the history of those who study them. For this reason, I don’t think it’s necessary to say that I think this is a must-read book for anyone interested in the history of Spanish ufology.

After reading this, it was also necessary to do a similar biography with another pioneer: Màrius Lleget.

The book is published by El Ojo Critico (A Coruña, 2022) and can be purchased here: https://coleccioncuadernodecampo.blogspot.com/2022/10/el-gallego-sabio-oscar-rey-brea-el. html (1)

More information on Ray Brea’s theories

Juan Pablo González, an industrial engineer and researcher, is the manager of CUCO (Uniform Catalog of UFO Cases), a database that consolidates 27 catalogs to date, collecting a total of 8,668 Spanish cases. One of Óscar Rey Brea’s first contributions was the discovery of a clear consistency between the increase in UFO observations and the proximity of Mars to Earth: Mars’ trajectory relative to our planet changes one day every 2 to 50 years There is the greatest degree of relative proximity (opposition) between the two. Rey Brea made his statistical findings public through various articles published between 1954 and 1964. I have asked Juan Pablo to verify Rey’s conclusions with the latest information.

King Brea and the two-year cycle

Juan Pablo Gonzalez

At the request of VJ Ballester Olmos, I obtained the following graph showing the number of UFO cases reported and collected by CUCO in Spain each month between 1948 and 1963.

If compared with what Rey Brea proposed in his article “Alien Life” in November 1964.A planet may be inhabited,” published in the journal something and Reprinted by Manuel Carballal on page 227 of his book smart galician, no significant differences were observed, except for the two we will point out below. Next is a chart created by Rey:

First difference) Rey Brea shows a wave that did not exist in Spain in 1948, so it is undoubtedly using a geographically wider database (which we don’t know about).

Second difference) All peak case numbers in Rey Brea are similar in magnitude, while case numbers collected by CUCO show that the peak of the 1950 wave (75 cases in March) was much higher than in the remaining months (up to 15 cases per month). In fact, the graphs obtained from CUCO were pared down to 40 cases for ease of reading. There are several possible explanations for this difference, but they are not relevant to this analysis.

The key question is: Do UFO waves coincide with Mars opposition? In 1950, absolutely. It can be assumed that during the next opposition in May 1952, the number of sightings also increased, albeit less dramatically. This assumption began to break down when the next peak occurred in 1954, but five months after the June opposition, no cases were recorded that month. All of the hedges below are consistent with months of moderate or low activity. This is the opportunity.

In summary, the CUCO data clearly test the two-year cycle hypothesis…but only for the brief period 1949 to 1953. Such results were not repeated in subsequent years, suggesting a lack of statistically significant correlation and that the above hypothesis is based on nothing more than an analysis of too short a period of time to support Rey Brea’s belief in Martians. An example of. Some things are hard to avoid when you’re a pioneer.

Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez (1)