One morning in January 1981, Mexican photographer Carlos Diaz pulled into a deserted car park at Ajusco Park near Mexico City. He was on an assignment for a magazine, and had arranged to meet a journalist who was yet to arrive. Diaz sat in his car, preparing his camera for the job ahead. Although it was early in the morning, the air was thick with humidity which made even sitting still uncomfortable. Impatiently, Diaz began to look at his watch. Suddenly, his attention was caught by a strange yellow glow coming from the valley below him. At first he thought it was a forest fire, but, an instant later, the source of light revealed itself to be a large, orange, oval-shaped UFO, slowly hovering about 30 metres from his car.
Unable to believe his eyes, Diaz quickly grabbed his camera. With it resting on his steering wheel, he began frantically firing off shots. Then, without warning, the whole car began to shake violently. Diaz got out of the vehicle and took two more photographs before the craft sped up vertically into the sky, leaving Diaz in a state of shock.
This encounter marked the beginning of what was to develop into one of he most fascinating and long-running contactee cases in the history of UFOlogy. Today, the case remains among a small minority of alledged extraterrestrial encounters to be supported by verified film documentation that has stood up to the scrutiny of a range of experts.
KEY ENCOUNTER
Indeed, the apparent credibility of Diaz's claims has attracted the attention of some of the world's top UFO researchers, including German author Michael Hesemann and abduction researcher Dr John Mack. Both concluded that Diaz's story is completely credible. Hesemann echoes the views of most researchers when he states: 'The Carlos Diaz case is the most important case of documented alien-human contact to have emerged in modern times.' Certainly, at the time of his initial encounter, Diaz little suspected what was to come. The transition from a run-of-the-mill UFO sighting in an area now acknowledged as a UFO hot-spot, to one of the key cases of recent years did not occur until weeks later.
In the days that followed this January sighting, Diaz remained preoccupied by his experience. Unable to forget what he had seen, he repeatedly returned to the Ajusco Park location, hoping to secure more pictures. After a succession of fruitless visits, Diaz began to think that he was wasting his time. But then, on 23rd of March, his patience was rewarded.
RETURN TRIP
While roaming the greenery, Diaz was again alerted to the presence of a UFO by an orange glow, which he could see only dimly through the fog and rain that had saturated the forest in Ajusco Park. As he climbed up the walls of the valley, he managed to position himself within 45 metres of the object. Diaz watched the 'craft' hovering above him, eminating a bright orange light. It was, he said, dome-shaped with a smooth ring in its centre.
This, claimed Diaz, was covered with a number of half spheres, each around one metre in diameter. Crouching behind some rocks, Diaz thought his actions had gone unnoticed, but, as he continued to watch the craft, he felt someone grab his shoulder from behind. Diaz immediately fainted, and, when he awoke, it was dark and the UFO was gone. He was shocked to discover that, despite heavy rain, his clothes were completely dry. At that point, he knew something strange had happened to him.
When he returned to his car, Diaz noticed another car parked in front of him. At this point, Diaz claimed, a humanoid entity with fair hair approached him and told him that if he wanted to know more about what he had just experienced, he should return to the same spot at noon the following day. Apparently, when Diaz returned the next day, he discovered the same entity sitting on the grass. Diaz claimed that the being then turned to him and explained that it was he who grabbed his shoulder the previous day.
Before leaving, the being also told Diaz that he had come from inside the craft and that Diaz would gradually recover his memory of what had happened while he was unconscious. Sure enough, over the next few months, Diaz's memory returned, piece by piece.
According to his account, he recalled the craft hovered directly over his head. As he attempted to touch the craft, his hand seemed to pass through the yellow light and he seemed to merge with it.
The next thing he recalled was seeing the craft parked on a platform inside a giant cave. Diaz was filled with awe when he remembered what he had seen inside:
'It was full of stalagmites, some of which were carved into what appeared to be Mayan sculptures,' he stated. 'I saw many people in the cave, some of whom waved to me and, in a state of shock, I waved back.'
Apparently the being Diaz had encountered in the park then led him to a smaller cave which contained seven glowing, egg-shaped orbs, one of which Diaz was invited to step into. On entering, Diaz could at first only see yellow light.
But then he found himself surrounded by the image of a forest.
'I could see all the details of the forest as if I was walking through it,' said Diaz. 'I couldn't touch anything, but I could feel the temperature and moisture. I could see and experience everything, yet I wasn't physically there.'
His guide then told him that the orbs were also a system for storing information and that certain data had been imparted to him. Diaz was then returned to the ship and, in time, to the park.