“My nephews and nieces. Uncle Auturo always brings them treats,” he said, referring to himself. Carla appeared in the doorway and welcomed us into her home. She introduced me to her two sisters. Dressed identically in white embroidered huipils, they could have passed for triplets. We were shown to the backyard, where a small table was set with refreshments. Auturo spoke to the women in the regional Mayan dialect as we sat in the shaded backyard and drank freshly squeezed orange juice. As he explained that I was following the path of Stephens and Catherwood, the women nodded in unison and smiled knowingly. When he explained that I was also collecting stories about UFOs and Star People encounters, the trio fell silent momentarily and began discussing the various sightings of unexplained UFOs that frequented the area. Speaking in a combination of the Mayan language and Spanish, I was able to understand some of their discussion.
“Carla says she has seen UFOS many times,” Auturo said. He paused as she continued, and then translated. “Once she saw a V-shaped craft with red lights.” She outlined the shape on the table. “She said that it hovered over her village.”
“Would you ask her to describe what happened?”
“It came from the west. It hovered over the village, shining lights on the village below.”
“We were frightened. We thought it meant us harm.” She paused and looked at the women. They nodded approval and she continued. “Then, it turned, and before our eyes it disappeared. Later that night, four lights appeared in our home. My husband was ill. The doctors said he had lung cancer from years of smoking and they sent him home to die. He had trouble breathing. He could no longer walk or feed himself. It took all of his energy to breathe. My sisters and I cared for him. One of us was always by his side.” She paused, allowing Auturo the opportunity to translate.
“Is her husband still alive?” I asked Auturo.
“Sí. He is very healthy.”
“How did that happen?”
“She says that the UFOS carried angels who healed him.”
“Did she see the angels?”
“I don’t think so,” Auturo responded. I waited as they spoke in Mayan. The other two women joined in the conversation. “She says the Star Men healed her husband. She says that if you want to meet her husband, he will be home in another hour. He is working in the orchard now. He will come home for lunch.” Carla excused herself to prepare lunch. Her sisters disappeared with her.
“Auturo, did you know about the UFO incident?”
“Sí. I was not sure she would tell her story. She is very reluctant to talk to strangers. But I told her that you were Indios. She has never met an Indios woman from the U.S.A. She wants to share her husband’s story.”
“I am honored.”
“When Salvador arrives, please give me time to speak with him. I think he will agree to tell his story, but I want to approach him first. He is a private man, and his story is amazing. I think I can convince him to talk.”
“I will follow your lead.”
No more than twenty minutes had passed when Salvador entered the backyard. Auturo and Salvador greeted each other and spoke briefly. Auturo turned to me and introduced us. “Salvador speaks some English and Spanish. He worked at Uxmal as a guide when he was younger. After his father died, he took over the orchard and took care of his mother until she passed.”
“I am happy to meet you, Señora,” Salvador said. I looked at the man, slightly bent, from the years of toiling in the fields. He was old for his age, and yet there was a glint in his eye that confirmed he was full of life. He stood barefoot before me, his feet caked with the dirt of the fields, and yet he appeared almost regal in his demeanor. He was a man reborn, according to his wife, and he displayed the confidence of a man who expected to live a long life.
“I told Salvador that you were following the route of Stephens and Catherwood. He is impressed.”
“My third-ago grandfather served as a guide for Stephens and Catherwood. He worked at the hacienda in those days and the owner gave permission for him to go with the two to Uxmal. He helped care for Catherwood, who became so ill with malaria before they returned to New York. When they returned to Uxmal a year later, Stephens and Catherwood requested that he accompany them on their return trip to the site.”
“What is a third-ago grandfather?” I asked.
“It is a great-great-great grandfather, I believe—three grandfathers before his grandfather.”
“Tell him I am very impressed. I feel like I am touching history.” Auturo explained to Salvador what my comment meant, and he smiled and nodded.
“The señora is also collecting stories about UFOS,” Auturo said. “Carla told her about your healing. Would you be willing to share your story with her?” Salvador nodded, removed his straw hat, and wiped his brow with a rag he pulled from his back pocket.
“I was close to death,” he said, pausing as though remembering his illness. “The priest had been called to my bedside twice, but I kept holding on, waiting for a miracle from Jesus. The doctors had given up on me.” I saw his wife walk to his side and bring a fresh pitcher of orange juice. He looked at her and nodded before continuing. “The night the UFOS came, I could see the lights from my hammock. The whole outside was red. I did not know what was going on. Carla came in and told me what she saw. I prayed to God it was my miracle, but my breathing stayed the same.” He paused when Carla appeared with a plate of tortillas and beans. Salvador filled a tortilla and passed the plate to me. I passed the plate to Auturo. We ate and drank orange juice in silence. Salvador ate another plateful of tortillas before he spoke again. “It was later that night. I fell asleep. A bright light woke me. The room was like a full sun had come up, but that was not true. Five balls of light circled my hammock. They slowly went up and down my body. One centered over my head and stayed there.” He pointed to his forehead. “It was warm and felt good. The others centered on my chest, which became very warm. Suddenly I could breathe. I sat up and the balls of light went out the door. I followed them and just as they reached the backyard, I saw them. Five men came out of the balls of light. They stopped and looked at me. I saw a beam of light come from the trees above, and they disappeared upward into the light. I watched as the V-shaped machine moved upward. Red lights outlined it. It climbed into the sky and then it was gone.”
“Where was Carla at this time?”
“She slept. She did not hear or see.”
“When did you tell her about what happened to you?”
“I woke her up. I knew I was healed. She was shocked and worried. She wanted me to sit down, but I was too excited. For the first time in years, I could breathe easily.”
“When did this happen?” I asked.
“Four years ago. The doctors said there was no sign of cancer. They did not understand. They said it was a miracle, but I knew that it was the angels sent by Jesus to take care of me. Otherwise I would be gone. Father Felipe said it was a miracle,” he said, referring to the local Catholic priest.
“Where do you think the Star Men came from?”
“I think they live in heaven with Jesus. And if you believe in Jesus and you are faithful, he will answer your prayers.”
I often think of Salvador and the power of prayer. He prayed faithfully every day believing that Jesus would heal him. In the end, it took the intervention of his “Star Angels” to do just that. I haven’t forgotten his last words: “I pray every day,” he said. “Prayer is power.”
Chapter 43
They Avoid Tourists
Five decades ago, no one knew about Cancun. In 1969 a huge building project was launched and by 1974, an international airport and three luxury hotels had been built to draw tourists. Today, Cancun is one of the premier holiday destinations in North America.
In this chapter, you will hear from an elder who tells how the “real” Sky People quit coming to the Yucatan with the advent of the tourist industry.
I was at the Lodge at Uxmal, across the street from the ancient city by the same name
, when my driver told me about an elder in a neighboring village who had encountered a UFO and that, if I were interested, he would take me to meet him. Auturo, who was born in the same village, had known this man all of his life and vouched for his honesty and sincerity. When we arrived at his home, I was greeted by his wife, children, and grandchildren. After I gave the children coloring books, crayons, and huckleberry jelly beans, they disappeared inside one of the huts.
Choc, the elder who had agreed to talk with me, came from the back of the house and welcomed us. I was immediately mesmerized by his smile. He held out his hand to me. His gentle, warm touch put me at ease. He offered us orange juice from his orchard while he arranged some wooden stools for us to sit. “When I was a boy they used to come here. They quit coming in the mid-seventies.”
“Do you have any idea why they stopped visiting the area?”
“The old ones say they disapproved of the tourists coming to the area. The Yucatan was the home of the Maya until the 1960s. The Mexicans left us alone. The government left us alone. The Men from the Stars considered the Yucatan their second home, but after the tourists came, the purity of the Yucatan was lost. The Sky People don’t like tourists.” I understood the changes he was addressing. The development of Cancun had made for drastic alterations throughout the Yucatan.
“Do you remember the days when the Sky People came to visit?” I asked.
“Sí.”
“Can you tell me about those days?”
“I remember this one time. It was a celebration. All of the old men from the village and nearby villages were present. We feasted on turkey, peppers, beans, and tortillas. There was so much food. When all of a sudden over the village, a sky machine appeared.”
“Can you describe it?” I asked.
“It was round and big. It covered the whole village. It turned a bright sunny day into a dark day. It shaded the sun. Blue sparks of light spit out from underneath. It was quite a sight for a boy like me. I had never seen lights before. It stayed that way for the longest time, and everyone just sat there staring upward at this object from the sky.”
“Was there any fear?”
“No. We knew about the Sky People. We were not afraid of them. The sky machine hung overhead for what seemed like a long time but it was probably only minutes. Then three Sky Men appeared. They walked directly to the elders and escorted them onboard the ship. After an hour or so the elders came out of the ship.”
“Can you describe the Sky Men?” I asked.
“They looked like us, except they were taller. We were a shorter version of them.”
“Did the elders tell you anything about their meeting?”
“Only that they talked about the future of the Earth, and how the population growth and greed would bring about its destruction.”
“Did they explain to you how this might occur?”
“They said diseases, no food, and wars would destroy the Earth as we know it.” He got up and motioned for me to follow him. I walked with him to a cement enclosure near the back of his property. Three hogs were asleep in the encircled pen. They stood on their hind legs at his approach as though seeking affection. He scratched the heads of each as they squealed softly showing their approval. “These are my girls,” he said. “They produce piglets. They feed me when I sell their babies. That way I make money for other things. They are my independence.” He paused and threw a bag of corn cobs into the pen.
“Several years ago, a spacecraft came. It hovered over my place. A strange space man, unlike those of long ago days, appeared in my yard and tried to steal one of my hogs. She was my prized mama. I fought him for her. When he released her, he ran underneath the craft and was sucked up. The craft immediately sped away, and I never saw it again.”
“You speak of a strange space man. Was he different from the Sky Men of your elders?”
“Sí. These space men were different. They were hostile. They were short and wore strange suits. They were skin-tight and bright and glossy. I wondered how they could live in such suits in the heat. I know I could not do it.”
“You said ‘they.’ Was there more than one alien?”
“Sí. There was the one that tried to steal my hog and there was another one who stood and watched, and when I fought, the other one came forward and motioned through hand signals that the thief should give up and leave my hogs alone. They looked like identical twins. There was no difference in their height, weight, or appearance.”
“Could you tell anything about their faces?”
“They were blank. I saw no mouth or ears. Their heads were covered. They covered their eyes with strange, round, black goggles. My son said that they were probably glasses to help them see.”
“Did any other members of your family witness the attempted theft of your pig?” I asked.
“My wife. She was very afraid I would be killed. I remember her calling my name as I struggled to keep my hog. After they left, we had difficulty sleeping. The next morning, I had red spots and blisters on my hands and the right side of my face.”
“Did you see a doctor?”
“No. We used a salve my wife made, and it went away in a week. That alien made me sick. He was not from the Sky People of my grandfather’s day. My grandfather said the Sky People looked like us.”
“You spoke about a machine that came from the sky and the elders entered the machine to speak with the Sky Men. I have heard that the elders could travel in space. Can you tell me anything about that?” I asked.
“There is a place on each pyramid that is the portal to the stars. The elders would enter the portal to travel in space. The elders traveled to meet with the Sky People. That is how they knew so much about the universe.”
“Do they continue to do that today?” I asked.
Choc paused and finished his glass of orange juice. “When the tourists came, the Sky People chose to stay away. The portals were closed. We believe someday they will open again, but not until the tourists leave.”
“Do you believe that there will be a day when there are no tourists?”
“Oh sí. It is coming. The day will come when the world is too dangerous for travel, and people will stay home. Cancun will be replaced by jungle again.”
“Why will it become too dangerous to travel?”
“There will be diseases at first. People will be afraid to leave their homes. Food will become scarce because there will be no one to produce it. Then the wars will come.”
“What do you think will happen to the Maya when these events occur?”
“We will survive. We have always survived. We will just disappear into the jungles and wait until the Earth is reborn and the fifth world begins. It has been foretold by the wise men. It will happen. You should take heed.”
I have often thought about Choc and his explanation for the lack of star visitors coming to the Yucatan. Perhaps he is right. Tourists are everywhere and on certain days it is almost impossible to enjoy the sites. Although it is good for the economy and has raised many of the local people out of poverty, it is impossible to visit the Yucatan without recognizing the price that has been paid. It is not hard to understand why the Sky People have deserted the Yucatan.
Chapter 44
Viva Mexico!
Kiuic has been visited by archaeologists since at least 1841, when John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood recorded the site for the Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. Some of the ruins Stephens recorded in his book still stood when I visited there in 2009, despite the fact that little restoration had taken place. Kiuic was not the easiest site to find. Located in the Bolonchen District of the Puuc region of Yucatan, the Helen Moyers Biocultural Reserve is a privately owned entity managed by Kaxil Kiuic, A.C. It consists of 4,000 acres of dry tropical forest and contains the ancient Maya center of Kiuic as well as the remains of the historic community of San Sebastian.
At the time of our visit, my companions and I were unaware that Kiuic was a part of a privately owned preserve. Upon locatin
g the entrance to the site, we found an unlocked gate and drove through it. We spent approximately two hours at the site and never saw any workers or other tourists. When we came upon a “No Trespassing” sign, my driver was convinced that the three of us would end up in a Mexican prison if discovered, and we left the site immediately. As we exited the gate, we encountered a group of young men on bicycles. We stopped and chatted with them. Our conversation inspired this chapter.
“We are practicing for a cross-country race,” the head rider told us. He, along with four other bicyclists, was resting outside the gate as we exited the Kiuic site.
“Is this place open?” one of the bicyclists asked.
“The gate was unlocked and we drove inside,” my driver explained.
“The archaeologists are probably in Merida,” another rider said. “They go there on the weekends.”
“Are you guys a part of a bicycling tour group?” I asked.
“We are a team that hopes to represent Mexico in international competitions someday,” Rodrigo said. Then he pointed to his friends. “This is Pablo, the shortest of the group; David, the tallest; Jonathan, the girl-magnet; Emiliano, the youngest; and me, Rodrigo. I am the best of the group.” He smiled while the others laughed.
“How long have you been training?”
“Six months. We practice at night, on weekends, after work and school. We want to be the best,” Rodrigo said. “We want to represent Mexico.”
“Viva Mexico!” they yelled in unison.
“We have endured hurricanes, winds, rainstorms, topes (speed bumps), speeding cars, drug smugglers, military checkpoints, gun battles, union marches, protest demonstrations, and UFOs,” Rodrigo added.
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