Mysterious Mexico: The Strange Phenomena of La Zona del Silencio

Sep 5, 2011
Jo Harrington

Photo: Camino al Puente de Ojuela, near to the Zone of Silence - Christian Frausto Bernal

Mexico's Zone of Silence is notable for its technological breakdowns, UFO sightings and paranormal activity. It's been called the Mexican Bermuda Triangle.

Deep in the Chihuahua Desert, La Zona del Silencio (The Zone of Silence) has been causing controversy for decades. Tales of mysterious lights, radio silence, mutated creatures and plants, strange people, ghosts and bizarre hot rocks falling from the sky have made this a legendary destination for some. Ufologists, ghosthunters and thrill-seeking tourists rub shoulders with scientists, who are here investigating the natural phenomena of the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve. Is the truth out there?

Did Francisco Sarabia Tinoco Crash Land in La Zona del Silencio?

Francisco Sarabia Tinoco was Mexico's most famous early aviator, due, in part, to his breaking of the 1939 speed flying record between Mexico City and New York. Sarabia has since been honoured with statues, special issue postage stamps bearing his image and other memorials. The national airport in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, is named after him.

A strange story has been attached to this notable Mexican aviator concerning La Zona del Silencio. It's been reported that, in the 1930s, Sarabia was flying over Durango when he entered airspace above the Chihuahua Desert. There was suddenly radio silence, which alerted air traffic control that something was wrong. Sarabia had crash landed after his equipment had failed. He survived, but neither he nor the engineers could find what had happened to cause his aeroplane to malfunction. This is the earliest known example of technological failure in the Zone of Silence.

Was a US Athena Missile Pulled Off-Course to Crash into La Zona del Silencio?

On July 11th 1970, a US Athena Missile was being tested. It was launched from Green River, in Utah, USA, and it was supposed to land at White Sands Missile Base, in New Mexico. However, it completely overshot the mark. It continued on, 400 miles south, crossing over the US-Mexican border along the way. It eventually crashed into La Zona del Silencio, half burying itself in a sand-dune.

With the permission of the Mexican government, a retrieval team of American astro-scientists had to scour the area to find it. In such an inhospitable, remote section of the desert, they had to construct a road and small air-strip just to salvage what they could. It is said that they soon learned of the zone's peculiarities, when none of their communication equipment worked. It was around this time that the area acquired the name La Zona del Silencio for this very reason.

Sightings of Mysterious Men and Women in La Zona del Silencio

The figures all dress the same and look Nordic. Bizarrely, given the heat, they are usually clad in raincoats and baseball caps. They are often silent, appearing out of nowhere in the desert, often to assist stranded tourists with their broken down cars. A local rancher has spoken to them. He declared their Spanish to be perfect, whenever they approach him for water. He asked where they come from and they answered, 'from above'.

Typical is the experience of Josefina and Ernesto Diaz, who were in the the Zone of Silence looking for fossils, in October 1975. A flash flood had them rushing to their car, but they couldn't drive away. Their vehicle was trapped in a hole. As they struggled to push it out, they were surrounded by a group of 'tall, blond men in yellow raincoats'. The couple were asked to get back into their car, which they did, while the men pushed it free of the mire. Safely on the road again, the couple left their car to shake the hands of their rescuers, but the men weren't there. For miles around the flat desert was empty and no footprints were found in the sand.

Other stories tell of the same trio of blond people (two men and one woman), who appeared at the roadside in various parts of the Zone of Silence and just watched a van going by. The passenger was a TV reporter, who couldn't work out how they came and went, 100s of miles apart, without apparently having a vehicle of their own.

Yet others have described sightings of these individuals as ghosts. All of the attributes were there, the blond hair, the raincoats, the baseball caps, but they were completely transparent.

Strange Lights, Hot Pebbles and UFO Sightings in La Zona del Silencio

Since the 19th century, there have been reports of 'hot pebbles' regularly falling from the sky in Zona del Silencio. It has been speculated that they are the remains of many meteors, or guijolas, scattered over the area. Lights are frequently spotted in the desert, floating over the ground or soaring into the air. Even the most sceptical of the local people admit to seeing the lights, as they are a common phenomenon.

Added to these are the UFO sightings, which take place here more often than in the rest of Mexico put together. This is why the area is so popular with Ufologists.

The soil of the Zone of Silence has been analysed to show that it has a high level of magnetite. Could the magnetic energy of the region account for its many weird and wonderful stories?