Varginha 1996: Brazil's Most Famous UFO Mystery and the Contested Testimonies Behind It

To the point

In January 1996 in Varginha, Brazil, three girls described a heart‑shaped creature with red eyes and three horns, sparking a national and international UFO mystery that ufologist Ubirajara Rodrigues argued was extraterrestrial, followed by anonymous testimonies of a capture and hospital transfer, a Brazilian Army two‑volume report declaring the story false and offering ordinary explanations such as misperception or Mudinho, and later claims from neurologist Italo Venturelli and a James Fox–organized Washington press conference that kept the debate alive while officials remain skeptical and the city has embraced the legend as a local UFO lore hub.