Antonio Ribera's Ten Commandments on UFOs
ILLUSTRATIVE RECONSTRUCTION // NOT EVIDENCE
Overview
Spanish ufologist Antonio Ribera remains one of the most influential voices in Hispanic UFO literature, and his 1982 essay on what he called the “Ten Commandments on UFOs” continues to surface in discussions about how the phenomenon has been interpreted in the Spanish-speaking world. Published in Encuentros con Humanoides, the text is less a declaration of certainty than a structured attempt to frame a mystery that Ribera believed deserved serious study. In it, he argues that UFOs are most likely advanced machines—possibly from elsewhere, possibly from another dimension, and perhaps even from the future. His phrasing reflects a style common in classic ufology: speculative, but grounded in what believers considered real-world traces such as radar returns and physical impressions on the ground.
Ribera’s Core Argument
Ribera’s first claim was that UFOs are, “in all likelihood, a super-machine created by a superior technology.” From there, he expanded the idea into a broader cosmology. He suggested that such craft may have conquered not only space but also time and interdimensional barriers, allowing both extraterrestrial and “pluridimensional” explanations to coexist. He also rejected the notion that UFOs are simply mental projections, noting that “mental constructs do not register on radar, nor do they leave behind ground impressions weighing up to thirty tons.” For Ribera, the reported occupants of these craft were likely living beings of humanoid appearance, though he allowed for the possibility that some witnesses may have encountered robots—either mechanical or biological, the product of highly advanced genetic engineering. Perhaps his most enduring line came when he wrote that “the UFO is a mirror that reflects the face of the beholder,” underscoring his belief that interpretations of the phenomenon often say as much about observers as they do about the objects themselves.
THE ALIENS ARE AMONG US!
THEY WISH TO COMMUNICATE!
AND HAVE EVEN CONSTRUCTED CITIES IN REMOTE PLACES WHILE THEY ARE HERE!
The story of UMMO starts with a series of letters and phone calls to various Spanish UFO researchers in 1965 that purportedly came from an extraterrestrial race. While the most commonly reported method of ET contact is clearly by telepathy, the aliens in this case tried a more direct, decidedly earthly method of communication.
The letters contained highly detailed discourses on such weighty topics as physics and medicine that could only have been written by experts on the cutting edge in those rarified fields that are light years beyond what a lay hoaxer could have come up with. One of the letters also predicted that a UFO sighting would occur on a certain day at a certain location in Spain, and the ship did indeed appear on schedule and at the appointed place. It was a rare event in the annals of Ufology, a supposed alien prediction that actually came true.
The race behind the letters and activity claimed to have come from a planet named UMMO, saying that they had arrived on Earth in 1950 and had been biding their time before contacting trustworthy Earthlings. They had come in response to a weak signal inadvertently sent out into space by a Norwegian ship conducting ionospheric research in 1934. It was later verified that both the ship and its experiments were indeed real-world events. The first landing took place near the Basses-Alps in France. The aliens from UMMO also claimed to have built an underground base in France as well, and later to have established other strongholds, including isolated small cities, much like the aliens in the new science fiction hit "District Nine."
The story kicks into higher gear when two additional sightings occurred near Madrid in 1966 and 1967. In both instances, the bottom side of the ship displayed the letters UMMO as well as a distinctive pictorial mark, seen throughout the book, that resembles our own notation for Uranus. According to the introduction written by Antonio Huneeus, seven clear photos of a classic flying saucer with a large UMMO symbol were taken by one of the Spanish witnesses during the second incident. Though they were later labeled as a hoax by Dr. J. Allen Hynek's Center for UFO Studies in Chicago, the photographer still stands by them.
Another aspect of the second sighting was a strange kind of debris left behind, what were thought at first to be small tubes of a metal resembling nickel. After being sent to Spain's National Institute of Aerospace Technology, they were determined to contain plastic sheets of polyvinyl fluoride, developed by DuPont. The catch is, however, that at the time the use of the material was restricted to the military only. So we have here the makings of another classic UFO case, one with the kind of similarities to previous cases that grounds it within the relative confines of reality while at the same time offering up newer details that add to the uniqueness of the case material.
The book begins with a longish opening section from the early 1990s in which an Earthling named simply "Tony" exchanges letters with an alien called Mr. X in which they discuss numerous aspects of life on Earth as seen from an alien perspective as well as inklings of the cosmic truth possessed by the aliens.
A Broader Hispanic Ufology Debate
The Ribera text sits within a wider body of Hispanic ufology, where writers and researchers have long debated whether the phenomenon is truly extraterrestrial or something more complex. The source material points to Argentine military interest in UFO research, a reminder that in parts of Latin America, official institutions have periodically taken unexplained aerial reports seriously enough to investigate them. It also reflects a recurring skepticism within the field: some researchers have suggested that intelligence agencies could manipulate UFO narratives to obscure the existence of secret military craft or advanced aerospace programs. That theory, while unproven, has remained a durable part of UFO discourse because it offers a terrestrial explanation for at least some sightings without dismissing the entire subject.
Competing Explanations and Cultural Theories
What makes Ribera’s “commandments” notable is that they do not close off alternative interpretations; instead, they leave room for a range of possibilities that continue to animate UFO discussions today. Some researchers have favored non-extraterrestrial models, including interdimensional beings, while others have looked to non-human entities or other unusual intelligences that do not fit classic “little green men” assumptions. The source also notes more unconventional cultural theories, including the idea that rock music may be linked to abduction experiences, a claim that illustrates just how far the interpretive spectrum can stretch in UFO studies. Whether viewed as serious inquiry or cultural curiosity, these perspectives show that Hispanic ufology has often been as much about philosophy, psychology, and geopolitics as it has been about lights in the sky.
Enduring Influence
Ribera’s legacy lies in his willingness to combine openness with discipline: he did not claim to know what UFOs were, but he insisted they merited methodical attention. That balance helped make him a defining figure in Spanish-language ufology, alongside his work as a translator and writer who introduced major science-fiction and speculative ideas to new readers. More than four decades later, his framework still resonates because it captures a central tension in UFO research: the phenomenon is real enough to inspire investigation, but elusive enough to keep almost every explanation on the table.
