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Ummo Movement

Cult

Spanish-French network exchanging typewritten letters from 1965 onward, later labelled a UFO cult after hoax admission

The Ummo story began in late 1965 when Madrid civil servant Fernando Sesma received anonymous letters describing aliens from the star Wolf 424. Over the next two decades, hundreds of pages arrived in Spain and France, signed with a distinctive three-bar symbol.1 José Luis Jordán Peña, an engineer, later admitted orchestrating the entire affair as a social experiment.2

  Origins and public intrigue

Early letters referenced a February 1966 sighting in the Madrid suburb of Aluche and included technical jargon meant to impress ufologists.1 In June 1967 photographs of a disc over San José de Valderas propelled the tale into national newspapers, encouraging similar mailings abroad.34

  From correspondence to cult status

Although Peña intended a hoax, some followers treated the Ummo texts as revelation. Spain's Edelweiss sect branded members with the symbol during abusive rituals, and derivative groups appeared in Bolivia and elsewhere.356

  Confession and aftermath

Skeptics exposed photographic fakery in the 1980s and pressed Peña for answers. In 1993 he wrote letters to researcher Rafael Farriols, confessing authorship and citing concern over Edelweiss scandals.2 Despite debunking, a small believer network persists through websites, forums, and a recent documentary series.78

  References

  References

  1. encyclopedia.com 2

  2. elojocritico.info 2

  3. rationalwiki.org 2

  4. en.wikipedia.org

  5. en.wikipedia.org

  6. es.wikipedia.org

  7. movistarplus.es

  8. reddit.com

Published on December 1, 1965

2 min read