María Gómez has died.
Have the faces of Bélmez died with her?
The Faces of Bélmez
by Fernando L. Frías Sánchez
"The greatest paranormal mystery of all time". This and other similar phrases are the ones we have heard the most these days on the occasion of the death of María Gómez, a humble woman who rose to fame in 1971 when the first of the "Faces of Bélmez" appeared on the floor of her kitchen.
The history of this phenomenon is well known. Or, to be exact, a part of the story: the appearance of the Faces, the "investigations" carried out on them by parapsychologists and "mysteriologists" from all over Spain... It is also known, although less publicized, the great profitability that was made of that matter: as a result of the Bélmez Faces it went from being a forgotten little town to making headlines, cramming itself with curious people attracted by that mystery and, of course, benefiting from the economic injection that that wave of paranormal tourism meant. And there would also be some benefit, without a doubt, for those most directly involved: although María Gómez did not charge to enter the house, she did not refuse to receive "the will" either, and few were the visitors who did not take as a souvenir some of the photos of the Faces sold by the village photographer.
But what few remember, or at least few have wanted to remember these days, is how short the mystery lasted. Almost six months after the appearance of the first Face, the newspaper "Pueblo" published the results of an analysis according to which those faces had been painted with nitrate and silver chloride. The trick, which was very ingenious, was that these substances react to light, so that the portraits were not visible until some time after they had been painted, and gradually appeared before the eyes, apparently without any human hand having intervened in the process.
As is often the case in these cases, the explanation was rejected. There were many interests at stake, and especially those of paranormal investigators: a mystery that ceases to be a mystery loses its appeal to the public and, of course, ceases to be a commodity with which those who are dedicated precisely to selling inexplicable events can continue to deal. So it didn't take long for them to go on the counterattack.
For example, through the chemical "counter-analysis" carried out on the faces. Carried out in the laboratories of the CSIC, the famous analysis indicates that the samples analysed correspond to ordinary and grinding concrete, without a trace of pigments or silver salts, a fact that of course the "mysteriologists" loudly highlight. They are very careful not to remain silent, however, that in the analysis itself the CSIC warns that the laboratory is completely ignorant of the process of taking samples and whether it was carried out with some type of control. The validity of an analysis depends fundamentally, in fact, on the fact that the samples analysed have been obtained in a controlled way, the only guarantee that they come from the object to be analysed, but in this case, as is often the case in the world of the paranormal, the controls are conspicuous by their absence, and the samples were collected in such a sloppy way that the CSIC even draws attention to the container in which it was carried out. They were delivered: a packet of sugar from a cafeteria.
On the other hand, the pro is more serious.notarial tocolo. Anxious to prove the supernatural provenance of the Faces, the "investigators" commissioned a Notary to attest that no one could paint them. To do this, the Notary drew up a record of the state of the kitchen, proceeded to seal it and, a few days later, broke the seals, attesting that the drawings had indeed changed. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like a very consistent test either. Among other things, because the silver salt method is characterized precisely by the fact that it is possible to make drawings that become visible gradually, even experiencing variations in their arrangement without anyone, apparently, having been able to make them. That is to say: just what the Notary attests to. A notary who, on the other hand, in various interviews has shown himself to be a fervent believer not only in the supernatural character of the Faces, but in many other phenomena of an esoteric or paranormal nature. This does not invalidate him as a Notary, of course, nor does it mean that he acted in bad faith or in violation of the obligations of his function as notary public, but it does allow us to suppose that, perhaps unconsciously, he did not adopt the precautions that someone more sceptical and, therefore, more inclined to think about the probability of fraud would have taken. A good example of this are the photographs of the seals he used: although they are correct, they do not seem very difficult to manipulate by someone with a minimum of skill.
Which, of course, Doña María or her husband did not have. And, of course, another of the typical "arguments" with which the supporters of mystery try to rule out the possibility of fraud also came to light. Whenever someone doubts a UFO sighting, a ghostly apparition or any other paranormal phenomenon, the "mysteriologists" dedicate themselves to turning the witnesses green, noting that they are people of little education, lack of imagination and, in short, incapable of concocting a false story or a fraud, not because of their innate honesty, but because the poor do not give so much of themselves. In this case, comments of this style abound, which brand María Gómez as a semi-illiterate woman, without education, simple... without enough lights to mount a deception, well. And, especially, without the necessary knowledge to invent the silver salts trick.
And the latter is probably true, but again it is a weak argument, to say the least, if we take into account that Doña María was not the only person related to the Caras. We must not forget the village photographer, the one who sold photos to tourists and who, obviously, would be familiar with the properties of silver salts. It is impossible, of course, to point to him as directly responsible for the appearance of the Faces, but the coincidence is significant to say the least, if we take into account that after his death the phenomenon underwent an important aesthetic transformation.
And the comparison between the Faces of the seventies and those of the eighties and later leaves no room for doubt: the hand that painted them changed. Although taking into account that "mysteriologists" insist that the phenomenon is not the work of any human hand, perhaps it should be said that the supernatural, ectoplasmic and paranormal entity that painted them changed.
Because the change in style of the Faces is remarkable. The first faces showed a more than acceptable workmanship, with great expressiveness and a technique that, although not perfect, was at least quite good. Those that emerged later, on the other hand, are much simpler, more childish.
This fact probably contributed to the decline in popularity of the Faces of Bélmez. He was not the only one, of course: the novelty of the "mystery" had passed, and not even the sensational appearances of well-known faces (such as Franco or Isabel Preysler) could rekindle the interest of an audience that was simply getting bored with it. And the "investigations" of the mystery sellers did not contribute much either: the recordings of psychophonies, the sessions of contact with the spirits and other paraphernalia only served to bring to light increasingly far-fetched theories, such as the one that linked the Faces with the cemetery on which they say the house was built, or the one that assures that they are the faces of María Gómez's mother and sisters. or the one that relates them, finally, to those killed in the combat of the Santuario de la Cabeza, in the Civil War.
The death of María Gómez, in short, closes a case that was already closed, solved and practically forgotten. And although his death has aroused ephemeral interest in the media, it is most likely that with his disappearance those Faces will also end up disappearing.
But the same will not happen in the fabulous world of the Paranormal Circus, of course. These days special programs, great reports, new investigations, extensive articles in esoteric magazines are announced... and everything indicates that, whether we like it or not, we are going to have Caras de Bélmez for a while.
Because that is what is not going to disappear: the Caras de Bélmez. Thus, in masculine. And if not, at the same time. |
