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The Journal of Parapsychology
of parapsychology, some may see little value in monitoring publi-
cations and research in these countries, perhaps because they doubt
that the material produced by such researchers wouldbe of suffi-
cient quality to make an important contribution to e field (Alva-
rado, 1989a).
This lack of attention to information abou Ibero-American
parapsychology presents a serious problem fo English-speaking
parapsychologists, who often receive invitation to attend parapsy-
chological conferences in some of these cour fies where there are
groups whose commitment to academic para psychology is doubtful
and whose only purpose in attending their invitations is to legitim-
ize local efforts, which are som times a dubious mix of parapsychol-
ogy, spiritism, ufology, and so on. A beter knowledge of parapsy-
chology in these communities coun faci tate evaluation of the goals
of specific groups who identify ther selves as parapsychologists.
David Hess (1990) has pointed out the following concerning Brazil-
ian parapsychology:
[Since] anything "international" q"first world" in Brazil means addi-
tional status, the participation of A parapsychologists at Brazilian con-
ferences that represent one group could mea legitimating either Cath-
olic or Spiritist parapsycholog at the expense of the other group. (p.
110)
Although it is true that such groups exist, it is important to men-
tion that there are also serious groups and researchers who for
many years have carried But important work-wor that deserves
recognition even though the language barrier has hindered its re-
ception in the internacional parapsychological arena Efforts to
bridge this lack of attention and to increase cooperation with Ibero-
American researchers will not only help those in the Engh h-speak-
ing countries to better understand cultural differences and national
styles in research practice, but also help the researchers in the Ibero-
American world to improve the quality of their work. Therefore, I
have selected the following countries for a general survey of the re-
search that has been conducted in parts of Ibero-America: Argen-
tina, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Spain.
Spain
There has never been a serious attempt to organize the history
of psychical research in Spain, and information is scarce on early
attempts to study psychic phenomena seriously. It was not until the
1920s that the Sociedad Española da Estudios Metapsíquicos was
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created under the presidency of the Count of Gimeno, member of
the Royal Academy of Sciences and Medicine. The Society pub-
lished a journal called Revista de Estudios Metapsíquicos (Fernández
Briones, 1981b). The research orientation of the Society was to
study spontaneous cases and psychics, such as the famous Joaquín
Argamasilla (expert in dermo-optical perception) whose abilities
Houdini attempted to expose (Houdini, 1924).
Most of the work of this society, however, was lost after the
Spanish Civil War during a period of isolation in which only a few
researchers kept the torch burning. Familiar names from this period
are Sánchez Herrero, the Marquiz of Santa Clara, J. Palmés, and M.
Otero y Acevedo, researchers whose independent efforts contrib-
uted to a new generation of investigators such as Ramos Perera Mo-
lina, Francisco Gavilán Fontanet, and Luis Fernández Briones. This
latter group, at the beginning of the 1970s, founded the first well-
organized society to investigate psychic phenomena in Spain. It was
called the Sociedad Española de Parapsicología (Fernández Briones,
1981b). From its inception, this Society, under the direction of Ra-
mos Perera Molina, had as its main goal to promote the scientific
study of parapsychology. To achieve this goal, the Society combined
the efforts of experts in experimental design, illusionism, psychol-
ogy, medicine, and other fields of science and in 1976 established a
research center (De Vicente, 1983).
To carry out its research projects, the Society has been divided
into several research committees that specialize in different areas
embracing field studies as well as experimental projects. Among
these committees are those concerned with the development of the-
oretical models to enhance ESP, Kirlian photography, experimental
research, OBEs, and the medical aspects of psi. More recently, a
new committee was established2 to investigate anomalous phenom-
ena along the lines of the Society for Scientific Exploration.
Members of the Society have carried out original research pro-
jects in experimental parapsychology as well as research on sponta-
neous cases. They have also critically evaluated miracle claims made
by the Catholic church in Spain, such as the liquefaction of the
blood of Saint Pantaleón (Jordán Peña, 1983).
One of the most interesting investigations has been conducted by
members of the research committee headed by Francisco Gavilán
Fontanet (1976). In this study, the committee investigated identical
" The goal of the committee is to investigate UFOs, cryptozoology, religious ap-
paritions, and other phenomena scientifically.
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twin girls presumed to have been born with psi abilities. The case
had received extensive coverage by the media in Spain. According
to the reports of the case, one of the twin girls had suffered a burn
on her hand while ironing. Her sister, separated from her at the
time the burning occurred (16 kms away), developed a similar burn
on the same hand. The Society sent a team of researchers to carry
out a careful investigation of the case. They conducted a series of
experiments to determine the possible existence of psi communica-
tion between the sisters. One of the experiments consisted of sepa-
rating the two girls into two different buildings and stimulating one
of them (the sender) with different sensorial inputs (like perfume)
while observing physiological reactions, such as pupillary and patel-
lar reflexes, in the other twin (the receiver). Psychological profiles
of the twins were also obtained from projective tests. The sessions
with the two girls were simultaneously filmed to document the stim-
uli as well as the perceptual pattern of the reactions. The results
showed simultaneous reactions of the twins' reaction time and visual
and olfactory responses.
In 1978 the members of the Society conducted another impor-
tant study, an international survey of the motivational factors of
parapsychological researchers. Headed by Gavilán Fontanet (1978),
the main objective of the study was to find out what motivates para-
psychologists to investigate psychic phenomena.
They surveyed 201 parapsychologists from 18 countries around
the world. Among the parapsychologists were J. B. Rhine, S. Krippner,
and C. Tart. Three hundred questionnaires, each having 23 questions,
were prepared in five different languages and were mailed to re-
searchers throughout the world. Among the interesting findings
were that 61% of the respondents were psychologists, psychiatrists,
and medical doctors, 45% considered themselves agnostics, 24% got
involved in parapsychology while looking for a philosophical answer
to the question of the nature of man, 31% got involved for scientific
reasons, 51% believed in a transcendent intelligence, 50% believed
in some type of survival after death (of these 10% believed in rein-
carnation), and 71% rejected astrology.
Another research objective of the Society was the search for a
theoretical model to enhance psi abilities. For this purpose the So-
ciety created the Committee for the Development of ESP4 headed
by Luis Fernández Briones. The Committee's purpose was to outline
' The languages were English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.
' A group that conducts experimental and theoretical research about ESP.
a methodological model for the practical development of ESP. Once
the model and the techniques were developed, the Society hoped it
would be possible to train subjects to obtain positive results over an
extended period of time (Fernández Briones, 1976), thus confront-
ing the replicability problem that characterizes most psi research.
Although the Committee has not been successful as yet, the results
obtained so far are encouraging. Fernández Briones summarized
the findings in his book entitled Desarrollo de la Percepción Extrasen-
sorial [The Development of Extrasensory Perception] (1983). Among
the techniques used by the Committee to attain this goal are the
inducement of altered states of consciousness and the application of
learning theory principles to ESP performance, such as those pro-
posed by Charles Tart (1966). Although the results have only been
suggestive, Fernández Briones was hopeful enough to emphasize
the need for more research to test the proposed models sufficiently.
Other research conducted by members of the Society includes
investigations of poltergeist cases (Jordán Peña, 1980)5; conceptual
papers related to the ability of some fish, such as the electric eel and
the sturgeon of the Nile, to obtain information about their sur-
roundings through electrical communication, which the authors
speculated might be a primitive language of telepathy (Bardasano
Rubio & Arano Bermejo, 1980a); examination of the migration of
carrier pigeons and other animals to develop a model for ESP (Bar-
dasano Rubio & Arano Bermejo, 1980b); and studies of the socio-
logical and anthropological aspects of psychic surgery (Jiménez Vi-
sedo, 1984). Moreover, other members of the Society have:
speculated on the pineal gland as a possible somatic organ for ESP
reception (Bardasano Rubio et al., 1981); examined neurophysiol-
ogy and its importance for parapsychological research (Jiménez Vi-
sedo, 1985); considered the psychophysiological correlates of hyp-
nosis and its implications for parapsychology (González Ordi, 1985);
investigated perception of the laying-on of hands by a sensorially
isolated subject (Prat et al., 1988); proposed three-dimensional
models of RSPK studies, that is, the cases are studied within a para-
psychological, psychological, and psychosociological context (De Cas-
tro, González Ordi, & Berrocal Muela, 1984); and offered theoreti-
cal models to explain firewalking (Perera, 1989).
In the educational area, even though efforts have been made to
include parapsychology in the curriculum of universities in Spain,
5 Jordán Peña published a book called Casas Encantadas, Poltergeists [Haunted
Houses, Poltergeists) (1982), in which he presented an overview of cases and theories
of hauntings. For a review of this book, see Alvarado (1985).
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The Journal of Parapsychology
these have not been successful as yet. Since its inception, however,
members of the Society have been very active in organizing numer-
ous educational activities and seminars at different universities. The
seminar offered by the president of the Society, Ramos Perera Mo-
lina, at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 1975 drew distin-
guished and prominent figures such as Prince Juan Carlos of Spain
and his wife and the minister of education.
Since 1975, the Society has also published a biannual journal,
entitled Psi Comunicación, which includes English abstracts. The
journal covers both the activities of the Society and a wide range of
topics in parapsychology, some of which have been mentioned. In
addition, their journal includes a section for national and interna-
tional news on parapsychological activities around the world. Mem-
bers of the Society have published several books summarizing its re-
search activities. I have already mentioned the books by Fernández
Briones (1983). Other books include an anthology, entitled La Nueva
Parapsicología: Introducción a la Parapsicología Científica [The New
Parapsychology: An Introduction to Scientific Parapsychology] ed-
ited by Fernández Briones (1981a), a valuable introduction to the
field, and Mario Capel's La Supervivencia Después de la Muerte: Evi-
dencia Espontánea y Experimental [Survival after Death: Spontaneous
and Experimental Evidence] (1981) reviewing some of the research
and phenomena related to the issue of survival after death.
Although parapsychology has been negligible in Spain until re-
cent times, it is important to point out that we are now witnessing a
boom in parapsychological activities in that country. Unfortunately,
even though the Society seems to be the best organized, and to have
the most resources in the Ibero-American world, its members have
not participated in the broader international parapsychological con-
ferences, such as that of the Parapsychological Association, possibly
because of the language barrier. In addition, it is unfortunate and
disheartening to find that such a large, productive, and well-orga-
nized society has no member in the PA.
Brazil
At the 1990 Parapsychologica. As emation convention, David
Hess, who has made several field trip to study Brazilian parapsy-
chology, presented a pappe in which he described Brazilian para-
psychology in the following terms:
Brazil does not have a coherent community of academic parapsycholo-
gists, and there are few if any people in Brazil who research and publish
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181
at the standards of the Parapsychological Association. Instead, what is
called "parapsychology" in Brazil is largely defined by rival groups of
Catholic and Spiritist (Kardecist) intellectual. (Hess, 1990)
!
To understand parapsychology in Braza, we need to be familiar
with the cultural milieu from which it hasevolved, one that is dom-
inated by fro-Brazilian cults and Catholicism. On the one hand,
we have the Spiritist tradition that came from France through the
teachings of Allan Kardec; Spiritists believe that spiritual progress is
effected by a series of compulsory reincarnations. They believe that
mediumship provides opportunities to communicate with deceased
individuals. Moreover, Spiritism i strongly influenced in Brazil by
the Afro-Brazilian cults such as ombanda and Candomble derived
from the African religions brought to Brazil through the slave trade
(Bastide, 1971; Gies er, 1985).
This spectrum o Spiritis beliefs and Afro-Brazilian religions
has crept in and mixed in Brazilian society (Hess, 1987), creating a
variety of belief systens from which Brazilian brands of parapsy-
chology have evolved. There are many interesting combinations of
the Kardecist type of Sp itism and all sorts of Brazilian religious
movements that essentially ccept possession, the influence of spirits
of deceased individuals as well as the belief that divinities can pos-
sess individuals and can effect healing (Parra Alvarez, 1981).
On the other hand, there is the Catholic tradition that has de-
veloped a system thatuses parapsychology as an ideology with which
to fight and eventually destroy all the movements the church sees as
superstition and threats to the established Catholic dogmas (Hess,
1990). This systen has been developed mainly through the work of
one of the mostInfluential and lespected "parapsychologists" in
Ibero-America, Father Oscar Gonzalez Quevedo, a Spanish-born
Jesuit priest living in Brazil. Padre Quevedo (as he is known) and
Luis Ferreira da Silva cofounded the Latin American Center of
Parapsychology, CLAP, of the Anchieta College of São Paulo in
1970.
The Coater, which was closed down in 1982 and reopened in
1989 under reduced circumstances, used to offer clinical counseling
for peorde suffering from psychologica problems related to reli-
gious experiences and practices (e.g., demonic possession). The
Cente still has an impressive library6 of books on parapsychology,
which used to be housed in huge facilities hat also accommodated
an experimental and clinical laboratory and a museum of objects
7
" One of the biggest parapsychology libraries in Latin America with approximately
4,000 volumes.
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