One of the most extraordinary historical stories is the legend of the Spanish soldier, Gil Pérez, who in October 1593 was mysteriously transported from Manila in the Philippines to the Plaza Mayor (now Zócalo) in Mexico. Mexicans did not believe the soldier's claims of coming from the Philippines until his account of the assassination of Governor Gomez Pérez Dasmariñas was corroborated several months later by passengers on a ship crossing the Pacific.
On October 24, 1593, Gil Pérez was on duty at the Palacio del Gobernador in Manila when Governor Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas was assassinated by Chinese pirates. Although guards continued to guard the palace, Pérez began to feel dizzy and exhausted, leaning against the wall and resting for a while with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in Mexico City, thousands of kilometers across the ocean, in the uniform of the Manila Palace Guard.
The authorities put him in prison as a deserter and accused him of being a servant of the devil. His release came when news of the governor's death reached Mexico on a Philippine galleon, and one of the passengers recognized the trapped soldier, saying he had seen him in the Philippines the day after the governor's death.
American folklorist Thomas Allibone Janvier told this story as "Legend of the Living Specter" in the December 1908 issue of Harper magazine, naming Private Gil Perez. This story became part of a series called "Legends of Mexico City", published in a collected volume in 1910.
The 1908 account was based on a Spanish version by Mexican folklorist Luis González Obregón, published in his collection "México viejo: noticias históricas, tradiciones, leyendas y costumbres" under the title "Un Aparecido". He traces this story to a 1698 story by Fray Gaspar de San Agustín, which tells the story as fact, attributing the soldier's transport to witchcraft.
Several paranormal writers, including Morris K. Jessup and Brinsley Le Poer Trench, Earl of Clancarty, have suggested alien abduction or teleportation as possible explanations for this unusual story.
The legend of Gil Pérez remains one of the most fascinating and misunderstood events in history. Its details raise many questions and speculations, and interest in it continues to this day. Was it a coincidence, or was there really an unexplained transference phenomenon? This mystery remains unsolved, adding another layer to the rich folklore and history of humanity.
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