Mexican Town Celebrates "Day of the Martian."

A local TV station in this Gulf of Mexico port, recently declared that from now on, the last Tuesday of October will be celebrated as the “day of the martian,” local news sites report.

Ciudad Madero is one of the top places for alleged UFO sightings in Mexico. And local legend says that there is an alien base located deep under water, 25 miles from the city’s beaches.

Some locals joke that martians running this under water base, have saved the city from being hit by hurricanes that have thrashed nearby towns in recent years.

So in gratitude, the multimedios TV channel erected a bust of a green martian on one of the city’s beaches and proclaimed that they will celebrate the “day of the martian,” the last Tuesday of October.

The legend that Martians are saving Ciudad Madero, dates back to 1988 when a hurricane heading towards the town quickly veered direction and hit cities further north along the Gulf of Mexico. Most recently Ciudad Madero survived tropical storm Ingrid with small damages, while severe flooding occurred in cities that are just 100 miles away.

Of course, there is another reason to have a “day of the martian.”

Some locals are hoping that associating Ciudad Madero with martians and UFO’s will increase tourism to this seaside town. Maybe one day, Ciudad Madero will become the Roswell of Mexico!

Manuel Rueda is a correspondent for Fusion, covering Mexico and South America. He travels from donkey festivals, to salsa clubs to steamy places with cartel activity.