Friday, February 24, 2012

Voladores de Papantla

According to Jim Johnston's good Mexico City walking guide, "If you are lucky you will catch" a performance of the Voladores de Papantla just outside the Anthropology Museum.

Turns out our luck was good as we turned up just in time for the noon spectacle.

Five men, costumed in the clothing of the ancient Totonac people of Vera Cruz, climb to the top of a 75 foot pole where four of them tie ropes to their feet and revolve around the pole as they slowly descend to the ground while the fifth man plays the flute and dances on top!

Johnston informs us that this show is a ritual "offering to the fertility god Xipe Totec".

Since these guys perform this dangerous feat for a living, we were only too happy to donate to the hat.

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