Dancing in the sky: the dance of the Papantla flyers

Voladores de Papantla.  Photo by: Elena Vazquez

The Voladores de Papantla are famous throughout Mexico and many parts of the Spanish speaking world.  Volador is literally translated as a person who flies, and the Voladores de Papantla certainly come close.

While strolling around Chapultepec Park in Mexico City, I noticed a really tall, blue pole soaring into the sky.  As we got closer we saw a group of men dressed in red pants, white shirts, and funny hats with flowers and a fan down the middle.  They were the Voladores and they were about to perform their ritual.

The ritual is performed by five men, each representing the five elements of the indigenous world.  Before they make their way up the pole, they dance in a circle around the pole and play their drums and flutes.  Then one of the Voladores begins his climb.  At the top he balances on a wooden platform where he continues to play his instruments.  Then the other Voladores join him up the pole.  The first Volador stands up to play his music.  Watching these men balance themselves so high up gives me goosebumps.  There are no nets and no safety measures.

The top platform can swivel around, therefore the other Voladores are able to fall down and swing around the pole, hanging only by a rope tied to their foot.  The first Volador stays at the top to play the music.

This spectacular tradition is said to have started because of a drought.  Legend states that five men wanted to send a message to the fertility god so rain would return.  The took a tree and stripped it of its leaves.  Then they adorned themselves with feathers, in order to look like birds, and they wrapped vines around their ankles.  They wanted to fly down in order to get the god's attention.

Since the Voladores started their show, people had gathered all around the blue pole gazing up at the hanging men.  At the end of the flight, the Voladores came around with hats asking for some money for their performance.  Although a few pesos seems hardly enough for jumping off a pole with a rope tied around your ankle.