Los Voladores de Papantla are performers who dance in the skies using a tall wooden pole and ropes tied to their feet.This ancient dance is an indigenous ritual of fertility that originated with the Totonacs.The dancers wear clothing to represent birds and dance to the sound of a flute and drum.They begin by dancing around the base of the wooden pole before five of the dancers climb up to the top.Once they reach the platform at the top of the pole, one of the men sits at the top and plays the flute and drum.As the platform begins to spin, the other four dancers leap out with a rope attached to their feet and dance around the pole in the air as they are slowly lowered to the ground.It is an impressive feat and a unique tradition that can be seen in several towns all over Mexico.
