Voladores de Papantla

The danza de los voladores is a pre-Hispanic rite that survived conquest, prohibition and tourism, and UNESCO added it to its intangible heritage list in 2009. Five men climb a pole around twenty metres tall - the tree for it traditionally selected, felled and raised with ceremony. At the top, on a small rotating frame, four of them tie ropes around their waists while the fifth, the caporal, stands on the crown and plays a flute and small drum, turning to the four directions in an invocation of sun and rain. Then the four fall backwards and spin outward, hanging upside down as the ropes unwind - thirteen revolutions each, four flyers, fifty-two turns in total, a number that matches the cycle of the Mesoamerican calendar round. They land upright, if the timing has gone as it should. Papantla and the ruins of El Tajin are the ritual's heartland, and voladores perform there daily; groups also fly at Chapultepec, Cuetzalan, Cancun and elsewhere, and Papantla's Totonac communities train new flyers, including a school for children.

What you actually see

• The pole ascent - five men climbing to the rotating frame.
• The caporal's dance - flute and drum to the four directions.
• The descent - four flyers spinning down head-first.
• The count - thirteen turns each, fifty-two in all.

When to go

Daily performances at El Tajin and Papantla through the year; the Cumbre Tajin festival in March brings the largest gatherings of Totonac culture.

Honest expectations

Performers are unpaid at most sites and depend on contributions - give properly. Timings at the ruins are posted but flexible. The ritual is a ceremony as much as a display; watch accordingly.

Nearby

El Tajin's ruins, Papantla's vanilla trade and the Gulf coast beaches surround the performances.