Mexico's 'voladores' seek to keep ancestors' flying spirit alive
Mexico's 'voladores' seek to keep ancestors' flying spirit alive
By Natalia CANO (AFP) Mar 22, 2019
Four teenagers climb to the top of a towering pole, fasten themselves to ropes and throw themselves, headfirst and backwards, into the air.
No, it's not the latest social media challenge. It's the "danza de los voladores," the dance of the flyers, a more than 2,500-year-old ritual practiced by the Totonac people of central Mexico, who are fighting to keep the tradition alive by giving it some modern tweaks.
Spinning in widening circles around the pole as they fly upside-down through the air, the four dancers slowly descend to the ground, dressed in white tunics, red pants and conical hats with rainbow-colored streamers that trail across the sky.
A fifth dancer balances atop the pole -- a 30-meter (nearly 100-foot) tree trunk -- playing a festive tune on a reed flute while beating a small drum.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/mexico-s-voladores-seek-to-keep-ancestors-flying-spirit-alive/article/545970#ixzz5j5aNNLyK
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That seems like it would be transcendent and to witness it might cause instant enlightenment. To be there might be the only thing that could bring me back to Mexico. Although, I see it's in Vera Cruz, so maybe I'll only see this in my mind.
The young man who balances atop the pole looks as though he is enlightened in his robes with his flute.
Thank you for this magic moment. 
