Los Voladores de Papantla

Adventures

The Voladores in Cempoala
Cempoala, Veracruz

Photographs and Text by John Todd, Jr.

Early Voladores
AT Cempoala, Veracruz

"Los Voladores de Papantla"
The Voladores are well known in Mexico and give presentations all over the world, known internationally for their dangerous ceremony.

There is no safety net. It takes real dedication and they only ask for small donations, or sell their little flutes or drums after their performance.

The origin of the performance is centuries old, and is an old tradition amongst the "Totonaco" people whose cultural center are the pyramids at El Tajín, between Papantla and Poza Rica.

The only changes in the tradition are that there are now female "voladores" in the ceremony.

I witnessed the performance from a front row seat at the pyramids in Cempoala, Veracruz.

Man on the Ground Cempoala, Veracruz	A Front Row Seat The area at the pyramids is so large that you can have a front row seat. It seems at times like they are practically in your lap. Notice the ornate ceremonial costume of the Totonacos.
Preparations Cempoala, Veracruz	Notice the ornate ceremonial costume of the Totonacos
Preliminaries	As a preliminary, they play their little drums and flutes, and dance around the pole.
Preliminaries	Here they come around the other side of the pole.
Final Preparations	These are the final ceremonial preparations.
The First Tune	The Ceremony Begins The leader climbs to the top and sits down, steadying himself, and begins playing his first song. We are about 8 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and we can feel a slight breeze blowing through the palm trees. The wind must be much stronger on top of the pole.
All Together	After the first tune, his companions join him at the top, and he continues playing.
The Song to the Four Winds	We Hold Our Breath The other four climb to the top, and the leader slowly stands, and begins his song to the four winds, turning each time. We are all holding our breath. Then while playing the leader begins to stamp his feet and do a little hop! It must really be hard at that height and in a strong breeze.
The Pole, Full Length	This is for Real This will give you an idea of the height. (With no safety net. This is for real.)
Saildown	The Graceful Saildown I hadn´t noticed, but on the way up the pole, the "voladores" had carefully woven the ropes in a spiral. Since the platform at the top is swiveled, they began to slowly turn with the platform, then gently kicked back spiraling gracefully toward the ground. The leader continues to play his flute and drum on top of the platform as his fellow performers slowly glide to the ground.
Sail Down	The leader continued to play his flute and drum as his fellow performers slowly glide to the ground.
Upside Down	Upside Down! There for a minute it looked like one of the performers had gotten his leg tangled in the rope and toward the end was sailing down upside down! To our relief later we realized it was part of the performance of one of the most skilled performers.
Touch Down at last	Final Touchdown By this time they are speeding along at a fast clip, and touch down with very little help.
The Last Man Down	The Last Man Down Since there were 4 ropes and the leader was left on top, the leader slid down one of the ropes and was received by his fellow "voladores".
A Final Tribute	Final Salute At the end of the performance, the men wrap things up.
An Invitation to Train	One Great Performance Afterward the performers timidly circulated among the audience. They accepted contributions of 10 and 20 pesos with timid little smiles glad that people had appreciated their performance. Some people took pictures standing next to them. This was one great performance, and totally unexpected during a visit one Sunday to the pyramids of Cempoala. One of the men invited me to Papantla to train with them, even with a safety net, but I declined.

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