Papantla is a place located in the state of Veracruz. It is also part of  what Mexicans call “Pueblos Magicos” because of its history and customs. This town got its name as a “Pueblo Magico in 2006. This town is well known for its colorful voladores (flyers), its markets, museums, and the magnificent ancient Totonac city of El Tajin.

As far as the weather, we can say that this area is hot and rainy much of the year. The majority of the indigenous people, or Totonacs, live in this hilly area in isolated ranchos or small communities. Most of them work as farmers raising corn, beans, and chiles, as well as coffee, sugar cane, citrus fruits, bananas, and vanilla. Others are artisans who make a living by making figures from vanilla vines.Others make interesting and beautiful crafts such as hats, baskets, and sandals from palm leaves, and others produce traditional clothing, make pottery, and carve musical instruments and other items from local tropical wood.

The voladores de Papantla (dance of Papantla’s flyers) are famous worldwide because of their traditional dance which is a ritualistic performed by the Totonac Indians. The dance is performed by five men who represent the five elements of the indigenous world. The dance consists of these men climbing to the top of a pole, one of them stays on the pole playing a flute and dancing while the remaining four descend the pole with a rope tied by one of their feet. The rope unwraps itself 13 times for each of the four flyers, symbolizing the 52 weeks of the year.

If you visit this traditional town in Veracruz, you are sure to see this traditional and ritualistic dance. It is really amazing to see how these courageous man descend from the top of the pole without using their hands and they do so in a very synchronized way.