Uploaded October 2011 | Updated September 2026, 6 hours ago
El rito de los voladores es una manifestación religiosa originaria de Mesoamérica. Sus orígenes se remontan al Período Preclásico Medio mesoamericano, se han encontrado representaciones de este ritual en la cerámica funeraria de las culturas de Occidente (Colima, Jalisco y Nayarit). Posteriormente pasó a otros pueblos, muy probablemente relacionada con el sacrificio gladiatorio y los cultos de la fertilidad. Sobrevive en la actualidad entre los nahuas y los totonacos de la Sierra Norte de Puebla y el Totonacapan veracruzano. En 2009 fue proclamado Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de la Humanidad por la Unesco.1
The Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the Flyers), or Palo Volador (pole flying), is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony/ritual still performed today, albeit in modified form, in isolated pockets in Mexico. It is believed to have originated with the Nahua, Huastec and Otomi peoples in central Mexico, and then spread throughout most of Mesoamerica. The ritual consists of dance and the climbing of a 30-meter pole from which four of the five participants then launch themselves tied with ropes to descend to the ground. The fifth remains on top of the pole, dancing and playing a flute and drum. According to one myth, the ritual was created to ask the gods to end a severe drought. Although the ritual did not originate with the Totonac people, today it is strongly associated with them, especially those in and around Papantla in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The ceremony was named an Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in order to help the ritual survive and thrive in the modern world.
Rare archive footage of this sacred tradition
Recorded in 1999
#VoladoresDePapantla #MexicoHeritage #AncientRituals #UNESCO #CulturalTradition
El rito de los voladores es una manifestación religiosa originaria de Mesoamérica. Sus orígenes se remontan al Período Preclásico Medio mesoamericano, se han encontrado representaciones de este ritual en la cerámica funeraria de las culturas de Occidente (Colima, Jalisco y Nayarit). Posteriormente pasó a otros pueblos, muy probablemente relacionada con el sacrificio gladiatorio y los cultos de la fertilidad. Sobrevive en la actualidad entre los nahuas y los totonacos de la Sierra Norte de Puebla y el Totonacapan veracruzano. En 2009 fue proclamado Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de la Humanidad por la Unesco.1
The Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the Flyers), or Palo Volador (pole flying), is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony/ritual still performed today, albeit in modified form, in isolated pockets in Mexico. It is believed to have originated with the Nahua, Huastec and Otomi peoples in central Mexico, and then spread throughout most of Mesoamerica. The ritual consists of dance and the climbing of a 30-meter pole from which four of the five participants then launch themselves tied with ropes to descend to the ground. The fifth remains on top of the pole, dancing and playing a flute and drum. According to one myth, the ritual was created to ask the gods to end a severe drought. Although the ritual did not originate with the Totonac people, today it is strongly associated with them, especially those in and around Papantla in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The ceremony was named an Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in order to help the ritual survive and thrive in the modern world.
Rare archive footage of this sacred tradition
Recorded in 1999
#VoladoresDePapantla #MexicoHeritage #AncientRituals #UNESCO #CulturalTradition
