Puerto Vallarta News & Events

Indulge in the
Villa Experience!

When traveling to Mexico there are important considerations to keep in mind. In order to make your trip as relaxing and stress-free as possible it is wise to acquaint yourself with local requirements, rules, and customs to avoid any unnecessary delays or problems while on vacation.

The following is a list of things to help you plan a trip to Mexico.

You are reading

Voladores of Papantla (The flying pole dancers)

2012

2011

2010

Whether you are a luxury traveler or the most budget minded we all appreciate free entertainment. The Voladores de Papantla are amazing entertainment and free. This would be an amazing experience and worth waiting in line and paying a lot for but all you have to do is walk along the Malecon and watch the show. This is a show on par with Cirque de Soleil – the Papantla Voladares (Fliers) put on an amazing folkloric show every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 6, 6:30,

The Fliers are Indians from the Papantla region dressed in their traditional costumes in brilliant colors performing a mesmerizing aerial dance. The Fliers or dancers are all men and you will see them climb to the top of a 50 ft pole winding ropes around the pole as they go. Once they all reach the top they suddenly leap into the air and as the ropes unwind the spin around the pole upside down descending slowly towards the ground as the caporal plays a drum and flute

You won’t believe your eyes as Voladores climb to the top of a tall pole, wind ropes around the pole, and then leap off into the air! As the ropes unwind, they descend slowly to the ground while the caporal plays a drum and flute. At a designated point the Flyers launch themselves head first spinning and descending at high speed towards the ground.

This amazing aerial dance was said to be an ancient spiritual offering, unfortunately some information about the original ritual was lost when the Spanish invaded Mexico and destroyed many of the documents pertaining to the indigenous cultures. Thankfully enough information survived thru word of mouth, family histories and some descriptions actually written by the early visitors to “New Spain” as the conquerors referred to Mexico at the time. So historians and anthropologists were able to piece together and document this ancient spiritual practice and how it evolved.

An ancient myth of the Totonaca peoples tells of great drought, when food and water were very scarce. A group of five young men got together to come up with a solution and decided they needed to send a message to Xipe Totec, the God of Fertility, so the rains would return and with the rain the crops would flourish. They searched the forest for the tallest straightest tree they could find and stayed with the tree fasting and praying overnight for the trees spirit to help them in their quest. They blessed the tree the next morning and cut it down and carried it, never letting it touch the ground until they found the perfect location for their holy ritual and then set it upright. They then blessed the site with ritual offerings and adorned their bodies to look like birds to Xipe Totec. In hopes of attracting the Gods attention they wrapped vines around their waists and secured the vines to the pole and made their plea to the God in their dance and flight spinning down from the pole, turning around with open arms and the head towards the earth. At the same time, one of them plays the traditional handmade wooden flute representing the voices of Birds and another plays the Tambor or drum representing the voice of God. This dance is also a symbol of the 4 cardinal points. The pole represents Tlazoleotl, the goddess of fertility. The main dancer, who stands on the top of the pole, is the musician, as he dances on top of the pole and turns first to the East, the origin of the world. Each Flier or “volador” turns 13 times around the pole. 13 circles multiplied by 4, for a total of 52 circles. In the Mayan calendar it takes 52 years to make a Solar Cycle, and 52 weeks make a year that give life to a new sun so that time may go on.

Puerto Vallarta is fortunate to host this mystical and historic performance of the Voladores of Papantla, native Totonac Indians who re-enact this ancient and death-defying ritual.