Intangible Cultural Heritage
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Paseo de la Reforma s/n, Col. Chapultepec Polanco. 11560, Polanco-Chapultepec
It is great to have the opportunity to watch the voladores (flyers) ceremony in front of National Museum of Anthropology. This ceremony was born as part of a fertility ritual of Mexican and Central America ethnical groups, specifically Totonacan from Veracruz. Its objective is to express respect towards nature and universe.
Four men go up to a trunk recently cut down, measuring between 18 and 40 meters height, perfectly nailed into the ground. There is one fifth man at the top of the trunk, who plays the flute and the tambour, performing melodies in honor of the sun and the forth winds. After the invocation act, dancers throw themselves to the sky, tied up with long ropes; they turn their heads imitating bird’s fly, thus they descend gradually until they get to floor level and untie.
This performance may be seen on weekends outside the National Anthropology Museum. Thereby, knowledge of this great tradition, which is considered Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2009 by the UNESCO, is disseminated and shared.