Saturday 14 March 2015

Voladores

Seen outside the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City.















This is an ancient ritual performed by 5 men known as voladores who climb to the top of a 100ft pole.





One of them sits on the top playing a reed pipe and a drum whilst the other four 'fly' to the ground on the end of a rope.

Each volador circles the pole 13 times before reaching the ground making a total of 52 rotations of the pole.

This symbolises the 52 year cycle of the Mesoamerican calendar.


The central pole represents the connection between Heavens,the Earth and the Underworld.





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14 comments:

  1. DJan14 March 2015 at 22:51

    Oh, I saw this long ago and had completely forgotten about it until I saw your pictures! :-)

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  2. Linda W.14 March 2015 at 22:57

    Wow - that's amazing! I'll bet it was even better in person.

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  3. Gattina15 March 2015 at 08:38

    Nothing for me !!

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  4. Betsy Banks Adams15 March 2015 at 18:25

    Hello, Just got home from a nice trip to Arkansas to celebrate George's birthday. I will blog about it tomorrow.

    Now--it's time to start working in the yard, cleaning up all of the 'junk' from the ice storm. What a mess!!!

    Wow---that is amazing... I could/would NEVER attempt that... Reminds me of the guys who climbed some of our huge trees to trim the broken branches. I wouldn't do THAT either. ha

    Hope you are doing well.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  5. Al15 March 2015 at 19:59

    That looks intense - I wouldn't want to try it.

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  6. Janey and Co.15 March 2015 at 21:23

    We saw such a preformance when we were in Mexico. It was amazing!

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  7. MTWaggin15 March 2015 at 23:24

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and you are going on my reading list for sure!!!! This post makes those carnival swings look tame! LOL I'm going to spend some time reading up on all your adventures!

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  8. Mari16 March 2015 at 05:31

    That me both exciting an a bit tensed to watch (I'm afraid of heights). I hope it's always done safely.

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  9. Mara16 March 2015 at 08:48

    That sounded like an Alton Towers ride I would much rather skip! Just reading about all those rotations while going down makes me stomach feel queasy!

    Saw some of your other posts as well. The one about the butterflies is fantastic! I wouldn't have thought those clumps in the trees were butterflies, so loved those photos!

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  10. Author R. Mac Wheeler16 March 2015 at 12:53

    hmmm, dramatic symbolism

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  11. NatureFootstep16 March 2015 at 21:34

    probably not that dangerous but I would never try it. :)

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  12. Anonymous17 March 2015 at 06:28

    What fun!

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  13. Sallie (FullTime-Life)17 March 2015 at 21:27

    What a tradition! I wonder if it's passed down in families, the way circus performers often do. I bet it was wonderful to watch.

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  14. Cynthia17 March 2015 at 21:48

    How interesting. Such colorful costumes but they must be dizzy when they land.

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