There is so much to enjoy about travel but one of my absolute favorite things is accidental discoveries. We discovered the Birdmen of Mexico City on our walk to the National Museum of Anthropology.
The Danza de los Voladores or “Dance of the Flyers”, is an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony still performed today in throughout 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. They all play musical instruments as they descend. We saw them play flutes, drums and maracas. According to one myth, the ritual was created to ask the gods to end a severe drought. The ceremony was named a cultural heritage by UNESCO in order to help the ritual survive and thrive in the modern world. Aztecs believed that Danza de los Voladores was the symbol of their culture. It was a amazing thing to witness.
