Here are the five Papantla Flying Men after they have climbed up the pole. The man in the center goes up first and keep the ropes winding around the center. The men attach the ropes to their ankles. The square starts to spin and the men leaning out and start to "fly." The fifth man in the center stays where he is and plays flute music while the others spin.
They go around and around and hold their arms and bodies still.
The Mayan people did this to promote a good harvest and fertility. If one of the men crashes to the ground it is said a natural disaster will occur. (I imagine it doesn't end well for him either.)
They go around the pole 13 times for the number of months in the Mayan calendar.
They make it down to the ground and are released by another member of their team. The guy at the top just climbs down the pole. Fascinating! Then they pick up tin cans and tell you that you owe them 40 pesos (about $3) for taking their pictures, I paid, just watching them was worth the $3.
They go around and around and hold their arms and bodies still.
The Mayan people did this to promote a good harvest and fertility. If one of the men crashes to the ground it is said a natural disaster will occur. (I imagine it doesn't end well for him either.)
They go around the pole 13 times for the number of months in the Mayan calendar.
They make it down to the ground and are released by another member of their team. The guy at the top just climbs down the pole. Fascinating! Then they pick up tin cans and tell you that you owe them 40 pesos (about $3) for taking their pictures, I paid, just watching them was worth the $3. 
2 comments:
If you don't pay, do they take you to the top of the pole and swing you around by your ankles?
My WV is blepl. That is the sound that I would make if I was swinging around high up there by my ankles. And then there would be splatter. Sorry. But it is true.
I'd have paid a heck of alot more if I thought that might have happened. It made my stomach hurt when they let go and flipped upside down. I kept looking at those ropes and thinking "what if one gets tangled while it's unraveling?" I love roller coasters but just hanging by my ankles is more than I could do.
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