GUATEMALA TRADITIONS – Dance of the Pole Flyer returns to Guatemala after 2 years of pandemic

Two men in traditional Mayan garb climb to the top of a pole 30 m (98 ft) high and secure themselves to the shaft with ropes round their ankles before jumping off together to honor Saint Santiago, the patron of this town in northern Guatemala.

Indigenous elders in Cubulco, some 200 km (120 mi) north of Guatemala City, told Efe that the Danza del Palo Volador (Dance of the Pole Flyer) is a pre-Columbian ritual adapted to Catholicism.