Papantla is the home of the voladores, flyers. The tradition started here some centuries ago with the indigenous Tetonaca people. The pole is 30 meters tall, I think. Between the pole and the church you see a huge cement monument of a man playing a flute as he points it skyward. It is a monument to the flautist who sits on top of the pole and plays. Sometimes he will stand and dance while the four voladores "fly" downward, upside down, attached at the waist with a rope. There is no other harness. They are summoning rain for the vanilla and other crops. They work for tips.