Chapter 1: When Women Fly - Aquí las mujeres también vuelan

"When Women Fly" is a long term project about a group of indigenous women from Cuetzalan del Progreso, Mexico, breaking barriers by participating in a traditionally male ritual called Danza de los Voladores. 

The ritual begins with a ceremonial dance. Five participants then ascend a 30-meter pole and jump off the top, head first, tied to ropes as they revolve around the pole towards the ground. Traditionally, only men were allowed to partake in the ritual. However, a few women in Cuetzalan have recently joined the practice. Nowadays, it is common to see female participants within groups of voladores. Support for flying women has grown among the local community but female flyers remain fewer in number than their fellow male performers. 

As a visual anthropologist, while working on academic fieldwork in Cuetzalan in 2017, I noticed for the first time the presence of women in the Danza de los Voladores. In a region where rigid gender norms and domestic violence remain part of daily reality, the act of flying becomes more than performance: it is a public reconfiguration of women’s visibility, strength and equality. I wanted to use photography as a platform to highlight these inspiring stories.

In 2022, I began a long-term project following the lives of women and girls who take part in the flying dance. With my work, I hope to celebrate the daily lives of these women and show their balance between being mothers, sisters, daughters, workers but also proud voladoras.

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