The Aerial Exploits of Females: An Examination
In the heart of Cuetzalan del Progreso, Mexico, photographer Valeria Luongo is documenting a remarkable cultural shift. Her ongoing project, When Women Fly, is a photographic series that honours the women who have braved tradition and taken part in the Danza de los Voladores, a ritual historically reserved for men.
The Danza de los Voladores, a centuries-old tradition, involves ascending a 30-meter pole and jumping off head first, tied to ropes as they revolve around the pole towards the ground. However, in recent years, a few women in Cuetzalan have defied these gender norms and joined the practice.
Jacinta, aged 50, belongs to the first generation of female flyers. She is joined by Irene, aged 33, and Nikté, aged 12, who form a mother-daughter duo among the flyers. Julisa, the first trans voladora in the region, and Yolanda and Xochitl, the first female practitioners from their families, are also part of this pioneering group.
These women symbolise transformation within their social context. They balance their roles as mothers, sisters, daughters, workers, and voladoras, often facing greater barriers compared to their male counterparts. Despite the challenges, such as balancing household responsibilities and full-time jobs, and being prevented from flying after a certain age, their presence in the Danza de los Voladores is a testament to their courage and resilience.
Julisa, in particular, is a beacon of change. As the first trans voladora, she challenges traditional gender norms and paves the way for future generations.
Valeria Luongo first arrived in Cuetzalan in 2013 as an anthropology student, and has since returned multiple times to research local eating habits, healthcare, and traditional medicine. Since 2022, she has been working on collaborative visual projects that touch on social themes, and has been documenting the lives of these women flyers.
When Women Fly serves as an important visual and ethnographic effort to acknowledge and celebrate women who are breaking these norms. The ongoing documentation aims to preserve this evolving cultural dynamic, giving visibility to women performers who have been marginalized or overlooked within this indigenous tradition.
The project is active as of 2025, with ongoing posts sharing images and stories from Acaxiloco, a community near Cuetzalan del Progreso, reflecting contemporary female participation in the ritual. Through her work, Luongo aims to raise awareness of changing gender roles in traditional Mexican indigenous practices and celebrate the daily lives of these courageous women.
[1] Luongo, Valeria. When Women Fly. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://valerialuongo.com/when-women-fly [2] Rodriguez, M. (2023, March 1). The Women Who Fly: Breaking Tradition in Mexico's Danza de los Voladores. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/01/the-women-who-fly-breaking-tradition-in-mexicos-danza-de-los-voladores
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