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Sunset painted the sky with see-through nuances, far-off reflections of endless blue and pink hues that trumpeted the country's most patriotic night.

Scores of people began trickling in. A few hours later, it was a human river moving up and down the streets to the beat of music and bugles, streaming through balloon hawkers, food vendors, little girls sporting traditional gowns and long ponytails and ribbons displaying the colors of the Mexican flag tied up around the hair. It became impossible to muscle your way through the crowd to see the Xiutla Ballet Company perform at Los Arcos.

The biggest attraction of the night was no other than the Papantla Fliers. We searched for a quiet place on higher ground and sat down to watch what was going on down at the Seawall. We saw the municipal president walked by, holding a portrait of Miguel Hidalgo and waving at bystanders. I felt his presence close to me and I liked the fact that everybody was sharing so significant a moment.

People kept on swarming over the place. The street looked like a carpet of gleeful heads. At 10:30 pm, the first group of the flying men showed up, carrying along a metal treadmill they used to perform spectacular somersaults. As the event's emcee told us later on, the five men that climbed to the top of the 30-meter-high platform for the final act had spent the whole day at the local church, praying for everything to come out right. This is a tradition that has remained unchanged since the 15th century.

They finally arrived, wearing broad sombreros and embroidered garments. Shortly after that, they were dancing their old ritual routine around a circle of candles. They started to climb as all of us held our breath. The last man to clamber to the top was playing a flute and a drum at the same time while walking a tight rope with perfect balance. The wooden musical instruments he was playing are all handmade, the flute representing the chirping of birds and the drum the voice of the Almighty.

The four men jumped off from the square platform, each corner standing for a cardinal point. The first man jumped from the east, where life originates. And they did fly, believe me, unreeling a long cord tethered to one of their ankles. The sounds of the flute and the drum never subsided. When they got down to the floor, the crowd burst out in applauses. It was all beautiful and exciting.

Then, a shout was heard in the square as fireworks lit up the sky. Thousands of glowing lights up in the air made my heart explode of joy. I felt Mexico throbbing with life, getting deep under my skin and riding me in an motional rollercoaster.