Ruins of El Tajin

El Tajin.
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Less than twenty minutes from my condo in Poza Rica, the El Tajin ruins comprised what was once the capital of the Totanacs  - the indigenous Mexicans who are still quite numerous here and throughout Veracruz.   In fact the Totanac language is still spoken these parts.  In addition to building El Tajin, the Totanacs are  famous for the Dance of the Voladores, which is performed at El Tajin as well as a little farther down the road in Papantla. I've written a description of the Voladores in my Papantla entry.

Pyramids at El Tajin.
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The Totanacs had been under Aztec domination for almost a hundred years by the time the Spanish arrived.  They were the first Mexicans to join Cortes in his campaign against the Aztecs, sadly trading one oppressor for another.