The Art of the Escaramuza is a blog dedicated to the escaramuza sport, a female discipline within Mexico's national sport of charreria.
It features the artists, the dressmakers, teams and upcoming escaramuza fairs throughout Mexico and the U.S. with the goal of uniting everyone who loves the sport, from the riders to tourists. If you belong to an escaramuza team, or know of artists and upcoming events, please tell us.
Guadalupe Pena Villarreal at her family's Rancho La Hera in Mexico City. Photo by Leslie Mazoch
Guadalupe Pena Villarreal discovered the healing powers of horses when she needed it most.
After decades of riding horses on escaramuza teams, she suffered a stroke that paralyzed one side of her body.
But she got back on her beloved horse "La Chirris" and learned to let him walk her to health. She began to study the healing powers of equine assisted therapy and tested it on herself.
Guadalupe Pena Villarreal washes her horse at Rancho La Hera. Photo by Leslie Mazoch
Pena regained feeling and control of the paralyzed side of her body and is back competing with escaramuza teams and judging in Mexico and the US.
Life is back to normal, but it's not the same. Now, she knows first hand the healing energy that horses embody and offers hippotherapy sessions at her small rancho "La Hera Ranch" in Ixtapalapa, Mexico City.
Her work has been documented by photographer Chico Sanchez, watch here: Healing Horses.
Pena belongs to the generation of escaramuzas who pushed her sport to be officially just that, a sport, within Mexico's national sport of charreria, and one of the first judges for escaramuza competitions. She is featured in an audio-slide show titled Escaramuzas. Mexicoby photographer Leslie Mazoch.
Contacts for Guadalupe Pena Villarreal
Website: http://rancholahera.blogspot.mx/
Telephones: +52.55.5445.6461 (Rancho La Hera)
+52.155.5685.1996 (cell)
+52.55.5408.2473
Cell Nextel ID 62*313748*5
E-mail: gua_pevi@hotmail.com
Margarita Ceron at a charreria rodeo in Azcopotzalco. Photo by Leslie Mazoch
Have you ever seen a woman narrate a Mexican escaramuza fair? There are a few female narrators out there, but not many. Margarita Itzirethzy Ceron Aruvizu is working toward doing just that.
Commentators at escaramuza fairs are the ones who introduce the teams comment on performances, bellow poetic verses in between live band performances and make public announcements about upcoming events, etc. Like sports commentators for TV and radio, charreria announcers have become part of the experience for the spectator.
She is building a career in journalism and is off to a good start. You can find her newspaper column "Con la Vara y Espuela" in the daily newspaper "Sol de Mexico" and her weekly radio report "Mexico a traves de la Charreria" on Radio Wed Telmex. On top of that, she's recording her first professional demo of ranchero songs this year.
Margarita Ceron can be contacted at this e-mail: margaritaceron2202@hotmail.com
Carlos Pascual at La Metro rodeo club in Mexico City. Photo by Leslie Mazoch
Carlos Enrique Pascual Lopez was "the one" escaramuza riders had been waiting for. He was in a position of power that could change everything.
Carlos Pascual was the president of the Mexican Charreria Federation, and the first such leader who agreed with them that their sport was just that, a sport, and part of charreria, Mexico's official sport since 1931. The year was 1991.
The voting council was, and continues to be, comprised of only the male members of the charreria rodeo clubs across the country. Pascual pushed his colleagues to vote on adding the escaramuza to the list of charreria sports.
Thirty-eight years had gone by since the first escaramuza, which evolved from horse riding lessons for six little kids, three girls and three boys, at the Rancho Charro in Mexico City, today known as the National Association of Charros rodeo club.
Photo courtesy of Carlos Pascual, sitting at center. Also in the picture are Rafael Abaniano, second from left, and Carlos Sanchez Llaguno, second from right.
Pascual received a hallow death threat for pushing such an issue to a vote, but the council voted "yes." Since then, the women who ride on escaramuza teams are treated as athletes.
Escaramuza teams now compete at a very specific time during charreria rodeo events, instead of waiting on the sidelines for the men to finish their competition. The escaramuza teams enter the arena after "colas," or "tails," referring to the sport of knocking down a steer by twisting its tail, and their routines are limited to 12 minutes.
Carlos Pascual at La Metro rodeo club in Mexico City. Photo by Leslie Mazoch
Pascual supported the integration of women in Mexico's traditionally male sport because, as he saw it, charreria was fading and sports like soccer were becoming more popular.
The inclusion of women was just one piece of his overall plan to revive his beloved sport. He also wanted children to compete. He wanted Mexico's youth at the arenas as well, joining the rest of the family.
The women who pushed their sport into charreria are many. In the 60s, 70s and 80s, they organized themselves and learned how to ride as a team, even though they couldn't officially compete and could not count on federation resources. Their persistence and whole hearted love for their sport is a lesson in persistence and going forward with what one loves no matter the obstacles.
Carlos Pascual and his son Miguel at La Metro rodeo club in Mexico City. Photo by Leslie Mazoch
Watch a an audio-slide showabout the story of the escaramuza
including an interview with Carlos Pascual by photojournalist Leslie Mazoch.
