Saddlers - Traditional Leather Artisans

This saddle maker has been in the business for over 50 years, making saddles for escaramuza and charro teams alike. Alfonso Oviedo Perez learned from his father while growing up in Guanajuato, and has passed down his know-how to his son Juan.

"My dad started by making huarache sandles." 

The father and son can be found at a their workshop at Pedregal's charreria facilities in Mexico City, custom making every leather good known to charreria for both female and male riders across Mexico.  Not just saddles!

Watch this audiovisual where Alfonso and his son Juan tell their story.

For English subtitles, after clicking ¨play,¨then click the CC at the bottom right of the youtube window.

Contacts

Within Mexico : 55.5606.9593

From the US +52.55.5606.9593

Email : talabarteriaoviedo_df@hotmail.com

Escaramuza Fairs

A tourist's jaw drops when she sees an escaramuza team for the fist time. After all, the women are mounted sidesaddle wearing colorful dresses and Mexican sombreros. It's a site from what would seem like from another age.

Escaramuza fairs are an untapped mine for tourists in Mexico, and not just for foreigners but for the local folks too. It outranks most options for families and couples looking for something fun and affordable to do on the weekends. Aside from the spectacle of  the horse riding performances, they're full of good food, good music, hospitality and a down home atmosphere.

How to find out when and where to see an escaramuza performance in Mexico? They can be found on the events page of this blog, as well as the blog Escaramuzas Damas Charras and the calendar page of De Charros.

The video below is from an escaramuza fair (meaning 10 or so teams perform) at a charro club in Mexico City. We asked a rider why she choose this sport. If you don't read Spanish, that's okay, there are captions in English (click the "cc" option at the bottom of the youtube window).

For English subtitles, after clicking ¨play,¨then click the CC at the bottom right of the youtube window.

If you're interested in learning how the escaramuza sport came to be, check out this video below.

For English subtitles, after clicking ¨play,¨then click the CC at the bottom right of the youtube window.