Jose "Pepe" Camacho - Founding member of the escaramuza

Photo was taken in October of 1953 at the Rancho del Charro, today's National Charro Association, in Mexico City.

1954: Lilia Lopez Becerril & Rosalia Ranzanz join the team.

Jose Camacho Elorriaga, affectionately known as "Pepe" had the good fortune of riding on the first escaramuza in the history of the sport.

As a boy, he took horse riding lessons with his brother Antonio, sister Guadalupe, known as "Coco," and three other kids from the Ruiz Loredo family : Arturo, Graciela and Maria Eugenia.

Fate put them in the middle of the arena one afternoon in 1953 as a group, showing off their skills during a break at a charreada, or Mexican rodeo. They performed a basic and slow synchronized routine. That day, the escaramuza was born.

Thirty-eight years later, the discipline became an officially recognized sport of charreria in 1991, recognized by the Mexican Federation of Charreria when Carlos Enrique Pacual Lopez led the organization.

Pepe left the original team after a few years, along with his brother Antonio. They had other charro sports to practice, leaving the door wide open for other little girls to join the team. Since then, the escaramuza sport has been a female affair.

Pepe on his horse at the National Association of Charros in 2009, photo by Leslie Mazoch.

Below are historical photographs of the first and second generation of escaramuza teams, including Jose, narrated by interviews with his sister Coco and brother Antonio.

Antonio Camacho - Founding Member of the Escaramuza

Antonio Camacho in 2009

Not unlike most charros, Antonio Camacho Elorriaga was born into a charro family, but unlike others, destiny put him on the first escaramuza that ever was. That was back in 1953 in Mexico City's Rancho Charro.

Antonio rode alongside his sister Guadalupe, better known as "Coco," and his brother Jose. The three other kids were from the Ruiz Loredo family: Graciela, Maria Eugenia and Arturo.

The Rancho del Charro changed its name to the Nacional Association of  Charros, and is one of hundreds of charro associations, or private rodeo clubs, across Mexico. But this association has the historic privilege of being the birth site of today's female charro sport: the escaramuza.

Antonio continues to be an active member of his life-long rodeo club of charreria, Mexico's national sport.

Historical Photographs of the First Escaramuza

Historic 1953 photograph at left: Three girls and three boys ride in the first escaramuza at the Rancho del Charro (today the National Association of Charros) in Mexico City in March 1953.

Below, is a video-gallery of  still images taken in the 1950's of performances by the first escaramuza teams.

You will hear the voices of the six founding members: Guadalupe "Coco" Camacho," her brother Antonio, and Arturo Ruiz Loredo, sharing what it was like back then (with English subtitles).