Girlfriends of charreria

Fierce competition among the athletes is natural, but they all share a love for the same sport, in this case: the escaramuza.

María José Peña, a Mexican female horse rider who is part of the escaramuza team Rancho La Joya, explains the atmosphere that pervades the competitions and the role of women in charreria, Mexico´s national sport.

The below audiovisual was made at the rodeo club La Tapatia in Mexico City where team competed to qualify for the national charreria competition, charreria´s highest event of the year.

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

The Queens of Charreria

Samantha Mayorga Castillo, center right, wears the queen´s sombrero during

the gala ceremony and dinner where she was named Queen of La Villa

charreria rodeo club.

Charreria clubs across Mexico select a new ¨queen¨ every year.

Instead of a crown she wears an elegant sombrero, and becomes the club´s social and cultural representative. It´s work and an honor.

This year Samantha Mayorga Castillo is one of the hundreds of horsewomen to take on the job at her local rodeo club, in her case at La Villa in Mexico City.

Like many of Mexico´s women of charreria, she was born into a charro family and has been riding on escaramuza teams since she was 15.

A charra and charro dance in their wheelchairs at the gala where Mayorga

was named queen of La Villa.

Mayorga, a 26-year-old chemical engineer who works in Mexico´s oil industry, says she most wants to promote and support paracharreria : rodeo performed by horsemen and women who are incapacitated in some way.

Below is a short audiovisual from the ceremony where she became queen, in which Mayorga tells us what it means for her.

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

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

Announcing the new blog: The Art of the Escaramuza

Photo by Leslie Mazoch

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.

E-mail 

 lasescaramuzas@gmail.com

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The Art of the Escaramuza / El Arte de la Escaramuza