The Connection - Horse and Rider

Lorena Bass at an Escaramuza Fair in Mexico City.

Lorena Bass tells us about a special connection that escaramua riders have with their horses in this audiovisual.

The Art of the Escaramuza spoke with her at a recent Escaramuza Fair in Mexico City where she performed with her two sisters and mother on the same team, Rancho Sovilo from Guadalajara.

Don't miss Lorena's mother explaining why she couldn't help but joint the team!

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

Rolando Veraza - Painter, Sculptor, Muralist, Architect

Rolando Veraza poses with his painting of galloping horses.

Titles : Fantasia de Carnaval I, left, and Portentoso.

Rolando Veraza says there came a point in his life when it was high time he did what he really wanted to do : paint and sculpt. He was a full time architect then.

The Art of the Escaramuza discovered Veraza at the "World Equestrian Gathering" in Mexico City in July 2013 where an Escaramuza Fair was happening.

He was a warm fellow, with a gift for making one feel welcome in his artist circle of friends at his gallery-booth filled with his paintings and sculptures. People from other stands gravitated to his, sharing food, drink and a good laugh.

When we asked about his painting of an escaramuza team, he says it's SOLD.

Horse lovers will appreciate his images of this graceful animal galloping across his canvas.Check out his online gallery for more of his work, and don't miss his Pegasus.

When we asked about his painting of an escaramuza team, he says it's SOLD.

Contact

www.rolandoveraza.com
Facebook 

E-mail: rolveraza@hotmail.com

cell +52.155.1384.4541

nextel 46192233

+52.55.5485.7750

Xochimilco, Mexico

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.

Art Exhibit: Caballus - Passion in Movement

Artist: Espartaco                                                                                        Artist: Emilio Garcia Salazar

Artist: Jose Parra. Title: Portrait of Madame McGraph

Paintings, 

sculptures, and 

photographs 

crafted by 

horse loving artists 

are on exhibit at 
Tlalpan's Cultural Center 

in Mexico City, 

near the Lienzo Charro 

de Pedregal. 

Artist: Consuelo Bustillo

The

Fine Art Gallery of Mexico
organized the show.

 Below is a video 

of the inauguration 

on Nov. 24, 2012.

Escaramuza: Riding from the Heart - Documentary Film

Mark your calendars to watch the TV premiere of ESCARAMUZA: Riding from the Heart on Oct. 5.  The US based TV station PBS is showing it on their "Voces" series at 10pm eastern (check your local listings) as part of its Hispanic Heritage Month programming.

This four year film project tells the story of the escaramuza team Las Azaleas from Perris, California, during 2008 and 2009 as they strive to make the final cut to compete among the best escaramuza teams from Mexico and the U.S. at the National Charro Championships in Mexico. They made the cut back in 2009 to compete in Guadalajara, Mexico and will also be at the 2012  competition in Zacatecas, Mexico.

Robin Rosenthal and Bill Yahraus

The film is an unprecedented look into the daily lives of the young team members, first-generation Mexican-American horsewomen, through their life journeys of goal-setting, teamwork, responsibility and sacrifice, which escaramuza riders from both sides of the border can relate to and appreciate.

This kind of intimate look into the real lives of people is characteristic of its makers, the husband-wife team of professional digital film making-artists Robin Rosenthal and  Bill Yahraus. They create long-form documentaries, educational films and industrial films through their company Pony Highway Productions based in southern California. 

 If you can't catch the premier of  ESCARAMUZA: Riding from the Heart in October it will become available for purchase as a DVD on thieir website and you can keep up with the latest news on their Facebook Page.

 TRAILER