Charrería () is a sport and discipline arising from equestrian activities and livestock traditions used in the haciendas of old Mexico.
Evolving from the traditions brought from Spain, most specifically the municipality of Salamanca in the 16th century, the first kind of charreria events were ranch work competitions between haciendas. The first shows related to charreria began before the 20th century, but it was not until the Mexican Revolution that its full emergence occurred in Hidalgo and Jalisco when with the Land Reform, charros began to congregate in cities such as Mexico City and other centers, consolidating large associations to maintain tradition and popularity; The most important are the Asociación de Charros de Jalisco A.C, Asociación de Charros de Morelia A.C and Asociación de Charros Regionales de La Villa A.C. Charreria is the national sport of Mexico by excellence and in 2016, and was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
History
In the 16th century, when the Spanish first settled in Mexico, they brought 16 horses with them. They were under orders to raise horses and prohibit any non-Spaniards from riding them. However, soon the Spanish had very large cattle-raising estates and found it necessary to loosen up the restrictions. Haciendas in the state of Hidalgo were some of the first places where restrictions were lifted and a larger number of people were exposed to equestrianism.
The Mexican cattlemen of the late 19th and 20th centuries dedicated to raising and herding cattle as part of their work were developing playful cattle handling techniques that would later become a sport.
The cattlemen would be tasked to do several jobs around the ranch such as hunting down runaway cattle, ranch sorting for livestock branding and pinning down bulls and horses. These jobs were the early versions of the charro events.
Prior to the Mexican Revolution, ranch work competitions were generally between haciendas but following the breakup of the haciendas by the Mexican Revolution, the charro traditions were slowly being lost so charros from around the country organized to meet in 1921 and formed the Asociación Nacional de Charros to keep the charrería tradition alive.
In 1920 (The year the Mexican Revolution ended), Silvano Barba, Inés Ramírez and Andrés Zemeño, created in Guadalajara the first Mexican charrería group, called Charros de Jalisco.
The advent of the Mexican cinema brought greater popularity, especially musicals which combined rancheras with the charro image, akin to the Western and "singing cowboy" genres in the United States.
Mexican Americans in the United States also held various charreadas during the same period, but beginning in the 1970s, the Federación Mexicana de Charrería (FMCH) began assisting them in establishing official charreadas north of the border. At times, US champion teams compete in the national competition of Mexico.
Lienzo charro
A lienzo charro is a specially designed facility for the practice of horse riding. This is the arena where charros hold the events of charreadas and jaripeos. A lienzo has two areas: one marked-off area consisting of a lane wide by long which leads into a circle area that is in diameter.
Charro horse
It is said that the ideal horse for charrería is the American Quarter Horse. Another outstanding breed for charrería events is the Azteca horse. The American Quarter Horse breed traces back to the 17th century, and the creation of the Azteca horse was in 1972 in the Mexican high school of horsemen in Rancho San Antonio, Texcoco. The Azteca horse was bred specifically for charros. Both of these horse breeds are well-suited for the intricate and quick maneuvers required in reining, cutting, working cow horse, barrel racing, calf roping, and other western riding events, especially those involving live cattle.
Clothing and Horse Tack
Men
There are five types of attire that the charro may own. They are the working, half-gala, gala, grand gala, and etiquette. The most commonly used attire is the working uniform. This is the suit that is worn in the competitions. The grand gala uniform is the most layered. It will come complete with a felt charro sombrero with silver and gold embroidery, and the jacket and pants are of fine cashmere with silver buttons. The working uniform is the most simple. It includes a plain button up shirt, a bow, pants, boots and a palm leaf charro sombrero.