Large portions of adrenaline are generated by daring women who have known how to preserve one of the most deeply rooted practices in our country, a national sport par excellence, in which courage, tenacity and skill are essential virtues to launch into the ring.
As well as the history of a great passion, that of charrería was also marked by mystery, need and fascination. Its origin dates back to colonial times, when the use of horses was only allowed to Spaniards and Creoles. One fine day, during the first half of the seventeenth century, one of the first authorizations was granted for a score of indigenous people to ride horses to monitor and control the cattle of the Hacienda de Santa Lucía, a subsidiary of the Hacienda de San Javier, in the Pachuca district. This fever reached the Careaga ranch, located between Azcapotzalco and Tlalnepantla, where its owner, Sebastián Aparicio, taught the indigenous people how to dress up bovine cattle, and secretly how to ride horses, a fact that triggered the beginning of charrería, art that quickly spread to Aguascalientes, Colima, the current Federal District, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Jalisco and San Luis Potosí. It is currently considered one of the most complete sports that can be carried out outdoors and continues to be practiced daily and professionally in the countryside and in cities, where the world of work is sheltered by the beautiful charro clothing.
Equity
Towards the fifties of the twentieth century, in addition to territory, the charrería also won the hearts of women. Apparently, everything started in 1925, when Ana María Gabucio was elected as captain and queen of the old National Charros Association, years later, Rosita Lepe, who devised a more comfortable and safe chair for them, and together with her father , created the female charro costume, in 1937. Later, towards 1952, the instructor of the first Charrería School, created variants of this equestrian art for a group of boys and girls, presented under the name of charra skirmish. Later more women joined the group and the men chose to specialize in the arts of their sex, thus arising the skirmish, groups of six, eight and twelve women dressed as adelita or china poblana, who, like the knights, give everything in his performances, in different states of the Republic.
Dressed to Succeed
Whether for the films produced in the golden age of national cinema, the tours carried out by the charros and skirmishes to other countries, or simply and simply because of their meticulous and sophisticated identity, the clothing is admired and recognized worldwide. Thanks to the work of tailors, saddlers, embroiderers, silversmiths, among other creators involved in each suit, the canvas is dressed according to the occasion. For competitions those of work or half gala and those more formal are used; to wear only on foot, gala, grand gala; and the unforgettable formal dresses, used at night, funerals and weddings. Art from head to toe that also shines in the frames, whose manufacturers use the technique of embossing in leather, chiseling and embroidering in pita (raw colored fiber extracted from the maguey). Also the spurs and fittings are made by hand, in short, valuable authentic national artillery.
To the one who has to be charro ...
... from the sky his hat falls. A saying that alludes to the innate mastery of men and women to execute amazing feats in the ring. Actions of skill and courage that are also the result of constant practice and the horse's willingness to follow the instructions of its rider, hence they are called “luck”, the score of which depends on the degree of difficulty and precision with which they are carried. finished. Lucks can be discovered from the beginning of the charreada with the proud ride of charros and skirmish in the parade and thus continue with the repertoire of feats that only authentic warriors and amazons can do with imposing specimens of nature.
The charro canvas
It houses different areas, such as the canvas and the hem. Both surfaces are flat and connected, the first is straight, measuring about 60 x 12 meters; and the second is round, surrounded by stands, measures 40 meters in diameter and has drawers for cattle on its sides.
ABC of charrería
Some of the lots that are made:
• Horse cove: The good rein and education of the horse is exhibited when scratching or putting the legs, in which the rider stops the horse abruptly in a rectangle in the middle of the ring, and also by means of an eyebrow, make the horse walk back in a straight line to forty meters.
• Charro skirmish: The girls "a womanizer", that is, mounted on their side, perform various exercises, the line is one of them.
• Piales: Luck where the charro must stop the equine by throwing a loop to the hind legs.
• Coleadero: The charro in full march pulls the tail of a bull with his hand to knock it down.
• Riding of bulls: Riding a calf until it calms down, for greater efficiency, the charro holds onto the pretal (rope placed on the animals as a girdle).
• Terna: Linked to the previous one, it consists of knocking down the bull between three charros with the help of ties.
• Manganas: They can be on horseback or on foot. The manganeador and three herders tie the legs of the animal that is riding at full speed to knock it down.
• Horse riding: Remain on the back of a rough mare until it stops repairing, holding onto the waistband or the mane.
• Pass of death: The rider mounted bareback (without saddle) runs alongside a mare to jump her, and hold onto the hair (of the mane) of both horses.
