Charreria not a Sport, It’s a Lifestyle
“It was every Sunday morning that I found out Charreria was my style of living and not only a regular sport,” said Lisandro.
The Mexican Revolution at the beginning of the twentieth century brought with it intense social changes. The land ownership regime changed radically, and many of the old hacienda owners were displaced from the countryside and emigrated towards the large cities. In this urban milieu, they were forced to abandon many of usual rural habits and traditions, the nostalgia for an irretrievable past led them to gather periodically to relive the old charro times. These reunions led to the creation of the National Charro Association in 1921. The Charro teams soon expanded throughout the country, giving rise to a sport Charreria considered Mexico’s national sport.
Today, thousands of charros practice this sport within organized teams which is ruled by the Mexican Charrería Federation. There are more than 900 associations in Mexico and also in the United States of America, in California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Illinois.
The Federation regulates the competitions in their different levels, from friendly competitions between associations to championships of greater hierarchy: state, regional and the great National Charro Championship, which is celebrated annually in different locations around the country.
“I will say Charreria will be defined more as a family and friends gathered rather than a competition. As a culture we see it more as a tradition passed on generation to generation, of course we compete but our gathering goes beyond only competing,” said Lisandro.
La Charreria is a uniting factor among many Mexican families that, in one way or another, participate in this activity. Usually the practice of this sport starts at a very early age. Children enjoy the contact with animals, which is how they show a special attraction for those surroundings when they are small and thus, assimilating the paternal example, they become charros, mainly because their father is a charro, like their grandfather and perhaps their great-grandfather also were. Traditions are essential in Mexican culture. “My grandfather was a charro, all my uncles at some point in their life’s were part of a team, my dad was never into this sport but almost all my family was and some cousins still are. “ Now I have a kid of five years old, and a daughter of four years old, and both of them know how to ride a horse, and have rope skills” said Lisandro.
I remember every Saturday night I was preparing my stuff to leave early in the morning with my uncles to the charreada, said Chalo. “At the age of nine I was riding horses and bulls, of course with the supervision of my uncles, said Chalo.” It wasn’t until the age of fourteen when I started getting a dense feeling of charreria. I rode with many of my uncle’s teams Los Camperos, Agaves, Tres Potrillos, Hacienda Triana in Mexico as well as in the United States. I rode around three or four years with Illinois teams. Then I went to California and enjoyed being part of a team. I also loved riding bulls, even though I got injured drastically a few times.
As a sport, charreria is made up by different suertes or skills, many of which originated various centuries ago. Sunday is generally the day when the Mexican lienzos, or rings, fill up with music, color and fiesta to celebrate the famous charreadas, where hundreds of Mexicans gather together to enjoy and feel the thrill of all kinds of suertes: the cala de caballo, which serves precisely to calar, that is, to try or demonstrate the obedience or training of the horse, as well as its vigor.
Running at a full gallop, the rider abruptly stops his horse in the middle of the ring, making him stand on his hind quarters; he then makes him turn towards one side, then the other and then backwards, ending with a charro style salute; the piales en el lienzo, one of the most difficult maneuvers, lassoing the animal by his hind legs to stop him completely. “I have been doing cala de caballo for more than twelve years and man I just love to train the horses to perfection” said Lisandro.
El colear, a very well-known and remarkable suerte since a young bull has to be thrown down by pulling his tail with the hand while galloping, the jineteo de toros, in which the rider must remain astride the bull’s back until it stops rearing; and many other skills, such as the terna en el ruedo, the jineteo de yeguas, the manganas a pie y a caballo, and the daring paso de la muerte or death pass.
Of all the suertes of charreria the one I enjoyed the most and have done since I was young is riding the bull. I used to ride bulls when I lived in Mexico. In 2007, I came to the United States, the first thing I did was contact my cousins to get me registered for a team. Now I am twenty-six years old and I will proudly say I have been part of Caballeros de Jerez, Caporales del Pedregal and Juan Colorado here in Illinois. “Many people think Charreria is an easy sport when in reality it takes time and dedication” said Antonio.
Although today charreria is considered a sport, in many Mexican regions it is still a way of life that is passed from generation to generation. That’s why it is given such an important role in our country’s traditions, being perhaps one of its most authentic and beautiful.
A charro is seen as a though man, whose practice of the sport demands strength and vigor, a fearless character always ready for a challenge, to surpass, to be a nominee; but who at the same time can be infinitely sensitive to the ritual of solidarity that is recovered in every encounter with friends, sensitive to everything that surrounds this peculiar sport, since it is art.
The charro shoulders the responsibility of being the model of nationalism, the symbol of a people’s identity that is expressed without reservations, without imitations.Charros contemplates very special values, such as the love of your country, family ties and a sense of honor, among others.
As a charro poet said: To dress as a charro is to put on Mexico’s clothes. With the passing of the centuries, charreria has accumulated an extraordinary cultural baggage that enriches it every day. The charro cannot ignore the numerous elements that universally identify him, the result of a love for a tradition preserved within the heart of the family like a treasure.
“In June of 2016, the grand debut of Herencia Mexicana will be held, it is a new team consisting of all the cousins and friends of which fathers rode or were in the same teams” said Antonio. “One of the most shocking/amazing thoughts I have had is just thinking of how all of our fathers were riding together at some points in their life, and how we are doing so,” said Chalo.
