At SLO County charreada, it wasn’t about how fast you rode — it was about ‘how you did it’
Among the entertainments in early California were horse racing or rodeo.
Spain brought a horse culture to the New World. The Spanish word for rope, “lazo,” is even the basis for the cowboy lasso.
Vaqueros were often Mexican and Native American, and their roping and riding skills could astonish viewers from the East Coast.
A good vaquero could earn a privileged position at a rancho. The work favored the young and athletic.
Like fast cars today, status could be tied to ownership of a good horse and skills on the saddle.
In 1993, reporter Katherine Martinez and I witnessed a Mexican-style rodeo. The rodeo venue has since been removed from the Nipomo park.
The Mexican rodeo wasn’t as scripted as an American-style event. There weren’t clowns or fast-talking announcers.
Riders were judged on aesthetic grace and elegance, while in American rodeos, timekeeping is the major portion of a rider’s score. Failure to follow the rules results in a time penalty or disqualification in the American version.
I also don’t recall seeing any women’s events at the charreada, unlike the American-style rodeo.
At the time, it did feel like an imperfect glance back into the era before California was signed over to the United States as part of the end of the war with Mexico.
This story was published in the June 16, 1993, Telegram-Tribune. Note: Two sentences are dropped that mention details of the next event, no longer relevant since they happened 31 years ago.
Riding on tradition: Rodeo done in the spirit of old Mexico
There’s more to a “charreada,” or Mexican rodeo, than simply roping a wild horse or riding a bull, says Pete Ferrel.
It’s how you do it.
It takes finesse, skill and discipline to execute each event, he says. The “charros,” gentleman cowboys, are judged by whether they follow all the rules as they guide their horses through the tests.
The event is not just a sport for the 62-year-old Ferrel, whose father and grandfather were charros.
“It’s another way of demonstrating my love for my father and my heritage,” he says.
Ferrel is president of the San Luis Obispo County Charro Association, whose 30 members hold monthly charreadas at Nipomo Regional Park.
Plenty of pomp and circumstance surround the events, which feature bull and wild horse riding and roping events, plus live music and refreshments. The sport is a celebration of the skills charros developed over hundreds of years.
In Mexico, Ferrel says, charro arenas are as common as baseball fields in the United States.
“The charros are usually pillars of the community,” says Linda Rollison, the group’s publicist.
The men are well-respected and usually businessmen and other professionals. Ferrel’s father was a Santa Maria businessman.
Long ago in Mexico, Rollison says, men had to be landowners to own a horse. The Spaniards, who brought horses to this continent, tried to prevent the Mexicans from using horses, but the Mexicans eventually became highly skilled horsemen. They even taught the Spaniards how to use ropes to catch cattle.
“The tradition of the charro represents the successful blending of the cultures of Spain and Mexico,” Rollison says. “So the charro today is a descendant of a long tradition of horsemanship and cattle raising.”
Felix Camacho Sr., 50, says his father was the first charro in Santa Maria in the 1920s. His and Ferrel’s fathers rode on the same team.
Camacho has been riding all his life and has shared the tradition with his wife, Katy, and six children. The family often rides together in parades and festivals, with their biggest event being the Rose Parade about 13 years ago.
He and his youngest son compete in the charreadas and Camacho says the tradition is “fantastic.”
“The history behind it, the professionalism behind it, it’s unique,” Camacho says.
A charro will spend months training his horse in the necessary skills, such as spinning on its back leg and coming to a sliding stop, Ferrel says. Control is the key.
Charros own, train and ride their own horses, as well as run the events, while American cowboys may not even compete with their own horse, Rollison says.
“(A charro) is much more highly skilled than a cowboy,” says Steve Diaz, a long time member who explained that riders must execute the events with grace and elegance.
Although the group is not part of Mexico’s national federation, it follows all its regulations.
At a charreada, the two competing teams parade with American and Mexican flags in a grand ceremony as mariachis play the famous “Marcha de Zacatecas.”
Then the competition begins.
A series of eight events, some dangerous, test both rider and horse. Team members, dressed in the required uniforms of hats, decorated pants and jackets, take turns demonstrating their skills.
In the “mangana,” or roping on foot, a charro stands on the ground, about four meters from a wall, creating loops or “flowers” with his lasso. He jumps through the large loops, and as his teammates drive a wild horse along the wall, he ropes its front legs.
The grand finale is the “paso de muerte” or pass of death, in which the charro rides his horse at full speed alongside a wild horse, then jumps onto the wild horse.
A different event, a “jaripeo” or bull riding, in which the best riders win prizes, is scheduled for June 20 at the same time and location.
“We’re presenting Mexican culture with dignity and honor and we want to have people share it with us,” Ferrel says.
This story was originally published February 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
