Mexico

First off, thanks for your patience during these two weeks or so. We´ve been blessed with a visit from Stu and Anne who came a bit out of their way to keep us out of trouble for a fortnight. If you´ve checked out Flickr lately you´ll have a good idea of what we´ve been up to- Tapalpa, Mezcala, Chapala, San Juan de Dios, Tequila, Magdalena, Gwod ¡y mucho más! I´m going to have a go at describing what to expect should you want to see Mexican cowboys (charros) doing their rodeo stuff (charreria) in la Perla Tapatia, Guadalajara.

So I was on the way to the Lucha Libre after my PHP class last week and grumbling at not being allowed to take me camera and the taxi bloke said if you want to take photos, you should check out the Charros. He´d been working there as a union rep for 22 years or so and he gave me 4 free tickets from the glove compartment. He said they´re there every Sunday from 12 to 2pm every weekend of the year. Well it seemed like another chance to show Stu´n´Anne a bit of local colour so last Sunday we arrived at 12, saved 30 pesos (3 bucks / 1 pound fifty) each with out free passes and found a seat in the shade as the charros got their stuff together and trotted around on horses.

There are several stages to charreria. First off they open up the gates to the main ring so there’s a 100 metre or so track. They take it in turns to lasso the back legs of a galloping horse and bring it to a stop before it can reach the gates back to the stables. If they miss the next charro takes his turn and the horse is sent back, skittles style, for the next charro to have a go. If he lassos the horse correctly, you’re suddenly deafened by 12 kids swinging huge artesanal football rattle things.

Next off, it’s much the same, with the 100 metres track or so, but this time instead of horses galloping, it’s bulls. The bull starts running and the charro follows him on horseback and has to grab its tail and bring it down whilst riding along side. There seemed to be some kind of points system depending on the number of rolls the bull does when it falls. All the while, it’s quite relaxing for the spectators, well catered for with the usual ring side snacks, chicharron, papas, chelas and agua nieve. Stu reckoned it was like cricket, in that you could pretty much ignore whatever’s going on and just chill out in the sun. And he has a point. For the next bit they closed off the extra track area and had a surreal interlude where the sponsors drove 2007 model SUVs around in circles to show off their wares and they watered down the arena to keep dust clouds to a minimum and repainted the guidelines.

The next bit was more gripping. Charros ride out bareback on horses save for a bit of string and have a bucking bronco type time. Then there’s a set number of things they have to do, such as lassoing it, chasing it round the ring a couple of times while another charro does a hopscotch thing with his lasso before digging his heels into the ground and stopping the horse. This was the best bit by far. It’s hardish to describe and I really should have shot a bit of video, but there’s always next time. The final thing is where they do the Paso de la Muerte, ie swapping horses mid gallop, which looked dangerous enough for Christopher Reeves to come up in conversation several times. Anyroad, here’s some more photos and I’ll get my act in gear again for this bloggery malarkey. ‘Tis good to be back. Saludos!