Charrería

Charrería (pronounced [tʃareˈɾia]), also known historically as Jaripeo, is the national sport of Mexico and a discipline arising from equestrian activities and livestock traditions used in the haciendas of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

Evolving from the cattle herding traditions created 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.

The origins of Mexican bullfighting and equestrian sports date back to the mid-16th century, shortly after the introduction of cattle and horses. The introduction was successful, as cattle and horses multiplied and spread rapidly throughout the country, that soon after, there were more cattle and horses in Mexico than in Spain.

The first cattle ranching activities centered primarily around the leather and tallow industry, both for export and domestic consumption. In 1587, for example, more than 64,350 cattle hides left the port of Veracruz for the port of Seville. This cattle ranching was carried out by hunting wild bulls with the use of the desjerretadera, a 20-palmos (4.5-meter) lance with a crescent-shaped blade at the end for hamstringing the bulls. A vaquero (cowherd) on horseback, carrying the desjerretadera, would gallop at full speed behind a wild bull and, positioning himself slightly to one side, strike the hock of one of its legs, severing the flesh and sinews, instantly incapacitating it. The vaquero would then dismount and finish off the bull by stabbing it in the neck, then skinning and removing the tallow, leaving the flesh and the rest to rot in the countryside.

From this New World ranching activity emerged what can be considered the first Mexican bullfighting-equestrian sport. Horsemen, not involved with the vaquero trade, would go out into the countryside with the aforementioned desjarretadera to hunt bulls for simple recreation or enjoyment because, according to them, it made them tough and "strong" or agile in the saddle. Agustín Dávila Padilla, a Dominican priest, referred to this sport when recounting what happened to a Mexican Caballero in the 16th century:

A son of a Caballero, one of the noblest in Mexico, having taken the habit in our house, left it because he did not think he could lead that life. While he was staying at one of his father's ranches outside the city, while his hair, which the crown had made disproportionate, was growing, he exercised himself in accordance with his position and the custom of those born in this country. Having ordered a horse to be saddled, he mounted it with a desjarretadera in his hand to bring down some cattle, as is customary for those who pride themselves on being horsemen, both for their recreation and because it makes them tough and strong in the saddle. The most gallant riders usually carry the ferrule of desjarretadera on the side of their eyes, and the crescent blade turned toward themselves, so that when they perform the pass they may come out with greater air and gallantry, and wound the bull with greater force. The poor little caballero was thus engaged when he suddenly stumbled and fell, and he struck the sharp iron of the desjarretadera, which tore his guts and exposed his entrails, leaving him pitifully dead.

As Mexican vaquero culture developed and cattle ranching expanded throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, new vaquero tasks and techniques used for the management of cattle and horses emerged. Vaqueros were tasked with performing various jobs on cattle ranches or haciendas, such as rounding-up wild cattle (rodeos), branding, hunting runaway cattle, sorting cattle for identification, and hunting wild, ownerless bulls and horses.

In his work "Historia del Toreo en México" (1924), historian Nicolás Rangel compiled several complaints to the Holy See about vaqueros accused of "Satanism," including the exploits of a mulatto vaquero on a ranch in Jalisco who was accused in 1604 of having a pact with the devil and wearing his image tattooed on his back, due to his equestrian and vaquero skills. It was said that the aforementioned mulatto would tie his feet tightly and wait for a very feisty bull, then place two oranges on its horns. And on a wild filly, "no matter how much it bucked, riding on it, he would remove its girths and saddle and remain bareback on it, without dismounting or falling." Such risky feats were already, at that time, common skills and recreational sports among the country's vaqueros, but unknown to the Spanish, who attributed them to witchcraft.