Jaripeo

Oct. 5, 2007

These photos are from the jaripeo, a rodeo event, that we went to on Friday. The jaripeo has horses, bulls, and riders in common with a Western rodeo, and the similarities end there. The women, announced individually, gallop full speed into the arena, where they abruptly stop in a cloud of dust. Wearing beautiful long white dresses and wide-brimmed Mexican hats, they ride side-saddle. When all eight women had entered the arena, they began precision riding that I can only compare to an intricate dance. And could you have dance without music? The band, dressed in red and white marching band uniforms, played rousing norteno music and corridos (ballads). After a while, people started dancing in the stands, and after the event ended they filled the arena and danced more. Amparo, a teacher who just retired from the Poli, had invited us, and we joined a group of her friends; one of the women riders was Amparo's god daughter, and many of her friends and family were there to see the performance. One brought a bottle of tequila, another a stack of potato quesadillas; everyone joined in.

The men riders were dressed in charro suits and wore wide-brim hats. They did some interesting rope work with their lariats - not as much as we would have liked, but Edith told us that the fancy rope work happened more at an event called a charreada. This was a jaripeo, and the main events here are bull riding and paso de la muerte (the pass of death). The paso de la muerte involves a group of cowboys galloping in a pack around the arena along with an untamed horse. At some point, one of the riders jumps off his horse and onto the wild horse. They all continue to ride until the wild horse stops bucking. It's an exciting event, and we saw three pasos de la muerte. Sorry I have no photographs to show you; the action is far too fast for anything other than a blurred image.

In the end, the president of the Agrupación de Charros Regionales de la Villa drew ticket numbers for the raffle prizes, including a set of spurs. Alas, we didn't win, but maybe that's a good thing since the winner leapt over the wall that separates spectators from arena. As in all things we do here, watching the people is as much fun as experiencing the event. The Mexican joie de vivre adds much to our enjoyment of this place.