Mexican Rodeo

¡Hola!

Welcome to the “charreada” at the San Joaquin Fairgrounds. This is Mexican rodeo and it is very popular here in central California. Not that many English-only amigos know of it, because it’s presented entirely in Spanish! So, I’m very lucky to bump into Dana, a reporter friend who’s covering the event for our local paper. His Spanish is way better than my Spanglish and he’s cool about telling me what is going on.

He says that we’re seeing the Jineto de Toro - the bull riding event. Compared to regular rodeo, the bulls are a little smaller and they’re ridden until they stop bucking - no getting off after 8 seconds! Two hands can be used on the bullrope, but right now we’re seeing no hands! To win, the charro (rider) cannot fall off, he must dismount and land upright. Believe me, this is not easy, maybe bordering on crazy!

This looks like a very dangerous sport. An ambulance is parked nearby, just in case. Those hooves can do damage. Those horns are sharp. But the charros make it look easy – like a crazy dance with the bull. And during this charreada, no one got hurt. I mean seriously hurt. I'm sure those charros are going home with bruises in some VERY sensitive places. Ouch!

As for the entertainment value, I probably won't be getting season tickets. But it was a fascinating cultural experience. And the crowd loved every second of it! Don’t have to be Mexican to appreciate macho cool!

¡Él es muy machista!

"Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction."
~ Rodeo Wisdom