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FINALISTS RIDE AT CORONA RANCH RODEO
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 29, 2007
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WINNING TEAM WILL COMPETE IN MEXICO NATIONALS
Author: Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic
Estimated printed pages: 3
It's been called the Super Bowl of Mexican rodeos, a national championship whose
winning team goes on from Phoenix to compete in the Mexican nationals.
Beginning Friday at Corona Ranch, national finalists chosen earlier this summer
will compete in the 38th annual Congreso y Campeonato Nacional Charro.
The Asociacion Nacional de Charros was formed in 1921 to keep the centuries-old
tradition of the charreria, or Mexican adaptation of Spanish equestrian
contests, alive, establishing the charreada style of rodeo.
In 1933, the charreria, on which the American rodeo was based, was named the
national sport of Mexico. It wasn't until the 1970s that the Federacion Mexicana
de Charreria began establishing official charreadas north of the border as a way
for Mexican-Americans to celebrate and stay connected to their heritage.
A charreada consists of a number of scored events for male and female teams
competing for the honor of the sport, not money, while dressed in traditional
charro clothing.
The males compete in nine events, or suertes, in which both horse and rider are
judged on style and execution, beginning with cala de caballo, which tests the
rider's control of the horse. In this event, the charro, a Mexican cowboy, puts
his horse through various commands -- controlled slide; left and right half,
full, and triple turns; dismount and mount; and reverse walk.
In piales en lienzo -- or the roping of the feet -- three charros throw a lariat
to catch and stop a mare by roping the hind legs.
In colas, the charro rides along the left side of the bull, wraps its tail
around his right leg, and tries to cause the bull to fall and roll as he rides.
Jineteo de toros is Mexican bull-riding. The charro rides until the bull stops
bucking.
This is followed by la terna en el ruedo (team of three), in which three charros
rope a bull and tie its feet together in less than 10 minutes.
Jineteo de yegua is the bareback riding of a wild mare with a bull rope.
In manganas a pie, a charro on foot has three chances to rope a wild mare by its
front legs and cause it to fall once and roll. Bonus points are awarded for the
tiron del ahorcado, in which the rope is around the charro's neck and he uses
his body to cause the mare to fall and roll. In managanas a caballo, a charro on
horseback has three tries to rope a wild mare by its front legs.
The final event is the paso de la muerte, where the charro must jump from a
reined horse with no saddle to the bare back of a wild horse with no reins,
which is going at full speed around the arena. It's not for nothing that it's
called the pass of death, especially considering the threat of being trampled by
the other horses being used to chase the wild mare.
There is no pass of death in the women's events, which are held, according to
the charreada's Web site, to add "beauty and elegance to the proceedings." Teams
of eight women, escaramuza, ride sidesaddle dressed in colorful, wide-ruffled
adelita dresses performing a variety of precision riding techniques.
Mariachi will perform throughout. And Saturday night, they'll have a dance, the
noche Mexicana, with three bands performing: Banda Pena Blanca; Caribe; and
Pumas de Sinaloa en Hacenzados.
There's also a museum of charreria with a charro on hand to give a detailed
explanation of each exhibit.
Several local teams will compete in the finals, including Perla Tapatia, which
took home first place honors this summer in the regional semifinals (also at
Corona Ranch). Local teams also took second and third place in the
semifinals: Escaramuza el Herradero and Escaramuza las Buagambilia.
Congreso y Campeonato Nacional Charro
When: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Monday.
Where: Corona Ranch and Rodeo Grounds, 7611 S. 29th Ave. (29th Avenue and
Baseline Road), Laveen.
Tickets: $15; free for ages 11 and younger. Dance is $30.
Details: (602) 237-1002 or www.charrofestival.com.
CAPTION: 1.-2. National finalists chosen earlier this summer will compete in the
Congreso y Campeonato Nacional Charro at Corona Ranch in Phoenix. Events start
Friday. CAPTION: 3. Gilberto Garcia competes in Cala (or reigning) during the
Mexican Rodeo regional finals at Corona Ranch in Phoenix.
Edition: Final Chaser
Section: Phoenix Republic 21
Page: 3
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