Danger is Part of the Ride for Daring Charros
 Joey Bunch - The Denver Post
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No disrespect to the American cowboy, but the Mexican charro blows him out of the saddle, when it comes to history, pageantry and horsemanship.
"Rodeo all started with us," said 59-year-old charro Carlos Romero of Lakewood, seated atop his 8-year-old steed Coyote before Sunday afternoon's Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza at the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo.
A charro is more than a cowboy. The term applies to horsemen of the highest level, who employ tradition and Mexican culture, as well as amazing physical strength and skills, along with the training of their horses almost from birth.
Mariachi music and dancing girls in twirling, ruffled dresses fit for Old Mexico accompany the horseman in the show of unimaginable bravery in the arena. Charros, for instance, ride both bucking broncos and horses with both hands on the rope around the animal's torso. The daring ride lasts longer, wildly tossing the charro to the side, and sometimes underneath the bucking beasts.
Centuries before the first known American rodeo in Pecos, Texas, in 1883, Mexican charros competed on haciendas in similar feats of skill and pageantry that dated back to the arrival of Spanish conquistadors.
Still today, charros never compete for prize purses or belt buckles, but for pride, honor and, according to a dozen charros on Sunday, heritage.
The rewards can't be measured in a bank account, said Roberto C. Torres, president of the Lakewood-based Asociacion de Charros Las Delicias, which is named for and sponsored by his chain of Denver-area Mexican restaurants.
Involvement with horses and other charros brings pride in community, self-confidence and self-respect, said Torres, whose 21-year-old son, Roberto Jr., and 18-year-old daughter, Naiomy, performed in Sunday's show.
In the opening parade of flags, accompanied by dancers, fireworks and laser lights before the packed Coliseum audience, Roberto Sr. carried the Mexican national flag into the arena. His son carried the American flag.
Such honor and tradition were not lost on Jerry Diaz, the Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza's founder and chief showman.
"I've been performing in Denver for 20 years," said the fourth-generation charro from New Braunfels, Texas, whose father, Don Pepe Diaz, 89, was the stunt double for the film and television hero "The Cisco Kid."
"What inspires me is looking up into that full house and seeing all those families, because that's what the life of the charro and the Mexican Rodeo is all about — family."
Joey Bunch: jbunch(at)denverpost.com |
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News from Around the Americas | January 2008 
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