"We" as in my dad and i. It was totally unexpected, i didnt even know my dad would be remotedly interested in such a thing but we did go to a charreada.
A Charreada is a competive event similiar to a rodeo which consists of 9 events for men and 1 for women, all of which involve horses, cattle or both. And it's also the official national sport of Mexico. I know, who would have thought that i'd go there ever. I'm not fond of horses and i'm not comfortable at all with cows.
As i said, it was unexpected. Dear beloved was late to leave for work, had to take a cab, hence passed in front of the Lienzo Charro where he saw the big poster for the national Charro final. He called us right away and as soon as i asked my dad, he said, yes, let's do this today. The things you get to do when you dont have a plan!!
If we dont like it or get borred, it's 10 minutes away by bus from my house, we could always go back. Except that we didnt!
It all began at noon. The #4, 5 and 6 teams competing to see who would win the "other" final. And it was honestly a lot fun. See, you dont see a hundred riders doing the same trick over and over again. You see these 3 teams competing over a serie of 9 tasks.
So we got to see the horse galloping full speed and having to stop over a limited amount of lenght, the rider catching a calf with a lasso, then catching a foal, a rider riding a wild horse, than riding a wild bull, the rider catching the calf from his horse, then on the ground, the rider changing horse while already riding one, etc etc.
The entire ordeal took 4 hours. We were most likely the only white people there but did we enjoy it. My dad is awesome when it comes to being in places like that. He drank beers like everybody else, ate tacos al pastor and birria, like everybody else, we even rent a cushion to seat comfortably and took many pictures that i yet have to download on my computer.
We saw people wistling, applauding, sending their hats and boots in the arena, children dressed like mini Charros and mini Escaramuzas (lady riders) and we had a total blast.
We didnt stay for the big finale. We already had 4 hours of it, we were both sunburnt and even though we did had a great time, we were just tired of the noise and the dust. But we did celebrate in style: my dad bought himself a pair of boots! Leather boots with leather sole, 100% mexican made. How much i'd pay to see him showing off his boots back in France!
PS: check the link of the Charreada if you're not familiar with it to see what tasks are all about!
