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Pan American experiences
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Mexico |
MEXICO ------------------------------------------789[EXPERIENCE] | |||
The Pioneers of Mexican RodeoThe silent revolution that changed charreríaBy Jazmin Agudelo for Ruta Pantera on 12/1/2025 9:12:33 AM |
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| In the 1968 San Marcos National Fair, a group of eight women riding sidesaddle burst into the lienzo charro of Aguascalientes. Wearing wide-brimmed hats and china poblana dresses, they performed maneuvers at full gallop while the audience booed them and some charros demanded their expulsion. That was the first officially recognized escaramuza in Mexico and the beginning of a revolution that, more than five decades later, has turned women into essential protagonists of the national sport. Trodding On Traditionally Male Territory Today, there are more than 1,200 women’s teams registered with the Mexican Federation of Charrería, but the path has been filled with resistance, machismo, and legal battles that are still ongoing. For centuries, charrería was an exclusively male territory. The 1933 Regulations of the first Federation explicitly prohibited female participation in official competitions, arguing “lack of physical conditions” and “risk to honor.” Women could only be damas de honor or queens of the associations—decorative roles that kept them out of the arena. However, starting in the 1940s, some charro families in central Mexico began teaching their daughters the maneuvers in secret on private ranches. The Escaramuza Charra Rancho El Capricho, founded in 1952 by Doña Concepción Rondero in Hidalgo, is considered the pioneer: its members trained at dawn to avoid criticism and only performed at private parties. The turning point came in 1991 when the Mexican Federation of Charrería, pressured by the growing popularity of women’s teams and by the Federal Law to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination, allowed the official registration of escaramuzas for the first time. The change was not free of conditions: women had to accept stricter rules than charros. While men compete in nine individual maneuvers, escaramuzas present only a group routine lasting 10 minutes, timed to the millisecond, with scoring that penalizes even one-hundredth of a second of desynchronization. In addition, they must ride sidesaddle (left side) with traditional dress, which exponentially increases the technical difficulty. Current figures show unstoppable growth. At the 2024 National Charro Championship held in Pachuca, 96 escaramuzas competed before 40,000 spectators, surpassing the audience of several men’s categories. The team Rancho El Pitayo from Querétaro, led by Ana Karen Díaz, was crowned national three-time champion and set the record of 348 perfect points, the highest score ever recorded in the history of women’s charrería. Youth teams like Las Margaritas from Jalisco have earned medals at world championships organized in the United States, where the Mexican community keeps the tradition alive. |
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But the structural barriers still persist. Escaramuzas do not receive the same monetary prizes as charros—at the 2024 Nationals, the men’s champion team earned 1.5 million pesos, while the women’s team received 400,000—and many state associations still do not grant them scholarships or support for horse transportation. The attire also represents a disproportionate expense: a hand-embroidered adelita dress costs between 80,000 and 150,000 pesos, not including the hat and saddle. Organizations such as Escaramuzas Unidas por México have publicly denounced these inequalities and demand that the Federation comply with the gender equity promised in its statutes. Hitting the Mainstream The cultural impact transcends the sport. Escaramuzas have redefined the china poblana dress, traditionally seen as a symbol of submission, turning it into a battle uniform. On social media, they gather millions of followers and have inspired series like “La reina soy yo” and documentaries like Escaramuzas: Las amazonas de la charrería (2022). Girls as young as six are now part of children’s categories—something unthinkable two decades ago. In states such as Hidalgo, Jalisco, and the State of Mexico, where charrería is cultural heritage, public schools offer escaramuza workshops as extracurricular activities. Yet despite the progress, the struggle continues. In 2025, the Federation faces a collective lawsuit filed by 42 captains demanding equal prizes, inclusion in the Board of Directors, and modification of the regulations to allow riding sidesaddle or astride according to each rider’s preference. Meanwhile, teams like Las Alteñas from Guadalajara and Villa Oro from Querétaro continue breaking records and demonstrating that skill, bravery, and precision have no gender. Re-riding History Escaramuzas have proved that tradition is not static: it evolves when women enter the arena. From being completely excluded to becoming the most anticipated spectacle of any charro competition, they have written one of the most powerful transformations in Mexican sport. Because when eight amazons gallop in unison, forming perfect crosses and slides at 40 km/h, they are not just executing maneuvers — they are rewriting history. |
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