Escaramuzas ride sidesaddle, kick up dust, and channel the bravery and horsemanship of Mexican revolutionary heroes.
On a hot summer day, a mocha-colored horse gallops into an arena carrying a woman in an embroidered, wide-brimmed sombrero and a high-necked red dress ballooning over a petticoat and fitted pantaloons.
Team members perform an abanico donning dresses and sombreros. The dresses were recently altered because the judges determined the waist heights and sleeve style broke with tradition.—Mexican rodeos. Hugely popular with Mexico’s elite, the sport also thrives within diaspora communities in the United States., the sliding competition which Bueno has just completed. Two men in full cowboy regalia walk out and extend a long tape measurer, examining the markings left behind by the horse’s hooves.
The team practices on an evening before the weekend competition. Elda Bueno’s horse, usually extremely reliable, was spooking during a key sequence of the routine, and the team worked late into the night trying to stay in synch and figure out contingency plans if the horse continued to misbehave. Escaramuzas began attending charreadas in the 1950s, and soon after began lobbying to compete. It was only in 1989 that the Federación Mexicana de Charrería finally formalized their event, which honors women’s contributions to Mexican history and tradition.
Captain Elda warns against point deductions in a mash-up of English and Spanish peppered with horse vernacular, essentially an escaramuza language. “Do not let the legs move,” she says. “Why? Because that will cost my. I understand that. I can live with that. But I cannot live with an abierto and a desplazamiento.”
As they practice, a technicolor sunset spreads like a bruise across the enormous sky, after which a bright stadium light illuminates the arena for yet another run-through. are running their horses in circles and twirling lassos. A mariachi brass band sets up and vendors prepare to sell tacos and division start to circulate in their finest charrería costumes.
Marissa Regla puts on her new baby pink dress for the competition. Escaramuzas are careful not to get their dresses dirty and make sure to smooth them out before riding into competition. Finishing touches to the competition outfits include traditional earrings, rosary beads and cameos featuring saints.
They gallop in a wide circle, then on Elda’s mark, guide their horses into the center, crossing in front and behind each other at high speed and exploding into partner turns, then disperse back to the wall. Next, four women ride their horses in a small circle in the center as the remaining team members charge through the tight spaces between the circling horses.The routine so far is flawless. But then comes a difficult cross-and-turn combination on the same oily concrete designed for sliding.
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