page_title: Charreada
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Charreada / History
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Gravure du XIXème siècle représentant un insurgé mexicain pe English: A Mexican ranchero removing an officer from the front of his battalion with a lasso, during the Mexican wars of independence, from the book Costumes civils, militaires et réligieux du Mexique (Belgium, 1828)
context_page_description: The charreada or charrería is a competitive event similar to rodeo and was developed from animal husbandry practices used on the haciendas of old Mexico. The sport has been described as "living history," or as an art form drawn from the demands of working life. In 2016, charrería was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
  Evolving from the traditions brought from Spain in the 16th century, the first charreadas were ranch work competitions between haciendas. The modern Charreada developed after the Mexican Revolution when charro traditions were disappearing. The competing charros often came from families with a tradition of Charreria, and teams today are often made up from extended families who have been performing for up to five generations.
  The charreada consists of nine events for men plus one for women, all of which involve horses, cattle or both. Some of the events in the charreada have been criticized by animal advocacy groups and some states have banned certain events. However, there is an absence of independent statistical data and unbiased recording of the injury rate of animals has not been undertaken.
context_section_description: Charrería, a word encompassing all aspects of the art, evolved from the traditions that came to Mexico from Salamanca, Spain in the 16th century. When the Spanish first settled in Colonial Mexico, they were under orders to raise horses, but not to allow Native Americans to ride.  However, by 1528 the Spanish had very large cattle-raising estates and found it necessary to employ indigenous people as vaqueros or herdsman, who soon became excellent horsemen.  Smaller landholders, known as rancheros or ranchers, were the first genuine charros and they are credited as the inventors of the charreada.
  Prior to the Mexican Revolution, ranch work competitions were generally between haciendas. Before World War I, there was little difference between rodeo and charreada. Athletes from the United States, Mexico and Canada competed in all three countries. Subsequently, charreada was formalized as an amateur team sport and the international competitions ceased.
  Following the breakup of the haciendas by the Mexican Revolution, the charros saw their traditions slipping away. They met in 1921 and formed the Asociación Nacional de Charros to keep the charrería tradition alive.  The advent of the Mexican cinema brought greater popularity, especially musicals which combined rancheras with the charro image, akin to the Western and "singing cowboy" genres in the United States.
  Mexican Americans in the United States also held various charreadas during the same period, but in the 1970s, the Federación Mexicana de Charrería (FMCH) began assisting them in establishing official charreadas north of the border. They are now quite common.  At times, US champion teams compete in the national competition of Mexico.
caption: A charro in service as Insurgent cavalry according to a 19th century depict.
exif: {}