Talk:Charreada
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[edit] charros versus vaqueros
Until the advent of Mexican cinema, but no earlier than the end of the Mexican Revolution, most of the ranch hands throughout Mexico were simply vaqueros. The only charros were the hacendados of Jalisco, some of whom evidently were descendants of men from around Salamanca in Spain. The typical vaquero---that is, 99.9% of the working ranch hands---was typically mestizo or indigenous, and could never afford the fancy outfits worn by the hacendados, nor is it likely they would have been allowed to wear them. The fancy outfits of the wealthy hacienda owners are what is taken as the "charro" costume today. These costumes lend themselves to the showmanship of modern charreada events more than the plainer, dusty, dirty, but practical outfits the real vaqueros wore at real rodeos. A charreada is just a fancy-dress rodeo where everybody plays the hacendado and nobody plays a vaquero. Tmangray 18:06, 7 May 2007 (UTC)