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Tiny ballerinas in brightly colored dresses, cowboys riding dancing horses donning gold-adorned saddles, traditional elotes, or Mexican corn, consumed by the truckload – a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage was the name of the game on Sunday at “A Day in Old Mexico and Charreada,” one of many events taking place in San Antonio on the final official day of Fiesta.
The Charreada, at its core, is a celebration of the charros, Mexican cowboys, whose performances were the precursor to the traditional American rodeo, said Edmundo Rios, president of the San Antonio Charro Association. Sunday’s fiesta event drew thousands to come and witness some of the flashy rodeo-style events of the traditional charreada.
“This is our heritage, we can’t let it die out,” Rios said, donning traditional Mexican garb himself. “We need to teach our young ones where we come from, who we are.”
The effort to keep the tradition of the charros seemed to be alive and well. Rios said the first charreada event last weekend drew a record 3,000 attendees, and the San Antonio Charro Association was on track to break that record again on the final day of Fiesta.
“To look up in the stands and see so many people makes me emotional,” he said.
Dancers perform during “A Day in Old Mexico & Charreada Sunday as part of the final day of Fiesta.
Robin Jerstad / Robin JerstadSunday’s charreada kicked off with a ballet folklorico, featuring traditional Mexican dances and costumes. It then had several events where charros got to show off their Mexican horsemanship through events like dancing, lassoing and riding.
It was standing room only at Rancho del Charro in south San Antonio, as people of all ages crowded in the rodeo arena to watch the performances. Vendors outside the arena sold elotes, tacos, fruit and traditional Mexican cuisine, as well as brightly-colored crafts, jewelry and Fiesta souvenirs.
Jorge Gaxiola, director of Faisan Folklorico, which put on the ballet folklorico performance, said it was good to be back in the Fiesta saddle, so to speak, after two years of COVID disruptions.
Dancers perform during “A Day in Old Mexico & Charreada Sunday as part of the final day of Fiesta.
Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad“All of San Antonio gets pretty happy, you can feel it in the air,” he said. “Today everybody is wearing Mexican stuff and getting in the Mexican spirit. This is a Latino time for us, and we’re happy to be here.”
Brittany Rodriguez’s six-year-old daughter Olivia was in the ballet folklorico performance before sticking around to watch some of the charreada. She said A Day in Old Mexico was a great way for her daughter to connect to her Mexican roots.
“I want my kids to be close to the Mexican culture and have them grow up exposed to our Mexican heritage,” she said. “This is a way of bringing them close to that.”
The ten-day 2022 Fiesta festivities concluded Sunday. Other events on Sunday included the Artisan Show on the River Walk and the Festival de Animales at the San Antonio Zoo.
Annie Blanks writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. annie.blanks@express-news.net.
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