Charrería (pronounced [tʃareˈɾia]),[1][2][3] is the national sport of Mexico and a discipline arising from equestrian activities and livestock traditions used in the haciendas of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

Evolving from the cattle herding traditions created the 16th century, the first kind of charreria events were ranch work competitions between haciendas.

Haciendas in the state of Hidalgo were some of the first places where restrictions were lifted and a larger number of people were exposed to equestrianism.

[8] 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.

It includes a plain button up shirt, a bow, pants, boots and a palm leaf charro sombrero.

The china poblana outfit consists of a low-cut blouse with short sleeves, embroidered with silk, beads or colored sequins, and a cloth or flannel skirt with at least one ruffle, embroidered with beads or sequins, with layers of lace visible at the bottom of the skirt.

Also, women must have their hair pulled back in a low bun, usually adorned with a fabric or lace bow, or two braids decorated with ribbons.

There are two grips at the back of the saddle, in case the charro needs to hold on because of an unexpected act of the horse.

Although in modern times, the only people that are technically a charro are men who practice charreria, the look of this figure has expanded to music and film.

[26] Although within the National Association of Charros, the escaramuza charra is said to be created by Mr. Everardo Camacho and instructor Luis Ortega in 1953, which was made up of young girls and boys who were between five and nine years old.

This first escaramuza was made up of siblings Guadalupe, Antonio and José Camacho, as well as Luis, Arturo and María Eugenia Ruiz Loredo.

It was very successful, since in that presentation the children demonstrated their skill when riding in the charro style and the education of their horses.

The training of the escaramuza charra is very intense, since they must be able to control their horses with great skill, since their evolutions require perfect coordination between all the members of the same team.

This event includes: good governance, stirrup, meekness, gait, gallop, run, eyebrow and head and tail postures.

It consists of the horse running at full speed and braking in a single time and this is called tip.

During the performance of this event, the charro must be careful of correctly looping the rope and not causing knots to prevent major hand injuries.

One or two hands can be used on the bullrope and the charro is able to have up to three assistants inside arena to support the bull's head, tighten and hold the rider's belt.

The performance begins when the judges give the order to count the time for tightening, and ends when the bull stops bucking.

After the charro dismounts the bull, he must remove the bullrope and bellrope so the Terna en el Ruedo can follow.

Similarly to the bull riding event, riders attempt to stay on the horse until it stops bucking.

Up to three assistants inside support the mare's head, tighten and hold the rider by the belt, so that he can mount the horse and be accommodated.

The task begins at the moment the judges give the order to count the time for tightening, and ends when the charro dismounts for any reason.

This event called The pass of death in Spanish consist of a charro riding bareback with reins attempting to leap from his own horse to the bare back of a loose, unbroken horse without reins and ride it until it stops running.

In the opening ceremony, organizations and participants parade into the arena (the lienzo) on horseback, usually accompanied by a mariachi band or banda playing Marcha Zacatecas and rendering honors to the Mexican flag.

Martín Orozco Sandoval in front of a plethora of San Marcos Arena where the governor also congratulated the 144 teams, 112 escaramuzas and 16 charros completos that participated from all 32 states of Mexico and other countries.

[35] Prizes for charreria championships can include things such as saddles, horse trailers, trophies or sometimes money.

Although most charros do it without an economic incentive (in fact they end up paying to charrear, as happens in other amateur sports), there are people who fully dedicate themselves to charreria and live from it.

[37] Such associations are teams or squads in which the charros are organized for practices and competitions, and on some occasions to raise funds for the construction or purchase of facilities.

Escaramuzas (women charro groups) are organized in a similar fashion where it is made up of eight official members and each participant must belong to the Mexican Federation of Charrería and comply with the norms established by the institution.

[38] On Sunday, October 14, 2012, within the framework of the inauguration of the LXIII National Charro Congress in Zacatecas, the Governor of the State, Miguel Alonso Reyes and the president of the Mexican Federation of Charrería, Jaime Castruita Padilla, signed the agreement in which the Mexican Federation of Charrería adopted the lyrics and music of the "Marcha Zacatecas" as the National Charro Anthem.