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Origin of the Charreria
Mexican charros are to Mexico what cowboys and rodeo are to the United States. Charreria is also the national sport of Mexico, however the styles of dress, riding styles and events have gone in different directions while maintaining many similarities and sharing common elements. Charreadas were a very important part of the Mexican ranching culture with regular competition taking place in Mexico and in the United States especially in Texas.
As the charreria has changed over time and consists. Charreria was well known in Texas from the days of the republic, and by the 1860 such contest were included at Texas fairs. Charreria was also influenced by the corridas or bullfights, in the Plazas de Toros, where coleadero and jineteo de toros (bull riding) were first popularized. When the large haciendas in Mexico were divided as a result of the Mexican revolution, charros feared the demise of the tradition, and so they called a congress in Mexico City on the July 4, 1921. In 1933 the Federation National de Charros was founded in Mexico City to govern the different charro associations that emerged. In the late twentieth century this organization oversaw the charro associations in both Mexico and the United States.