Which is Mexico's national sport?

As set out in a presidential decree of 1933, charrería is the official national sport of Mexico. The charreada or charrería is a sport and discipline arising from equestrian activities and livestock traditions used in the haciendas (ranches) of old Mexico. Focusing on competition between teams of riders, modern charreadas (rodeos) are a huge event in many smaller communities.

In the beginning, charreadas (although they weren’t known as such) took place between farm workers looking to show off their horse-riding and wrangling skills. However, with the Mexican Revolution came the end of the hacienda and so the informal competitions between charros (riders) developed into formal charreadas and scored contests.

Nowadays, the charreada is strongly associated with the state of Jalisco. This is unsurprising, considering that charrería developed alongside mariachi, which also finds its cultural home in this state. The connection is also instantly notable from the charro outfits worn by mariachi musicians.

A playout of a charreada will usually consist of:

Cala de Caballo (Testing of the Horse)

Piales en Lienzo (Roping of the Feet)

Colas en el Lienzo, or Coleadero (Bull tailing)

Escaramuza (Women Skirmish)

Jineto de Toro (Bull Riding)

Terna en el Ruedo (Team of Three)

Jineteo de Yegua (Wild Mare Bronc Riding)

Manganas a Pie (On Feet Roping)

Manganas a Caballo (Horseback Roping)

El Paso de la Muerte (The Pass of Death)