Escaramuzas - wild horse women!

 Such a treat today! I had heard and read about the Escaramuzas but never thought I would see them.

Escaramuzas is the name of a resistance faction  during the  Mexican Revolution.  Escaramuzas means 'skirmish' and the role of these women guerrillas  was to ride into  the enemy camps creating chaos and a distraction while the male soldiers attacked elsewhere. These Escaramuzas were from farms and ranches in the north west of Mexico 

 This weekend there was a ‘Charreria’ (rodeo) in Merida over the Labour Day weekend and on Sunday we went to see the Eascaramuzas after my friends son told us they would be performing. After a few hours of watching horse and cow wrangling by the men,  three Escaramuzas teams performed.  They wear beautiful coloured costumes and there are very strict rules about their costumes; they must all be the same, a set number of tiers on the skirt which must be of cotton or wool (wool!! in 40*), a high collar, a bow in the hair, and a set type of boot. they also have pined to their sleaves, belts and bodices little religious artifacts of crosses, short rosaries or little pictures of the virgin in a cameo broach or embroidered frame. e

They  perform a set routine of movements, some of which entail galloping towards  and through each other and out the other side or galloping into the middle of the arena,  and turning on the spot mid gallop, to race out again  - all  ridding side saddle!!









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Swimming with turtles. Rapa Nui/Easter Island 2025

Image
I have been swimming in the evenings here on Easter Island. The last two nights in two sea pools in the town, although Hango Ros is more of a village that a town.   Tonight I was paddling in Pea Beach - its a  tiny beach, only 30m wide. I waded it- thankfully some sand amidst the rocks and it was full of turtles!! I’m ashamed to say I screamed and fell over when I bumped into me the first time- I was terrified it was going to bite me as my mums terrapins were dreadful nippers!   When I regained my feet I asked a couple of women near me if they bite- they assured me not. The next couple of bumps I got it down to an exclamation or two but on the whole I think I am more comfortable as yet with a ‘no touching policy’. There were at least 5 around me all different sizes. Humans are not supposed to touch or feed - but the turtles were very touchy feely!! What a privilege though 🙏🏼🙌🏼🥰
Read more

Airport Diaries 2

Image
 I have been finding it stressful to be on the move and  it feels like continually looking  for accommodation .  Back in the UK my plan was to go to 5 different places in 5 months but the lure of beautiful places , the difficulty of getting to some places , of finding affordable accommodation as in El Calafate , in Patagonia, has been challenging and meant I am on the move more than I had anticipated. However uncertainty and changing plans has  also meant I can change direction (literally and head east before I headed west. Where to hang my 3 hats (made another one and bought a third in Ushuaia - you know me and hats) has been a learning curve, from my hostel  on a dodge edge of San Telmo  to a roof-top pool air bnb in Palermo Holywood to the wonderful view from the Lighthouse with the hairy hound on Ushuaia Everywhere has been different.  My recent  diversion west instead of north east brought me to sunny, relaxing and friendly San Clemente ...
Read more

Martial Glacier

Image
February 2025 Today was the day.... There's a walk that starts not far from my Air BnB in Ushuaia.  It's a hike up to one of the glaciers above the city and as I am a steep 30 mins walk up the mountain from the town and the sea, I had a little advantage!!  I had heard it was a tough climb so I got a few practice hikes under my belt before attempting it. Turns out that was a good plan! It was the most beautiful hike; the path winds up though some woodland, taking a more direct path to the road which has steep hairpin bends as it winds up the mountain.  Beside the path a hawk of some kind had it's beady eye on me beside  the path. After I had intersected the road a few times, always heading upwards at hot too steep an incline, the path dipped down away from the road and met a babbling stream - honestly it was like something out Lord of the Rings or Eragon; green leafy canopy, bouncy mulchy earth beneath and a babbling stream . A fairy land where you picked your way ove...
Read more