To see more pictures of Mexican-style rodeos, visit our photo gallery.
As supervisors prepare to debate whether to ban two Mexican-style rodeo exercises in unincorporated parts of the county, longtime Morgan Hill resident Mary Pena believes county leaders may be overreacting and even offending a large segment of the Mexican American community.
Pena, owner of the Rancho Grande arena in Morgan Hill, leases her land to Ruben Alvarez, who holds so-called "jaripeos" or bull riding events at the Condit Road facility in the summer. No cruelty is perpetrated against the animals, she said.
According to Pena and others who understand jaripeos and charreadas - county supervisors must be careful not to lump them together and consider them cruel to animals. Charreadas, they say, are just plain Mexican rodeo events without any animal abuse.
At Rancho Grande, Pena and others stress, only bull riding is performed. No horse tripping and steer tailing is done thus the ordinance under consideration would not apply, said Morgan Hill resident Marisa Olmos, a former member of the Escaramuza equestrian girls' side saddle drill team based out of San Martin.
Supervisor Pete McHugh is sponsoring the ordinance that would restrict rodeos, circuses and traveling shows and impose stiff penalties of $5,000 for violations with sentences up to one year in jail. A 9 a.m. meeting Tuesday at the County Government Center is expected to draw a large crowd of animal rights activists and charreada and jaripeo supporters.
Animal rights groups want supervisors to specifically ban horse tripping or "manganas" and steer tailing or "coleadas" in the charreria. Horse tripping is done when a rider throws a rope around a mare's legs causing the animal to fall down. Steer tailing is done when a rider on a horse approaches a steer, then tries to bring it down by wrapping its tail around his leg.
Both practices have been banned in Alameda and Contra Costa counties since 1993 and 1994, respectively, after Eric Mills, coordinator of the Oakland-based group Action for Animals, fought for the bans.
Pena said her husband, the late Adolfo Pena, allowed charreadas at Rancho Grande in 1970, but since then only bull riding has been allowed.
"I never saw cruelty toward the animals," Pena says, about bull riding events conducted at her ranch from May to October.
"They're making a big fuss over it," Pena said. "They talk like it's every event we have and that's what makes me mad. It makes me furious ... "
Olmos says: "It's bull riding … You get on the bull and hold on for the amount of time that you can. That's it."
Mario Banuelos, a longtime Morgan Hill resident with close ties to the Mexican community in South County, said "the proposed ordinance is discriminatory and directed toward the Hispanic community in the South County. There are laws and ordinances already in place to protect the humane treatment of animals. If the Salinas rodeo was to shut down for the same concerns, then I wouldn't have any conflict with a yes decision. However, I don't foresee that happening anytime soon."
Subhed: Charreadas or charrerias
Steer and horses are used to conduct the so-called charreadas. One exercise during the sport, called "coleadas" or steer tailing is what the county ordinance hopes to ban. The charro, or the person on a horse or on foot, trips the animal by wrapping its tail around his leg.
Steer tailing is happening in private ranches in Gilroy, Hollister and throughout the state, Olmos said.
In Gilroy, two private ranches off of Bloomfield Boulevard and New Avenue, owned by Armando Castaneda and Carlos and Yesenia Arteaga, respectively, hold such events, according to Olmos.
Castaneda, who owns Armando's Body Shop in Gilroy and has lived in the Garlic City for 22 years, said the events held in his small arena are family oriented affairs. He has about 10 horses used for charreadas. "My horses eat first before I do," Castaneda said speaking Spanish. "I've seen animal killings in Fresno for meat processing that are cruel. What I do is not inhumane. I invite everyone to come to my ranch."
"Manganas a pie" and "manganas a caballo" or horse tripping is not allowed in California, however, a modified exercise is performed at the local ranches by riders who put the rope through the mare's front legs without knocking her down.
Olmos contends charreadas are similar to American rodeo. "They say it's inhumane to animals and we're hurting them, but we're not ... The animals are our pets."
Subhed: Animal abuse or sport?
Mills, for his part, said he supports Alfredo Kuba, founder of Silicon Valley In Defense of Animals, in his quest to ban horse tripping and steer tailing.
He said the ordinance would be the most progressive in the state. "Using animals just for entertainment isn't acceptable in today's society," Mills says, adding that bull riding was never a standard ranching practice in the United States or in Mexico.
"For most of these animals rodeo is simply a detour en route to the slaughter house and they deserve better than this."
Mills believes the traditional Mexican sport of charreadas, with a 400-year national tradition, is similar to traditions that have been abolished in society such as "slavery, linchings, incest, wife beating and child abuse."
"Some traditions deserve to die," he said, adding that he has video footage of steer having their tails broken, ripped off, horses suffering broken legs when the steer runs the wrong way during a steer tailing event.
"The focus and issue is animal abuse and this has nothing to do with culture or (being) anti-Mexican, but that's how it's going to come out and I hate that," he said.
possible cut
Subhed: Culture vs. animal rights
San Juan Bautista resident Martin Marquez, president of the Asociacion de Charros El Herradero de San Martin, is a proud charro who rides with his children during charreadas. He's also past president of Federacion Mexicana de Charreria, the statewide umbrella organization that supports the charreadas as a sport.
He believes banning steer tailing from the sport is an insult to his culture.
"It's a nice family sport," he said. "I've been doing this for several years. I have the same horses and the same cattle. People who think we abuse the animals I invite them over to look at them and watch the charreadas."
Just like Olmos, he doesn't want supervisors confusing charreadas with coleadas or steer tailing.
Colleen Valles, a police aide for Supervisor Don Gage, said she has received many letters from animal rights groups about the issue and county staff will consider how the proposed ban would affect the county.
Pena believes the broadreaching effect of the ban would adversely affect low-income Hispanic families in South County who have very limited entertainment options. "They don't have many places to go. They come here. They bring their kids. They enjoy the music. They enjoy the food and the performance."
Besides the flea market, Pena says, which closed, local Hispanics will have nowhere to go for fun.
For more information on charreadas or charreria visit www.charrousa.com.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will consider the ordinance restricting traveling shows, circuses and rodeos at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the County Government Center, 70 West Hedding St.
Sheila Sanchez Sheila Sanchez is the editor of the Morgan Hill Times. She can be reached at ssanchez@morganhilltimes.com.
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