Escaramuzas carry age-old equestrian tradition to charreadas of today

One hundred years ago, women of the Mexican Revolution performed pre-battle maneuvers on horseback, kicking up clouds of dust to give cover to their male counterparts in combat. Those women came to be known as escaramuzas, which loosely translates to “skirmishers.”

The tradition lives on in the escaramuza charra, an essential component of charrería that has become the national sport of Mexico.

Local charreadas feature escaramuzas as the centerpiece of each event, clothed elegantly in traditional Adelita dresses while riding sidesaddle and performing intricate maneuvers that demonstrate athleticism and equestrian skills.

In advance of the Asociación de Charros San Antonio charreada to be held Saturday, Feb. 24, this brief history was related by Kristy Escamilla, a 26-year-old member of the Escaramuza Soles del Bajio team and a staunch protector of her sport’s traditions. 

Escamilla captained a team for eight years and now teaches the Escaramuza las Coronelas Juvenil team of girls aged 7-16.

“For me, the spirit of escaramuza, what I always tell the girls, is tradition. It’s to keep the tradition alive,” Escamilla said.

Focus and effort

What spectators see of escaramuzas at an average charreada is only a fraction of the time and effort they put into learning how to ride and control their horses, and to practice and perfect the routines that win admiration — and sometimes, competitions held throughout the country and in Mexico.

“Most of what you see when we’re all dressed up, that’s maybe 2% of the time,” said 37-year-old Carla Murillo. The rest of the time, escaramuzas diligently practice in grittier conditions, sometimes swathed in winter clothes to protect against the kind of cold weather she and her quarter horse, Luis Miguel — also known as Sól and named for the Mexican pop star — endured Monday night. 

The Soles del Bajio team practices 50 weeks per year, at least twice a week for several hours, and more often in advance of competitions. Escaramuzas drive with horse trailers to lienzos — circular arenas — throughout Bexar County, from the Charro Association’s arena on Padre Drive to ranchos in Von Ormy and Atascosa to the south.

One departure from the original escaramuzas is that arenas are watered to avoid kicking up those clouds of dust that once protected their revolutionary counterparts. The aim now is to be seen and appreciated for the skill and precision required to synchronize the maneuvers of each of the nine horses and riders.

Monday evening, the Soles del Bajio team worked through several complicated routines, horses trotting along the outer circumference of the lienzo, then breaking in trios, duos and singly to interweave across the middle of the circle. They performed a giros routine, riding in a tight circle, each horse breaking in turn to step into the middle of the circle and spin, rider and animal as one, then returning to the circle at full trot.

The effect was dizzying, with the poise of the escaramuzas disguising the intense focus and effort required to guide their horses. 

Teamwork and connection 

Each horse has its own distinct personality, which creates challenges for riders attempting to achieve precision and synchronization of movements, according to 16-year-old Arlet Landero. At 10, she first learned to ride on her grandfather’s rancho in Puebla, Mexico. 

“I fell in love with the horse. I fell in love with the connection that we had,” she said.

Landero is the youngest member of Soles del Bajio and is also a member of the Coronelas. She said she appreciates the teamwork and level of dedication required to excel. Landero practices every day because “you have to put a lot of effort into escaramuza. You have to sacrifice a lot of stuff.”

Murillo’s forebears grew up in the farmland of Zacatecas in central Mexico and were familiar with horses. But the family emigrated in the 1980s to the western suburbs of Chicago where horses were scarce. 

“I’ve always known about horses,” Murillo said. “But being a traditional Mexican household, I was not allowed by my dad to be around horses. He thought it was too dangerous for girls.”

Eventually, she discovered communities of horseback riders in Aurora and Joliet, Illinois, who do escaramuza charrería, she said. A boyfriend taught her to ride and followed her when she moved to Texas.

In a family of 67 grandchildren, Murillo is the only one who keeps alive the family tradition of riding, and she said her dad now loves it. “He has to love it. He has no choice now, even though I’m a girl,” she said, smiling wryly.

Equality and representation

Murillo said she would like to see more equality in what has traditionally been a male-dominated sport. Of charreadas that can run upwards of three hours, she said, escaramuzas get only a maximum of five minutes to perform, which comes in the middle of the event. 

“We definitely have high visibility and a level of importance,” Murillo said, but charreadas are “overwhelmingly focused on charros.” The amount of practice that goes into their routines is “a lot of work for four minutes,” and there aren’t enough opportunities for women to compete, she said.

La Federación Mexicana de Charrería does not allow women to vote on the sports regulations, Murillo said. 

“I don’t think that really settled in for me until this year, where I’m like, ‘What do you mean, we don’t vote?’ We don’t get to vote for rules and policies that affect us … so it’s really imbalanced,” she said.

She wants to see equality in the sport, she said, and has seen efforts in motion. “This year, there’s been a lot of really vocal escaramuza teams to say, ‘Hey, we need a vote, we need representation.’ So I think there’s been some progress made, but definitely not anywhere [near where] it should be.”

Murillo summed up why women should be seen as equals in the sport. “Any cowgirl dominating a 900- or 1,200-pound animal and doing it well, competitively the way we have to do it, it’s very empowering because it gives you a sense of confidence that I don’t think you can get anywhere else.”

Escamilla said anyone interested in joining an escaramuza team should follow the social media feeds of the various groups, including the Escaramuza Soles del Bajio, Escaramuza las Coronelas Juvenil and the Asociación de Charros San Antonio.

The Asociación’s charreada takes place Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Charro Arena on South Padre Drive. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. with the event beginning at 3 p.m. Admission is $10, with children 12 and under admitted for free.

This article has been updated to reflect the new date of the Asociación de Charros San Antonio charreada. The original Feb. 10 date was moved to Feb. 24 due to expected rain.