Equestrian ’Charreria’ Recognized By UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage Mexico News Daily
go to original September 16, 2017

Charrería, equestrian tradition in Mexico (UNESCO)

The traditional equestrian practice of livestock herding and the culture that sprung around it over the years has been designated intangible cultural heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Charrería, as it is known, is horsemanship that developed out of animal husbandry practices used on the haciendas of old Mexico. Today, charro culture is now an intrinsic part of Mexican identity.

The official designation was delivered this week at an event hosted by the National Museum of Anthropology and attended by representatives of the federal government, the state of Jalisco, official cultural agencies and the Association of Charros of Mexico.

Charrería had been inscribed last fall on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

UNESCO Mexico administrative officer Alma Lara said it was important that people in Mexico and abroad understand that “what lies behind this art is the arduous work of survival in the fields and a long history of equestrian uses through which towns were protected and the economics of New Spain were advanced.”

Along with the equestrian nature of charrería came a trove of skilled artisans that manufactured “saddles, ropes and a baroque outfit that became the reflection of the identity of a group of people that were constructing their own identity.”

Today, continued Lara, charrería is “a dialogue between generations that weaves together farmers and urbanites that now emerges as world heritage given its transversality, as a living and symbiotic knowledge of nature, the [local] environment and society.”

Read the rest at Mexico News Daily

Related: Charros Perform Traditional Parade in Puerto Vallarta (Vallarta Daily)

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