Federación Mexicana de Charrería Federación Mexicana de Charrería The Federación Mexicana de Charrería (Mexican Federation of Charreria) regulates "charrería" events in Mexico. "Charrería", officially the National Sport of Mexico, consists of a series of Mexican equestrian events rooted in the horsemanship brought over from Spain during their conquest of the New World. The most noted event is the "charreada", or Mexican rodeo. Originally chartered on December 16, 1933, in Mexico City as the "Federación Nacional de Charros" (National Federation of Charros), the purpose was to unify all the various "charro" organizations. The "charros" had organized themselves during the 1920s to preserve the customs and
Rodeo years, and, in 1985, the existing organizations formed the International Gay Rodeo Association as a national sanctioning body. The melding of homosexuality and straight cowboy culture in gay rodeo simultaneously embraces archetypal Cowboy Code traits and contemporary gay identity. Openly gay competitors stage their own rodeos because they are not welcomed in the straight circuit. "We can ride with the best of them," one person stated, "But they don't want us around." The "charreada" is the national sport of Mexico. It is a display and contest of roping and riding with origins tracing to the cattle ranching life and culture