I remembered I first attended a charreada in Puerto Vallarta and everything came my way with the charm of the genuine, the charro garments, especially the embroidered backs, the sombreros, the cluster of horse riders while we were listening to the music. The strength of galloping and saluting stallions, with the charros in full control of the animals. Meanwhile, up in the bleachers the people were having fun with the acts, with the skills of the floreadores, the bull riding deeds and the pratfalls.

Tequila was being carried up and down in schooners and everything appeared to be laidback and legit. Attending a jaripeo helps people to better feel and cotton on to what Mexico is truly all about. You can feel the strength of its people, and how even relationships among men and between men and animals are construed.

For many, jaripeo is the harbinger of today's charreadas, even though for others bull riding is the name of the game. Sticking to the first concept, jaripeo takes the participation of different teams that are supposed to execute an array of ten charra acts; some individually, others as a team. However, no charro is supposed to make more than three deeds, despite of the existence of charradas called complete charros that consists of the execution of seven out of ten acts by only one charro.

The ten deeds are usually divided in two different acts: those performed with the reata and without them. They are called horseback riding, canvassing, tails, bull riding, calf on the rodeo ring -it includes the lassoing of the bull's head and hind legs- the mare riding, foot thumping, horseback thumping and the death's pass.