Sayulita's Escaramuza Team, Perla's de Sayulita

Many of you might not be aware, but Sayulita has a talented Escaramuza team, called the Perla’s de Sayulita. These talented and committed women are skilled horsewomen, who ride sidesaddle ”montar a mujeriegas,” and perform beautiful choreographed routines. This event was first recognized in 1992 as the tenth official event of charreada, otherwise known as the Mexican Rodeo. Previously charreada had been an entirely male dominated sport in Mexico, and now it allows a wonderful opportunity for the women.

Janet Quijano Bernal, current team captain, first began efforts to form the team 4 years ago, but in the last 6 months a new team has formed, and is very strong and ready to compete. “I started the team to promote charreria. I’m from the state of Higaldo, and it is where this sport was born. For me, it’s a tradition of my family and I didn’t see any Escaramuza charreria in Sayulita, so I wanted to bring it here and share it with others.”

The eight Sayulita horsewomen, who range from 13 to 50 years old, dress in full, elaborate skirts with ribbons, petticoats, and bloomers, and ride sidesaddle (losing 50% of their steering) at high speed. The costumes they don trace back to the aristocratic nineteenth century when women could only ride during special processions or festivals.

This is a very competitive sport, though the women are tight knit and share a common love of the sport and their horses. Two of the Perla’s de Sayulita women compete in a high speed sliding stop, which requires them to ride their horses into the arena at a high speed gallop and then stop their horse in a controlled high speed slide within a chalk-lined area. The woman who has the longest slide, without crossing the boundary, and maintains control, wins this event, and adds points to their teams score.

Following the slide, there is a high speed routine, where the Perla’s de Sayulita orchestrate complex patterns, and are judged based on precision and a highly detailed scoring system. The routine has 12 parts and is performed in seven minutes or less or points are deducted.

“We now have a very strong team of girls and women who are committed to the time this sport and team requires. It is very time consuming. You can’t miss things…it’s a drill team. If women don’t show up, we have holes in our routine and it’s impossible to practice it. It is so fun and the women who participate all love it, so everyone is very committed,” Debbie.

Each woman pays for horse food, vet bills, their costume, and gasoline to haul the horses. Another expense is paying for Georgina Blasco, who lives in Guadalajara, to visit Sayulita and coach the team. Janet also travels to Guadalajuara for instruction and training.

Team members are Janet Quijano Bernal, Deborah Bone, Osiris yakeline Cobarraurios, Dr. Marcia Alvarz Garcia, Kelly Lopez Gaxiola, M. Angelica Aguirve Partida, M. Irma Perez Rodriguez, Lorena Rodriguez, and Judith Santana.

The Sayulita team practices at the Sayulita rodeo grounds twice a week from 6:00 pm to dark. Next week, Monday, March 4 and Wednesday, March 6 the team will be practicing. The public is welcome and encouraged to go watch.

They will be competing in Compostela on Sunday, March 15^th so mark your calendars to come cheer on the Perla’s de Sayulita!

If you would like more information about this sport and their upcoming competition, check out their new Facebook page at Perlas de Sayulita. If you have any questions about this team or would like to make a donation, email Sayulitacharra@gmail.com.