Don Carlos Hernando Gomez de Tonala
Charro - (Cowboy)

This guy's somethin' else.  Here he is ridin' his International Champion paint horse, Diamonte.  Don Carlos inherited his superb horsemanship from his ancestors who accompanied early explorers, like Hernando Cortes (1485-1547), to Mexico.  The men who worked on the great haciendas (we call 'em ranches) owned by the wealthy charros, were the poor vaqueros.  A vaquero didn't own any land. He prob'ly didn't even own a horse.  But, it was the vaqueros who began the noble tradition of the itinerant working cowboy that spread from Mexico into the U.S. back in the early 1800's.  Today, many still help out on the ranch.

When there's a fiesta in town he and about a dozen others git all dressed up and have a parade down the main street . . . the only street.  Don Carlos pulls on his suede pantalones (pants) decorated with six sterlin' silver conchos down each leg, his matching brown suede chaqueta (jacket) with silver buttons, his father's finely-woven cotton scarf and a huge wide-brimmed black felt sombrero to ward off the hot sun.  Then, they all ride down the main street 'n make a bunch of noise.  The local kids sit on the sidewalks and on the hitchin' posts and throw peanuts an' rocks an' stuff at 'em and some of  the kids run out and join the parade.  If they all walk down the street reeeal slowly, the parade could last 'bout five minutes!  Once they reach the sherrifs office, they head over to the Broken Spur for a cool one.