Plaza de Toros, Pichátaro, 2022
El Jaguey #2, 2022
To the ring, Nuevo Rodeo, 2022
A prayer before the bull, Lagunillas, 2023
El Jaguey #5, 2022
El Jaguey #3, 2022
Retreat, Lagunullas, 2023
Waiting bull, El Jaguey, 2022
The Charge, Lagunillas, 2023
El Jaguey #1, 2022
Plaza de Toros, Lagunillas, 2023
Next into the ring, Lagunillas, 2023
JARIPEO
While most jaripeos (rodeos) in Michoacán are about straight bull riding, the one in Lagunillas displayed here is a jaripeo de lazo. This type of jaripeo involves a team of several horsemen attempting to lasso a loose bull, then subduing it sufficiently so that a rider might mount and ride it.
Both kinds of jaripeo are compelling endeavors, forcefully driving home the size and strength of both the bulls and horses, while underlining the frailty of human beings.
There is something quite primitive and elemental about a jaripeo, the human-animal relationship front and center, showcased against the contemporary backdrop of ear-splitting banda music, big stadium screens, cases upon cases of Modelo beer, and the ubiquitous cell phone.