Soley

After we left the Charra event last Sunday, we stopped in at Soley, in La Peñita, for dinner.

Soley is an Argentinean steak house that looks out to the church and the square. 

While we were there, the evening church bells began to ring, and people started filing in or standing around the entrance to the church.

Taco and other stands were up and running and getting ready for the church service to be over.

Bruce and I both ordered rib steaks and a bottle of wine.  All the meals at Soley include bread, served  with grilled veggies, as an appi.   On the plate were grilled zucchini, nopal and red peppers.

 

The appetizer was very delicious, because the veggies had been marinated in a yummy pungent sauce.

After we'd finished our appi, the waiter delivered a large bowl of green salad for us to share.  It included chilled Romaine, finely sliced carrot and grated purple cabbage, tossed with a very tasty vinaigrette dressing.

Not long after our salads were finished, the steaks arrived.  In Mexico, the steaks are usually quite thin, but they're very tender and flavourful.  Simple steamed potatoes and caramelized onions were served alongside the steaks.

To accompany the main course, the waiter brought us some butter, sour cream and my absolute favourite - Chimichurri Sauce.

There's nothing better than a fire grilled, medium rare steak with a drizzle of Chimichurri.  We'll definitely be going back to Soley whenever I get a hankering for Chimichurri & Rib Steak. 

I make Chimichurri a lot, and everyone loves it.  I have never seen it in stores, and it's rarely served in restaurants down here or back home.

So I think maybe I should be going into the Chimichurri Sauce business - or not.

More of Escaramuzas Charras

Many of the people who own carnicerias (butcher shops) in the area are involved with horses and participate in rodeos.  The men have become charros and teach their sons, at an early age, to also become charros. And the the mothers are charras who teach their daughters at a young age to become charras.  

Look at the very small girl, in full costume (third from the left) riding on her mother's lap in the next photo.

Yesterday I was talking with Carmen at the Carniceria in Guayabitos, and I asked her the age of the youngest escaramuza charra who participated in Sunday's event.   She told me the youngest girl was twelve and the ages ranged from twelve to fifty.  The fifty year old being Carmen, herself.  

I told Carmen, I was really surprised that either a twelve year old girl or a fifty year old woman would have the stamina to ride and participate in some of the more difficult maneuvers.

Carmen obviously loves participating in these events, because over the next month or two, her group from La Peñita, will be performing in Bucerias, Sayulita, Compostela and Tepic.  She did admit that Sunday's event was hard on her and she was sick, the next day, because it had been so hot and humid in the arena.   I hate to say this, but it only gets hotter from here on.

All these determined charras rode side saddle on their horses for hours in that dusty arena, wearing layers and layers of tight fitting costumes.   

And young charros were constantly watering down the ground in an attempt to keep the dust down. 

On Sunday, I watched as many of the charras finally got to dismount their horses and join their family and friends in the audience.  They were obviously hot, fatigued and very, very thirsty.

Here are a few more photos taken at the event:

 

Escaramuzas Charras

This past Sunday, we went to see the Escaramuzas Charras perform in the the arena in La Peñita.

Escaramuzar is a verb which means "to skirmish and Charras is a noun which means "Mexican horsewomen in traditional dress", so Escaramuzas Charras are Mexican horsewomen who skirmish.  

Before the event, Escaramuzas Charras from La Peñita, Tepic, Bucerias, Compostela and Sayulita gathered at the back of the arena and climbed onto their horses sidesaddle.  They were dressed in elegant charra outfits and sat proudly on their horses.

Before the competition started, all the teams entered and paraded around the arena.

     
A youth band from one of the area's private schools was also present. 

We were happy to see that Arnie and Mary's three boys, Brian, Christian and Jose are members of the band.

  

































Hundreds of people from La Peñita and surrounding areas came to cheer on the Charras.

We arrived early and awhile later, I spotted Ron and Simone in the crowd on the other side of the arena.

During the competition, the charras wove their galloping horses through dangerous, high speed, formalized steps with grace and precision.

At times the charras put their horses through skirmishes as heart stopping as the revolutionary era skirmishes for which they are named.

Here are some photos of the charras as well as some of the people and animals in the audience.