00:01Cuando estén en el hombro, Sammy,
00:03¿qué?
00:03¿Qué?
00:04¿Qué?
00:06¡Alto!
00:14Pregúnteme si quieren entrenar solas
00:15y ustedes se dirigen.
00:17No.
00:20Entonces,
00:21si yo digo es azul, es azul y calladitas,
00:24y lo corrigen.
00:31Just look at me.
00:33Yes.
00:35Think small.
00:36I'm in Zacatecas,
00:38a historical capital city
00:39in the center of Mexico.
00:43It's a hotbed for charo fashion,
00:45where stylish cowgirls and rodeo kings alike
00:48are pouring in for the event of the year.
00:51The Nacional de Charteria Championship
00:53is the Super Bowl of Charteria,
00:56Mexico's national sport.
00:57It's a raucous, month-long rodeo.
01:00But amidst the chaos of dancing ropes
01:03and stomping hooves,
01:04there is one display
01:06that's impossible to miss.
01:10Esqueramuza.
01:11It's the only event
01:12that's exclusively for women.
01:14It's a high-stakes ballet on horseback,
01:17like synchronized swimming,
01:18but at 15 miles an hour.
01:22It's also one of the only sports
01:25that scores you on what you're wearing.
01:26Regulations mandate heavy sombreros,
01:29puffy sleeves,
01:30and ankle-skimming headlines.
01:32Details rooted in Mexican tradition.
01:35But this year,
01:36more teams than ever
01:38are coming from the United States.
01:42I'm here to follow two of them.
01:44That was cool.
01:45One, seasoned champs from California.
01:47We've been practicing week after week.
01:50One ride, let's give it our all.
01:52The other, underdogs from Illinois.
01:54You look a little bit too fluffy.
01:57Yeah, I feel like I might look too fluffy too.
01:58At a time when straddling the border
02:00feels nearly impossible.
02:02Your staff is using Spanish to customers.
02:05It should be being very wise.
02:07It's America.
02:08And Mexico has been the target of ire
02:10from the highest seat of US politics.
02:13Do you have papers?
02:14Do you have papers?
02:15What does it mean to double down on your heritage
02:18when lots of people are telling you to leave it behind?
02:24I'm not sure if I'm more Mexican
02:26or if I'm more American.
02:27I'm kind of like in between.
02:32I have to be able to relate to both,
02:35to being Mexican,
02:36and then also bounce back from that idea
02:38and relate to being American.
02:43An hour outside of Chicago,
02:45an unexpected community is formed.
02:48Over the past three decades,
02:50this predominantly white Midwestern suburb
02:52has become a home for Mexican Americans,
02:54who now make up nearly 30% of its population.
02:58I've been living in Illinois for the past 90 years.
03:01This is the only other place besides Mexico that I know.
03:05I do the same thing over and over throughout the week.
03:08I just study in the morning,
03:10work in the afternoons,
03:11and then in between,
03:12I find time to make it to Escalamosa.
03:15Nineteen-year-old Marea moved here
03:17when she was 10 years old.
03:19She works at a local Boost Mobile store
03:21while pursuing a bachelor's degree in business education.
03:24Her drive for the American dream came from her father.
03:29My dad and I were really close.
03:33He trains horses.
03:35He lives with horses.
03:37Nearly a decade ago,
03:39Marea's father packed up their family
03:41and fled from Mexico,
03:42where it became too dangerous to work as a rancher.
03:45Now, he's legally seeking asylum in the U.S.
03:48He holds two full-time jobs
03:50trying to rebuild all that he worked for back home.
03:54They built a life here,
03:56but it wasn't easy.
04:02It was a really big shock.
04:04When my family and I moved here,
04:07we didn't know anything of the culture, the language.
04:11This is something that's from my personal experience,
04:13but I've noticed that for a lot of immigrant families,
04:15they rely on the kids a lot.
04:16I guess until this day,
04:18I'm like my parents' personal translator for everything.
04:23It is a huge deal for me to be able to go to
04:26Des Nacional en Zacatecas.
04:28I am not only going for the sport.
04:30I'm also going because I will be able to reunite with my family there.
04:34The last time that I went to Zacatecas was in 2015,
04:37and that was the last time that I saw my grandma alive.
04:43So you're going to be the literal bridge between your family in Illinois
04:46and your family in Mexico?
04:48Yeah, yeah, especially for my father.
04:51For legal reasons,
04:52Maria's dad is unable to make the trip to Mexico.
04:56Instead, she'll head down with her scrappy but mighty squad,
05:00Las Coronelas de Illinois.
05:02From the time that I remember,
05:03I've always wanted to become a Nascaramuza
05:06and to become this writer that I am today.
05:08I didn't really have the opportunity to make it happen
05:12if it weren't for my dad,
05:14because he's the one that made that grow inside of me.
05:18Ahead of nationals,
05:20Las Coronelas patched together resources.
05:24A borrowed barn.
05:26Horses from various farms.
05:28A few hours in the dark after school and work,
05:31in order to prepare.
05:34We're called Coronelas.
05:37It describes a strong woman,
05:39not necessarily physically,
05:41but strong woman mentally and driven.
05:48Across the country in California,
05:53Real de Valle has a secret weapon.
06:03Frené is one of Esqueramuza's most respected coaches.
06:07She's Mexican, from Tijuana,
06:09but coaches teams from both sides of the border.
06:12Control the circle! Control the circle!
06:14With a fierce approach to the sport,
06:16and a knowledge of what it takes to win,
06:19Frené's brought 14 different teams to the championships.
06:22A me no me gusta tener gente conmigo sin disciplina.
06:27Por medio de la disciplina que yo manejo dentro del ruedo,
06:33les ayudo muchísimo.
06:35Es un deporte donde viven bajo disciplina.
06:37While outside the ring,
06:39many immigrants are told they must speak English.
06:43Inside the arena,
06:44Frené insists that her writers speak only in Spanish.
06:48¿Cómo en español?
06:51¿Cómo en español?
06:53Oh my God.
06:57It can feel dangerous to celebrate being Mexican,
07:00just with what's going on in the United States right now.
07:02In that way,
07:04do you feel like you're doing something
07:05to make these women more brave
07:06and more courageous about their identities?
07:08Yo digo que sí se aporta porque el practicar la charrería,
07:13y más en Estados Unidos,
07:15te engrandece y te da una seguridad como mexicano
07:18para poder abrirte todas las puertas,
07:21quitarte todas las barreras y no temerle a nada.
07:25Por la seguridad que te da el deporte de la charrería
07:28practicar en Estados Unidos.
07:30Above all, Chartería has given Marea
07:32a sense of confidence as a Mexican American.
07:35Confidence that she'll need to compete back
07:37in her hometown of Zacatecas.
07:41Out of 114 teams that are gearing up
07:44to compete in Zacatecas,
07:45only 16 have qualified from the United States.
07:49But in order to ride,
07:50their outfits must still be traditionally Mexican.
07:54They're called Adelita dresses.
07:56Behind the frills and petticoats
07:58is a history of bravery and battle.
08:01The Adelitas were a group of women
08:04who fought during the Mexican Revolution in 1910,
08:07a time when women weren't expected to ride,
08:10let alone assist in battle.
08:11Today, these women are honored in both the uniform itself
08:15and through the spirit of the sport.
08:20The team sources their uniforms
08:22from a legendary local seamstress, Rosario.
08:25Each dress is completely custom
08:28and can run up to $350 a pop.
08:31Did you choose the colors of the flowers specifically?
08:35No, we actually got the design off of Pinterest.
08:44Just an hour outside of Zacatecas City,
08:47but worlds away from the stress of competition,
08:50a long-awaited reunion is taking place.
08:54By visiting her grandfather's ranch,
08:56Mireya has an opportunity to reconnect with her family.
08:59It's a moment she's been waiting for for years
09:02and one few working-class immigrants get.
09:14It's here, with her grandfather,
09:17that Mireya first discovered her love for writing.
09:29Yes, they trusted her.
09:30Yes, they trusted her.
09:31Yes, they trusted her.
09:31And now I'd like to go with that,
09:35because I bought it for her.
09:38Yes, it's good.
09:40I wish her very good luck
09:42and it'll go well.
09:46Here we go.
10:06It's 10 p.m. the night before the performance, and Frené's team is practicing in the dark.
10:11The power in the arena has gone out, forcing them to work on final adjustments by headlight.
10:17While most teams would be in bed by now, resting up before their big show,
10:20Frené will work Real de Valles until each move is perfect.
10:35It's competition day.
10:37The Real de Valles and Coronelis base camps are buzzing.
10:41Have you worn these dresses before?
10:43We wore them once for our first state competition.
10:47These are lucky dresses then.
10:48Let's hope so.
10:57We need to prove ourselves that we didn't just get here because the judges were being easy.
11:02Yeah, this is all horse sweat.
11:04Horse sweat?
11:05But some of that's red.
11:07Yep.
11:07What's that?
11:08Oh, I think I feel Kool-Aid on it.
11:12It's raining.
11:16It's raining.
11:26You're gonna have to fix my dress.
11:34No, please.
11:48If the girls are out of sync, if they spin when they're supposed to slide, if their
11:53bows don't match, points will be deducted.
11:58And with each decimal point, the dream of making the semifinals and of more time here
12:03in Zacatecas goes with it.
12:06The odds are stacked against the American teams.
12:14And the stakes are especially high.
12:19The California squad storms in, looking to make a name for Real de Valles.
12:25Frené's frontrunners look like they're masters at work, but Frené looks worried.
12:49With one U.S. team on shaky ground, the pressure mounts for Illinois.
12:55I'm feeling really excited and nervous.
12:57My family from the ranch, from La Gavia, they are here.
13:01And so I think that's also part of my excitement.
13:18It's on.
13:26Charging through the arena like true warriors, Las Coronelis and Illinois are poised, powerful
13:32and in control.
13:35As I watch them spin in layers of crinoline, visions of Adelitas from centuries ago, it occurs
13:41to me that today, this sport and its pageantry really tells a story about the grace and bravery
13:47of these women who dedicate their lives to it.
13:52On top of their horses, in these dresses, Esqueramuzas like Mireya are proudly announcing
13:58who they are and where they belong.
14:02Ever since the elections, I do feel that wearing an Esqueramuza dress is more than just wearing
14:07team gear, it's more like sending a message and proving that I am proud of being Mexican-American.
14:20Their team captain must meet with a panel of judges to review their performance.
14:25Outside, Las Coronelas wait for the final verdict.
14:31up Chicago.
14:36Ok, you guys want to hear it?
14:38Yes.
14:40294.66.
14:41Noo!
14:44It's actually really fun!
14:47You're a bug, you're a bug, you're a bug.
14:52I'm texting my dad our scores.
14:55I'm really, really happy.
14:56We all doubted ourselves because we were in a whole different country, different arena, horses.
15:04As the second highest scoring team from the United States,
15:07Las Coronelas' time in Mexico validates their place in this sport
15:11and in a country many used to call home.
15:13One, two, three.
15:23I'm really proud to consider myself an Esqueramuza.
15:27I feel honored to wear and conserve the tradition.
15:30Just like the uniforms, Esqueramuza is a bold sport.
15:34It takes courage, grace and dedication.
15:37It tells the world who you are and where you came from.
15:47Thank you for watching our style out there.
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