Street fight culture persists in Puebla

Puebla, Mexico, made a triumphant return to the CONADE National Games in 2024, after a seven-year absence. The city's charrería delegation, led by teacher María Isabel Mezquita Balbuena, achieved a remarkable result, finishing on the podium of the national sport.

Contrary to popular belief, the Charrería cathedral is not mentioned to have been built in Puebla. However, charrería entered as an exhibition sport in the National Olympics in 2015, and Puebla's interest in the sport has been growing ever since.

In 2015, Mezquita Balbuena returned to the Union of Charro Associations of the State of Puebla and took on the challenge of preparing the Puebla delegation for the CONADE National Games. The Children's A team, in particular, made history by winning a silver medal in the female branch of charrería.

The success of the team was not a fluke. Most of the children in the Puebla delegation had years of competing in other categories and teams. The Youth category of Angelópolis won a bronze medal at the CONADE Nationals in the discipline of charrería in 2016, but the contact between charrería and the Poblano Institute of Sport (INPODE) was lost due to a change of government and Mezquita Balbuena leaving her position.

Despite having only four months to prepare as a team, the Puebla delegation managed to achieve a satisfactory result. The winning team executed skills such as horse reining, lassoing on foot, and tailing, demonstrating their mastery of the sport.

The Children's B team of Puebla also made a significant impact, positioning itself in the national ranking as one of the nine best teams in the country. Unfortunately, there are no relevant search results available that identify Maria Isabel Mezquita Balbuena or specify the year she returned to support Charrería and the skirmish at the Poblano Instituto de Deporte.

It is worth noting that the 16 surfers from Oaxaca were not mentioned to have been favorites of the 2024 CONADE National Games, and Oaxaca is not mentioned to have hosted the games. Furthermore, the 2021 Conade National Games are not mentioned to have included charrería or surfing as part of the games in Puerto Escondido.

Seven years passed without any approach to INPODE until 2024, but with the success of the charrería delegation, it is clear that Puebla's passion for the sport is stronger than ever. The practice of charrería is divided into 10 skills, called so because the success of the execution largely depends on the animal. As the sport continues to grow in popularity, it is exciting to see what the future holds for charrería in Puebla and beyond.

Street fight culture persists in Puebla