After 5 long days on the road, the boys and I arrived in the small town of La Libertad. We were tired and ready for a two day rest!
After talking to some locals I found a ranch to rest the ponies. A really nice family offered their pasture for the ponies to rest and invited me to a horse race. I was pretty tired but it’s hard to say no when they are so excited to take you around.
We jumped in their truck and drove to a nearby town called Santa Ana. There we were welcomed by a sea of vaqueros and vaqueras who were enjoying the county fair.
“There will be some amazing races here today,” Carlos Emilio told me.
The 20-year-old loves racehorses just like his dad. Carlo’s father was a jockey at the age of 13 and was one of the first in the region to start working with horse racing. Today the state of Peten is addicted to the events which draw horses and people from all over Guatemala and even Mexico.
As I sat on top of the stage filming the races, the announcer gave me a very warm welcome to Guatemala.
“To the Brazilian Vaquero here with us today, Guatemala welcomes you with open arms as you continue your horseback trip home,” he said over the loud speakers as people clapped.
After watching 7 races we made our way to an arena for a bullriding. The stands were packed with people so we sat on top of the wooden corral around the arena, which was also full of people. Riders from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and even Brazil were put to the test on some gnarly bulls. The crowd went nuts with every ride. It was exciting to see how much they got into it.
Unfortunately, our night was cut short when 4 shots were fired in the air. Apparently a discussion broke out about one of the races and this was a way to put and end to it.
Here in Guatemala, if you have a permit you can carry a hand gun around with you. So, almost every male does. At the race I saw a lot of people with guns shoved into the back of their pants, belts and gun holsters. It is a little intimidating, especially at a place where blood boils so easily like a horserace.
