“Los Cowboys” Sole Female Rider Ivette Saucido On Being An Urban Cowgirl
- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Created: Thursday, 09 June 2016 23:11
- Published: Friday, 10 June 2016 08:22
- Written by Lupe R Haas
“Los Cowboys” returns for a second season with new episodes moving to Univision.com from Hulu. CineMovie spoke to Ivette Saucedo, the only woman on the Los Angeles rodeo team of urban cowboys or “charros,” to talk about how she balances her aspirations of becoming a model and the equestrian sport of charreria, and fighting biases against women in the sport.
“Los Cowboys” follows a Los Angeles-based group of performing cowboys, referred to as “charros” who compete in one of Mexico’s oldest sport. The competitive sport is similar to the rodeo, except the performers are judged on style and art form in roping and riding rather than on a timer.
In season two of “Los Cowboys,” the group is falling apart as new priorities are demanding more time away from the ranch and riding. Ivette tells CineMovie she’s concentrating on her modeling career while two of the men are now fathers who are having a bit of a crisis in balancing their day jobs, charreria and families.
Ivette says another factor is complicating her life this season. Sauceda begins a relationship with Adrian on the show.
“You’ll see how I struggle with love, charreria and my career.”
Leaving charreria behind is tough for the only female in the group since her father taught her in the ways of the charro from an early age. Her father earned money for his impoverished family back in Mexico by riding horses for show, according to Saucedo. When he immigrated to Chicago, he fell in love with the sport and joined a local charreria. When he met his wife and had a family, there were no boys to pass on the tradition so he decided to teach his three young girls the art of riding.
“He was like, ‘Well, I don’t have anybody to do it, but my girls are going to do it, and they’re going to be the best at it.’”
Saucedo says its common for girls to join charrerias in the United States but rare in Mexico. While she hasn’t had any bad encounters during any Mexican competitions, she does get the occasional frown when their group shows up to compete. She surmises the real fear from the men is that a woman would be a much better charro than the any of the men there.
That may be the case in the new episodes when a charro from Mexico is introduced to “Los Cowboys.” Francisco "Popillo" Aramburo joins the group, and he comes with good credentials as a former charro for Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez’ team. While he brings expertise and helps the team, there’s a feeling of jealousy and rivalry from the others. “Popillo” also alienates Saucedo.
“He thinks I may be a little bit of a distraction.”
Saucedo says she keeps her distance and doesn’t come around the ranch as much. She’s focusing on her modeling career although she admits she gave up a Sprite commercial in order to compete in Mexico. During season two, you will see Saucedo unsuccessfully balance the two with more complications coming in the way of love. Her mom may have been right when she was told as a teen “you can’t do it all.” As a young girl, she wanted to ride horses and become a school cheerleader, but her mom insisted she couldn’t handle both and she had to pick one. She’s been riding horses and competing since then. She admits she often feels like she can have it all, but it’s not looking like it in season two.
Charreria will always be Ivette Saucedo’s first love. Even if she is no longer riding, she plans on passing on the tradition to her future children.
"One day I'll have kids and I'll have them do it too."
“Los Cowboys” Season 2 is currently airing on Univision.com with 10 new 30 minute episodes. Danny Trejo along with Chuy Bravo, Diego Herrera and William Valdés will make special appearances along with other must see surprises.