Vaquero
The Mexican and Spanish horseback cattle herder whose skills shaped ranching across the Americas.
Also: vaqueiro, charro
Vaquero, from vaca, cow, is the Spanish word for a cattle herder on horseback. The tradition came with Spanish cattle and horses to Mexico in the sixteenth century, and vaqueros developed the saddle with a horn for roping, the rawhide reata and many handling methods later used by cowboys in Texas and California. In Mexico the charro is a finely dressed horseman, and charrería, the sport of riding and roping that grew from ranch work, was inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2016. In north-east Brazil the vaqueiro wears a suit of leather against the thorny scrub of the sertão.