Travel Chile - Visit a Chilean Rodeo in Santiago

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• published: 12 May 2010
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Meet the Chilean cowboy and learn what makes the Chilean Rodeo unique. Right now we are in Pirque, a little countryside inside the city limits of Santiago. And what we are going to see is a typical national rodeo. The Chilean cowboys hold a lasso, now he has to have his own horse, his hat sombrero, the jacket polainas and his spurs or espuelas. This is an essential park of the huaso outfit, it is the estribo, it is hand part, and it has always made of one piece of wood. Each huaso has its own. The contest works like this: two huasos work in a team to push the bull against the wall, depending on how and where they push the bull against the wall, they are awarded a different amount of point, the most you can get is thirteen points, you lose points for any mistake. The rodeo stadium is called the media luna, literally half moon, and you can find it all over the whole Chile. Wow, this is really exciting! Just to watch them control the horses and the bull, this is the exciting part, when they come right next to you. The rodeo is great fun for the whole family, but be warned, you will see a lot of bull get shaved violently against the wall. Right now, I am outside the media luna where you can find a stand to find everything you need to be an authentic Chilean huaso. This is a typical Chilean saddle, it is handmade each and every piece and you can find them as I said, outside of each rodeo. Right here we have mantas, natural sheep wool dyed in tree fiber. This is another necessity for the Chilean huaso, these are the spurs. These are antique, they are over a hundred years old, look at the craftsmanship. How long it takes to make this children chupalla? A day? A week? No. It takes a whole month of handwork. The rodeo lasts all day, but there is a break for lunch, where you can enjoy typical Chilean food anywhere near by. It is really hard to believe that we are only forty five minutes away from down town Santiago. You can get to Pirque on public transportation or a cab. Rodeo stay place all year around on weekends, but their locations change so ask before you go. Now I am really excited because the next round up is my husband. I am Helia Goodman showing you Santiago.