In this sweeping and candid photographic portrait series, “Escaramuza: The Poetics of Home,” Constance Jaeggi traces the connections between contemporary Mexican American women’s equestrian performance and historical female soldiers of the Mexican Revolution.
The national sport of Mexico, charrería, Mexican rodeo, romanticizes the horseman—el charro— as both gentleman and cowboy, and a hero of the revolution. Female competitors are escaramuza charra, based on soldaderas, women freedom fighters, and patterned after the legendary Adelita, Pancho Villa’s soldier-sweetheart, a beautiful maiden who took up arms to fight alongside him. Contemporary escaramuzas charras must navigate the mythology of the extreme feminine and reality of fearless horsemanship in the arena.
In the masculine world of charrería escaramuza charra is the singular exception. During an eight-hour charreada of men’s events, there will likely be only one ten-minute escaramuza performance. Escaramuzas participate as a team, riding sidesaddle in vivid, Victorian-era dresses, gracefully executing intricate choreography set to mariachi music. Their riding is a dazzling display somewhere between ballet and mounted cavalry maneuvers. Cruces y remolinos, el abanico, la punta—the art of escaramuza is their whirling and weaving, their knife-edge timing and precision amid a festival of color. The word escaramuza translates to “skirmish,” a reminder of the contentious space these women occupy: the demure beauty of señoritas and the boldness of warriors.
Artist Constance Jaeggi collaborates with award-winning Los Angeles poet Angelina Sáenz and Texas Poet Laureate Ire’ne Lara Silva to offer a rare view into the world of escaramuza charra and the women behind the pageantry and costumes. Pairing intimate photographs of the escaramuzas with poetry and interviews, the exhibition provides a sensory feast for viewers that is lyrical and revealing. These collected images and stories create a constellation of women riders of all ages and sizes, from across the United States, giving viewers a glimpse of the real work behind the scenes, the camaraderie between teammates, the strength of family legacies, and a commitment to cultural heritage that is beyond borders.
Running throughout the exhibition is the stark agrarian landscape of cattle ranches and the lavish feminine trappings of the escaramuza, that curious mix of roughness and elegance at the root of this tradition.
The result is a compelling narrative, a story of women reimagining and reshaping the identity of the escaramuza charra, pushing boundaries to broaden a space for their artistry and the labor of love, showing the steel beneath the ribbons and lace.
Marcela Fuentes, Ph.D, author and professor, TCU
Artist Bios
ire’ne lara silva, the 2023 Texas State Poet Laureate, is the author of five poetry collections, furia, Blood Sugar Canto, CUICACALLI/House of Song, FirstPoems, and the eater of flowers, two chapbooks, Enduring Azucares and Hibiscus Tacos, a comic book, VENDAVAL, and a short story collection, flesh to bone, which won the Premio Aztlán. ire’ne is the recipient of a 2021 Tasajillo Writers Grant, a 2017 NALAC Fund for the Arts Grant, the final Alfredo Cisneros del Moral Award, and was the Fiction Finalist for AROHO’s 2013 Gift of Freedom Award. Most recently, ire’ne was awarded the 2021 Texas Institute of Letters Shrake Award for Best Short Nonfiction. ire’ne is currently a Writer at Large for Texas Highways Magazine and is working on a second collection of short stories titled, the light of your body.
https://irenelarasilva.wordpress.com/
Angelina Sáenz is an award-winning educator and poet. She is a UCLA Writing Project fellow, an alumna of the VONA/Voices Workshop for Writers of Color and a Macondo Writer’s Workshop Fellow. Her poetry has appeared in venues such as Diálogo, Split this Rock, Out of Anonymity, Angels Flight Literary West, Every Other, Cockpit Revue Paris and The Acentos Review. Her debut book of poetry, Edgecliff, was released in December of 2021 with FlowerSong Press. Her second collection, Maestra, is forthcoming in December 2023 with Flowersong Press.
Constance Jaeggi is a Swiss photographic artist based in Fort Worth, TX.
Jaeggi has a bachelors degree from TCU, has studied at the New York Film Academy and most recently completed a Master of Art History and Art World Practice at Christie’s in London.
Jaeggi’s work focuses on the relationship between horse and human, in particular women. She uses horses as a backdrop for exploring themes of intimacy and identity, connection, and power dynamics.
Her work has been internationally exhibited and published. In 2021, she was shortlisted for the Critical Mass Awards. She has had two solo shows at the National Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth, TX and has been exhibited internationally in Rome and Venice, Italy and Zurich, Switzerland, and has been published notably by The Guardian and The Washington Post.
