Subject: vaquero cowboy
Culture: northern Mexican mestizo
Setting: cattle drives, northern Mexico / western United States mid-18th-early 19thc
Object: traje costume = sombrero hat, sarape serape blanket, chaqueta jacket, camisa shirt, tapaderas chaps
Cavender's Hat Collection *
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* Espuela de Oro
* Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum > Opportunity
"Sombrero, ca. 1824 Enrique Guerra, San Vicente Ranch, Linn
This sombrero was worn by a vaquero and is affixed with a toquilla (hat band).
The initials 'YO' are embroidered with silver thread and could indicate either the ranch brand or the ranch owner."
"Riding coat, ca. late 1700s-early 1800s Enrique Guerra, San Vicente Ranch, Linn
This coat shielded the arms and legs of vaqueros from tree branches and brush as they worked on their ranches.
It is made of leather with a cotton lining in the torso and leather ties extending from the collar area."
* Hall of State at Fair Park > Shared Border: An Exhibit of Tex-Mex Culture
"Though popularly considered American, the traditional cowboy began with the Spanish tradition, which evolved further in what today are Mexico and the Southwestern United States into the vaquero of northern Mexico. While most hacendados (ranch owners) were ethnically Spanish criollos, many early vaqueros were Native Americans trained to work for the Spanish missions in caring for the mission herds. Vaqueros went north with livestock. In 1598, Don Juan de Oñate sent an expedition across the Rio Grande into New Mexico, bringing along 7000 head of cattle. From this beginning , vaqueros of mestizo heritage drove cattle from New Mexico and later Texas to Mexico City. Mexican traditions spread both South and North, influencing equestrian traditions from Argentina to Canada."
* National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum
* Fort Worth Museum of Science and History > Cattle Raisers Museum
"SOMBRERO, 1920s
Wool, horsehair, leather, dye
The sombrero usually has a high crown, and an extra wide brim which is broad enough to cast a shadow over the head, neck, and shoulders of the wearer for much needed shade, and a chin string to hold it in place." ...
