I Almost Chose the Lowriders. Instead, I Found a Jaripeo.
There was no shortage of things happening around Las Vegas.
The Low Rider Super Show was happening. There was a Hispanic Heritage Festival. Events were happening in St. George. There was even a drag racing event in Northern California that would have made for an entirely different kind of Photo Side Quest.
My original plan was to split the day between a few different events and try to photograph as much as possible.
Then I found out about Jaripeo Fest, hosted by Rompiendo Entertainment in North Las Vegas.
And suddenly, I wasn’t so interested in splitting my day anymore.
A Different Side of Las Vegas
I’ve lived around Las Vegas long enough to know that there is a huge difference between the Las Vegas most visitors experience and the communities that actually make up the valley.
The Strip gets most of the attention. It’s bright, polished and designed to entertain millions of visitors.
But North Las Vegas tells a different story.
Jaripeo Fest was held in a heavily Hispanic community, and that immediately gave the event a completely different atmosphere. This wasn’t a tourist attraction designed to recreate Mexican culture for visitors.
It felt like a community gathering.
So I grabbed my cowboy hat, put on my boots and headed out with my cameras.
And yes — I felt a little bit like I was dressing for the occasion.
Starting With the Parade
The day started with the parade.
And what a parade it was.
People were dressed in traditional Mexican clothing and Aztec-inspired outfits. Mariachi music filled the streets. There were dancers, horses and, one of my favorite parts, beautifully trained dancing horses.
What made it especially interesting from a photography perspective was where the parade took place.
Instead of winding through some heavily commercialized part of Las Vegas, the procession moved through the surrounding neighborhood, right alongside people’s homes.
That completely changed the feeling of the experience.
There was something wonderfully ordinary about seeing something so colorful and celebratory happening in a residential neighborhood.
This wasn’t Vegas putting on a show.
This was a community celebrating together.
Then Came the Jaripeo
Later in the day, I came back for the main event.
The jaripeo.
For anyone unfamiliar with it, jaripeo is a traditional Mexican-style rodeo that includes bull riding and other equestrian traditions. The atmosphere is very different from the rodeo events I’ve photographed before.
There was music playing, food everywhere, people dressed up, and vaqueros moving around the grounds.
And then there were the horses.
I love horses, so naturally I was spending just as much time watching them as I was watching the bull riding.
As a photographer, this was exactly the kind of environment I enjoy.
People weren’t hiding from the camera.
The vaqueros were incredibly kind about having their photographs taken, and I found myself moving around looking for those little moments between the action — someone preparing a horse, a conversation between riders, a family enjoying the music, or someone simply having a good time.
It felt less like I was photographing an event and more like I had been temporarily invited into somebody else’s family gathering.
The Language Barrier
There was one small problem.
I don’t speak Spanish.
At all well, anyway.
So every time someone started talking to me in Spanish, I did my best to figure out what was happening and respond with whatever Spanish I could manage.
Let’s just say my photography skills are considerably better than my Spanish skills.
But that didn’t really matter.
A smile, a camera and a willingness to participate seem to go a long way.
I also ended up taking home a cowboy hat from Mexico as a souvenir, which felt like a pretty appropriate way to remember the day.
Choosing the Jaripeo
Would I have enjoyed photographing the Low Rider Super Show?
Absolutely.
I’ve photographed cars before, and the Lowrider scene is visually incredible.
But I’m glad I didn’t try to cram everything into one day.
The Jaripeo gave me something I wouldn’t have gotten from simply checking another event off a list.
It gave me an opportunity to experience a community.
And that’s one of the reasons I enjoy these Photo Side Quests so much.
I’m not necessarily looking for the biggest event or the most famous location.
I’m looking for something that gives me a reason to pick up the camera and explore.
Sometimes that’s a vintage market.
Sometimes it’s a rodeo.
Sometimes it’s a strange roadside attraction.
And sometimes it’s a Mexican jaripeo happening right here in North Las Vegas.
A Great Start to Hispanic Heritage Month
This was a pretty fantastic way to start Hispanic Heritage Month.
There was music, food, horses, rodeo, traditional clothing, dancing and, most importantly, community.
It also reminded me that some of the most interesting photography opportunities aren’t necessarily the ones that show up on the biggest event calendars.
Sometimes you just have to put on your boots and go see what happens.
And this one definitely won’t be my last jaripeo.
Watch the full Photo Side Quest:
The Lowriders can wait.
For now, I’m glad I chose the jaripeo.
