The first Maryland International Agriculture & Environment Conference was held at Rancho Los Magueyes in Odenton, Maryland, last month. Born of the relationship between agricultural professionals from Maryland, and its sister city, Jalisco, Mexico, the conference came complete with an authentic Mexican style lunch, Mariachi Band, and a Charreada — a traditional Mexican rodeo-like event that involves competitive equestrian classes.
Sister cities partner with each other to “promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation,” says Sister Cities International. Maryland has 14 sister city agreements in place, including the one with Jalisco.
Gerardo Martinez, a Mexican-American farmer from Anne Arundel County, and his wife Jessica Mendoza, were instrumental in partnering with the Maryland Department of Agriculture to host the conference.
“We created this conference as a way to highlight and share the amazing efforts when it comes to agriculture and the environment of Maryland and its international partners,” Martinez said. “As a secondary goal we wanted to inspire a new generation of farmers from the people who are tied to the conference culturally or intellectually. This year the focus was on Mexico, but every year we plan on focusing on a different country which is represented by the immigrant farming communities around Maryland.”
The conference was hosted at Rancho Los Magueyes, home of Gustavo and Maria Ortiz, who purchased the property five years ago. Avid equine enthusiasts, the Ortiz family raise and train horses for the Charreada, and have a herd of Black Angus cattle as well.
The most impressive aspect of the ranch was the new Charreada arena, known as a lienzo. Built for its grand opening to coincide with the first Maryland International Agriculture & Environment Conference, officials from both the Maryland Department of Agriculture and Mexico’s Department of Agriculture stood on the stage for the Charreada’s opening ceremonies.
The family and youth portion of the Charreada. A father rides bareback behind his young son in the saddle.
While the Charreada itself is a rodeo-like event that involves competitive equestrian classes, Charrería is known as the traditional culture that stems from the charreada, including the costumes, music, and food, at the event.
Brightly colored shirts, emblazoned with intricate stitching and embroidery were worn by the men, while the ladies of the escaramuza were stunning in bright pink dresses, with the skirts of the dress arranged just so over their saddles and mounts. Officially declared a national sport in Mexico, escaramuza is the all-female equestrian sport within charrería, where women ride as they perform amazing choreography at lightning speeds. There are two officially recognized escaramuza teams on the East Coast.
Working together, the conference and the Charreada were a great way for the two cultures of Maryland and Jalisco to come together and celebrate their agricultural communities.
“The Maryland International Agriculture and Environment Conference was successful in bringing the state of Jalisco and Maryland to discuss the ways we address environmental issues” said Steve Connolly, Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, who visited Jalisco last year. “Our agricultural communities have many things in common and we look forward to continued collaboration in the future.”
After the conference concluded, the Ortiz family held the first charreria to take place with an official Maryland team competing with others from around the country.
“It was so amazing that much of the local Latino community came out, that we decided to host the conference specifically on a different local Maryland farm every year,” Martinez said. “It really enhances the cultural aspect of the conference and pulls out the community.”
