Since 1925 the city of Tucson has welcomed the largest outdoor winter rodeo in North America; The La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, Tucson Rodeo. The surroundings have absolutely changed but it is not hard to imagine that the competition is very much the same as it was 92 years ago. Roping is roping, steer wrestling is steer wrestling, bronc and bull riding are still bronc and bull riding. And these are still professional cowboys, albeit a slightly different kind of professional. Unlike the past where the cowboy was an integral part of a ranch or farm, today’s cowboy is an athlete on the pro rodeo circuit where prize money can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars a season for a highly skilled individual. Beyond that the excitement is surely just as it was those many years ago.
I took in the rodeo on its opening day as part of a Canon Camera Photo Workshop which included a great BBQ lunch and a few rodeo-centric photo presentations. Also included was a location pass which would allow me to go just about anywhere I wanted to shoot the action. Now there was only one hitch, although the weather leading up to the event had been spectacular, this day was overcast and in the low 60’s with a 70% chance of rain…not typical at all! So after lunch and the presentations I set out to get the lay of the land and eventually worked my way over to the press area above the rodeo chutes where I was denied access and was told to try a second location. Much like the press area it was also a balcony perched over some of the chutes. This time I was allowed to proceed and it was the perfect spot to get some unique angles on the rodeo events. I was in place and ready for the start of the rodeo when I was approached by the only other person at this location. He asked me who I was with and explained that this was a restricted area and that the guard below had made a mistake in allowing me access but that I could stay for a while. Turns out the gentleman was Jose Calderon the CEO of the organization that puts on the rodeo, the Vaquero Club, so I was now there with the sanction of the highest authority! Also, fortunately for me, this was a covered area because the second that the rodeo got underway it poured and continued to rain for about ten minutes. Again the location, and now the weather, made for some interesting and unusual images of Arizona’s celebration of the cowboy.
