Coloradan explains the history of vaqueros and how they inspired cowboy culture

Cowboys are part of the rich tapestry that makes Colorado…Colorado. Along with beautiful views, excellent skiing and good food.

The popular image of the cowboy is that of a rugged American man bringing justice to the Old West. But cowboys and cowboy culture were inspired by a mix or two of even older cultures that collided in Colorado and the Southwest.

“It’s a beautiful, wonderful, profound story,” said Angel Vigil, a historian who wrote the book about Vaqueros.

But before all of this, across the West, were Native Americans. When these people encountered Spanish colonizers, the first cowboys were born.

The Spanish brought horses and cattle and mixed with the indigenous people who were already here. They also taught them the Andalusian art of working with large animals.

“Nine hundred years of knowledge about working with large animals in open spaces,” Vigil said.

They were called vaqueros and formed their own society before English speakers arrived west of the Mississippi River.

“They love the land they work on, they love the animals they work with, and they love the people they work with with real, simple, fundamental values,” Vigil said.

But once English speakers got here, the vaquero became a legend.

“They wrote these highly fictionalized romanticized adventure tales. Dime novels. They sent them back East. Suddenly the world was aflame with this image. The greatest image America has ever exported,” Vigil said.

He says if you pay attention, the link between the Mexican vaquero and the American Cowboy is obvious.

“Every single thing. Ranch and cowboy culture, the type of clothes to wear, the tools to use, the language to use,” Vigil said. “The word rodeo comes from the Spanish word ‘rodear,’ which just means to gather in a circle.”

Angel even says that John B. Stetson was inspired to create his famous hat by vaqueros and their sombreros that protected them from the sun.

“So he comes here. All the men wear the wrong hat. It was post-Civil War, they had the soldier’s hat or they have what I call the Gabby Hayes hat, a slouch hat. Just a rag on top of your head.” But the vaqueros had the right hat, wide brim, shade on the face, high crown, air circulation,” said Vigil.

He says the modern cowboy is the natural result of what happens when cultures collide.

Just as Native Americans and Spanish settlers became Mexican vaqueros… vaqueros became cowboys. No matter what you call them, Vigil says we owe them a lot.

“Why is there Gene Autrey? Why are there hamburgers? Why is there McDonalds? Why do we have a football team called the Broncos? The answer to all of this is that the Spanish brought all the horses and all the cattle,” Vigil said. .

If you want to read more about vaqueros you can find more on the Vigil website.

Latest news on Hurricane Milton after storm makes landfall and moves through Florida

Mayor of Sebring, Florida details initial damage assessments of Milton

Hurricane Milton makes landfall as Category 3 storm near Siesta Key, Florida