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For the next two weeks, Denver is a cowboy town.

There aren’t many times the cowboys and city dwellers can interact, but the 114th annual National Western Stock Show blends entertainment, education and tradespeople for all of Colorado to enjoy.

Starting on Jan. 9 with a parade that moseyed through Denver and continuing through Jan. 26, the stock show has become a staple in Colorado. With patrons coming from around the world to witness performances, eat tasty food and represent their history, cowboy culture will ride into the National Western Complex for another successful year.

“I love Denver,” Nicolas Diaz, 16, said as he strode past the stables after his performance in the 26th annual Mexican Rodeo Extravaganza on Jan. 12. “It’s a rush, you know, you’re there to entertain people but you’re also there to teach them something. It’s really special being able to represent my culture, not only doing it by myself but with my family.”

Diaz along with his father Gerardo “Jerry,” and mother Staci, have performed since he was a child. At three-years-old, Diaz would wave from the back of his father’s horse, Grano De Oro, to the crowds of observers. In 2020, the stock show proved to be an opportunity for the 16-year-old and his mother to shine and their unbreakable bond to be presented.

“We work many hours at home training the horses, practicing together,” Diaz said. “We work on a routine, and sometimes routines just don’t go how you’d think they would because, well, you’re riding an animal. We look at each other and we say ‘okay.’ We know how to play it off and look good but it’s very special performing everywhere I perform with my father and my mother, all together. And it is just an amazing feeling, you know, to be embraced by your culture and with your family at the same time.”

Due to its grand pageantry, the Mexican Rodeo has become a major part of the stock show. For Diaz, the event is more than just entertainment. There is always an element dedicated to educating people on the charro, or Mexican cowboy, culture.

“We show the Mexican charro culture in its raw form. So, what they really do in Mexico to brand cattle to rope them to do different things,” Diaz said. “The Mexican culture spans back many centuries. A lot of the cowboys got their ideas of how to rope, ride and how to train horses from the Mexican people.”

The stock show gives the Diaz family an opportunity to travel around North America to spread their culture and the word of the charro.

In iconic fashion, there are two things that a charro needs: a hat and his horse. A charro’s horse takes a lot of work and dedication to train — horse training being a career that Diaz said he would want to do if rodeo wasn’t his current occupation.

“When we’re not traveling and we just settle down for a little bit, my dad takes horses and he trains them for people. That’s something that I would like to do,” Diaz said. “It’s really cool to take a horse from nothing, taking a wild animal, and taming it down for your benefit and for the world to enjoy.”

Diaz has spent his entire life on horseback and a change doesn’t appear to be on the horizon. With performances in Fort Worth and Canada next on the Diaz’ agenda, it is be time to saddle up again.

Even without a horse, a charro or cowboy is more than a man in a hat.

“It’s not being afraid to be all by yourself in the middle of nowhere,” said Western Tradition hatmaker Jim McDonnell. “Cowboy culture is a little more conservative and we’re more patriotic than other cultures.”

White or tan? Straw or felt? The hat a cowboy bears is more than just an accessory ­— it’s a necessity, according to McDonnell.

As customers would pick their hat, McDonnell would use a steamer to mold the hat by hand and little by little the raw felt transformed into the iconic high-crowned, wide-brimmed shape of a cowboy hat.

“Every piece of the cowboy gear was very important and useful, because he was on a horse, and a horse can only travel so far with so much weight,” McDonnell said. “That made the lightweight design of the cowboy hat useful.”

The hatmaker donned a black felt hat he said helps absorb the sweat after a long day in the sun, as opposed to a straw hat that is a little cheaper and doesn’t last as long. But at the end of the day, McDonnell says that he doesn’t discriminate on the hat someone chooses.

As the stock show pushes on, it can be hard to miss the families strolling through the aisles. The stock show has always had a generational aspect with the trade, rodeo and breeding sections of the event.

Owner of the Alberta-based Northline Reds cattle farm, Howard Schneider, has been attending the stock show since 1982. His children followed close in toe.

“My whole family grew up ranching and raising cattle. Now, I have three daughters and two sons and four out of my five kids are raising cattle and bringing them to shows,” Schneider said. “My other son’s a comic book artist — it’s kinda the exact opposite.”

The cattleman lives in Canada while his children reside in Texas, but all except for the artist made an appearance at the stock show for the same cow-related purpose.

“There’s lots of history in Denver. The show has people from all over the world, not North America, come to look at cow genetics,” he said. “It really is a big industry.”

The stock show is bringing the tradespeople, charros and country folk to the big city and it is here to stay.

If you liked this story, read more from Brady Pieper here.

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