San Antonio Charro Association

We had a great time. First time taking my husband and kids and I haven't been since I was a kid. We will make it a yearly tradition. Everything is cash. Some vendors have cash app or card readers some don't so I would bring cash and then also use card as well. The vendors were great. The show was awesome. Couldn't stay too long it was very hot and crowded so we left after the beginning ceremony. We saw them in February for the rodeo. I liked it because it was indoors at the freeman collesium. So if you didn't catch him this past weekend for Fiesta then you can catch him at the rodeo I believe. My husband is an amateur photographer and got some great shots. He is getting a new camera so I can't wait to see what he takes next time for them 😁

Beautiful arena with very friendly people running it. I was there for Fiesta and it was full of people. I suggest bringing a seat cushion the seating area is concrete. Great event family friendly fun and the food was delicious.. onsite food sales for Fiesta! $20 per adult kids under 12 free. ATM on site because no cards are accepted. Over all good fun..looking forward to next year.

For Fiesta this place had “Charreada” the performance was amazing. Many of the events they had were beautiful, or required great skills and some things they did were dangerous but amazing. It was like a cultural Mexican Rodeo. Highly recommended to go see. The downside was not enough parking and everything required cash including entrance fee of $20 per person. Not having an ATM machine on site was really bad. They also did not allow vendors use of credit cards “cash only”. Not sure if the upper management of this event knew what they were doing.

Great show during Fiesta Sundays. Look at their site for other shows or practice. Beautiful Mexican ranching and horsemenship. Amazing to have this historical artform 10 min from downtown and have locals passing this down to future generations.

A very friendly venue and such a great place to celebrate Hispanic culture and Fiesta! The pageantry and majesty of the Charreada (The precursor to the Rodeo)was breathtaking. The Charros and all involved in the events were very friendly and extremely skilled on all they do! If ever in San Antonio I definitely recommend visiting for an event to get a feel for some of the major influence the Mexican culture has on this city and to get a taste of "Old Mexico" and Charro culture (an ancestor of the American Cowboy). The venue is small though so I advise you to get there early in order to get a good seat. Parking is limited too and fills up pretty quickly, so plan accordingly.

I feel compelled to mention a complaint and a compliment. Compliment: I visited for the first time on the last day of fiesta, Day in Old Mexico Fiesta San Antonio. The performances were great and the concessions were on point. I enjoyed a good , cultural experience. Complaint: Doors opened at 11M, the show started at 12pm, the intermission from 1-3pm! Yikes! I'm willing to bet the place was over maximum occupancy. To make things worse the design of the seating area is bad, totally uncomfortable. Imagine over-sized concrete stairs. I sat in the middle of the stadium-like seating. People sit at every row, but the person behind/above you has their feet on the platform you are seating on and so my feet were on the platform the person in front of me was sitting on, and so forth. This means you can't lean your back or stretch your legs! Unreal! However, the Official Rey Feo Court were seated in a special area where there was legitimate stadium seats, which were seated properly. The other spectators get cramed in uncomfortable seating. I enjoyed the show, but the seating accommodations will make me reconsider attending a future event.

I got there late. Was on a bike ride but heard the music and announcer for the charreada. Decided to check it out. Very impressed. Will definitely be back for a full show in the future. Received a friendly and informative welcome.

What a fantastic day at the inaugural Nortenofest! We're looking forward to attending many more and watching this event grow!

thoroughly enjoyed the last day of fiesta ! in previous reviews seating is somewhat limited, (we were there from 1-4p ) but it's all in the shade. Only Couple things could've left out. The mutton busting and grito calls: too many participants and disorganized, but everything else was great: The horses, the costumes. But the rodeo didn't start till after 3:30. ( they need to advertise this : if I had known, would've arrived a bit later) , but couldn't stay til 7p Vendors were great : food was delicious

It was our first time to go to this event and pat probably our last. The event is advertised as running from noon to 6pm. Yes, you can get in about 11:30am, park your car and grab a seat. Then wait a long time for anything to happen. You can watch them ready the grounds for the horses and riders. Makes you think the show is about to start. Not really. Too many gaps between the bits of entertainment. A few youngsters come out and take a few laps and bow to the crowd. We clap because what else do we have? Seating ran out very quickly with people asking 'is that spot saved'? Remember parking? There is no help upon entry. When we left, we had to wait for someone to leave because people had parked any which way, blocking all manner of folks. Very frustrating. As the whole event was. Many people left about the same time we left.

Viva Los Charros! Viva Fiesta! Viva Mexico! This place has its biggest events twice a year on the Sundays during Fiesta. But it does have an event every month or so. I've only been to the Fiesta event. This arena is quite reminiscent of the bullfighting arenas in Mexico. It's a circular arena with seats perpetually in the shade. They offer beautiful riding and Mexican Rodeo competitions. Mariachi bands belt out the hits, and gorgeously outfitted women dance vibrantly to the music. The whole Charro is actually a competition- they compete on the finer points of horse handling, by roping cattle, other horses, and swinging a lasso. The women compete on synchronized horse dancing. It's really a beautiful show, it's like the San Antonio Rodeo but with a Mexican twist. The parking is a bit difficult, so we parked down the street at Mission Park #2 just down the road. Seeing what a cluster!@$@ the parking can be, I recommend that you follow my cue on that one. The place was a bit cramped with all the people there, and seating is limited. The trick is that the place opens at 11:30 or noon, but things don't get going until 3p. You need to show up a bit early to get a good seat, but there's plenty of sitting around and waiting if you show up way early.

I gave this event two stars only because of the show which is basically comparable to any usual texan rodeo with riders in Mexican traditional clothes. For $20 a person, it is too steep for what you get out of this rather unnecessarily hyped up event. If you are lucky you might get a seat in what is a dilapidated small stadium. There were barely 6 stalls for food and that too seemed like people were selling out of their home kitchens. They don't even have decent decorations and had hand written signs on cardboards. All I am saying is go if you want to waste your money for nothing spectacular. There are probably other free events around town which might be worth your time and money.