LOS ANGELES -- On Saturday afternoon, drivers passing through South El Monte experienced a slowdown in traffic unusual for suburban L.A. County, when more than 100 horseback riders paraded through the streets to celebrate the equestrian lifestyle and urge protection for rural areas.
The mainly Latino and Latina riders from across the San Gabriel Valley wore traditional Mexican boots and gear, including sombreros and cowboy hats. They brought their horses from their homes and nearby stables. Some made their horses dance to banda music played by musicians sitting in the back of a pickup truck that slowly wove between the procession.
The cabalgata, as these horse parades are called in Spanish, was not unlike many religious and festive processions that occur in rural areas of Mexico. But according to organizer Samuel Brown Vazquez, it was the first time that the communities of South El Monte, Pallisier Village and Avocado Heights — which meet up around the intersection of the 60 and 605 freeways — came together for such a procession, albeit with a different take on the tradition.
