History Comes Alive Festival

From antebellum America to the Golden West, from the world of Nazi Austria to the world of American pop music, we have an image of these times, these people. On the Chautauqua stage, we will explore the truth of those images.

El Vaquero, the Spanish colonial cowboy, is a true American hero. He was the first cowboy to ride the open ranges and sleep under the stars, to tame the wild horses of the plains and deliver vast herds of cattle across great distances, and to master the basic and eternal cowboy skills: riding and roping.

Without the Spanish Vaquero there would be no John Wayne, no Annie Oakley, no rodeos, no Stetson cowboy hat, no cowboys singing around the campfire. The stories of El Vaquero explain the origins of the most powerful and enduring American myth: the cowboy on his horse, riding tall in the saddle, his self-reliant, independent spirit representing all that is good in the American character. The stories of El Vaquero are the stories of America.

Registration required.

*ASL interpretation provided.