Eliseo Garcia, Jr. |
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Cowboy showman, James Barrera, will bring his flashy showmanship, lassos and whips to San Francisco's Candlestick Park where the last true "vaquero" in California will show off his roping, lasso and whip use skills. Scheduled to perform before the 49er-Raider exhibition game on August 20, 2011, Barrera will be joined by three other skilled vaqueros to perform during the half-time show.
Nothing could make Barrera happier, as he has been a feature performer at some of California’s most eclectic venues including the Monterey Cowboy Music & Poetry Festival; the Vida de Oro Folk Art Festival; the Crocker Art Museum’s 125th Anniversary celebration; and the San Francisco Fine Arts Institute Graduation Celebration.
James Barrera |
"I look forward to performing solo at the pre-game entertainment segment," says Barrera. "I will be showcasing some spectacular whip cracking routines before I'm joined by three of the state's greatest trick ropers."
Barrera's trick roping, whip cracking and storytelling skills have won him the respect and friendship of other working performers. Here’s what his peers say:
· Fiddling champion David Rainwater has dubbed him, “The Wildest cowboy in the West!”
“Jimmy is the best whip man in the business,” proclaimes Ernie Sites, nationally touring cowboy folksinger.
· “Intense, hot and very sexy!” raves Alberta Rivera, manager of San Francisco folk dance sensation, Cheyenne Danner. “When James starts cracking those whips, you can’t take your eyes off him. It’s pure macho fun!”
A Central Valley boy, born and raised, Barrera utilizes his unique abilities to tell long forgotten tales about the deep influences vaqueros carved into the California culture. With his quick wit and stage presence, he charms his audiences. While using his lasso to spin butterflies, he explores how the California vaqueros have shaped the image of the American cowboy, and the world-wide image of the American Wild West. While cracking his whips, he brings to life California folk legends such as Joaquin Murrieta and Tirburcio Vasquez. A third-generation Mexican-American, Barrera does not identify himself as a Mexican charro. Rather, he considers himself a California vaquero.
“Naturally, the vaquero, the romantic Mexican cowboy, is hyper ‘macho’ as tradition demands. But with James show, for the audience, the allure is the showcase of masculinity from a bygone era," says Alberta Rivera, a Bay Area Folkdance icon. "His lassoing and fancy trick roping skills are a living history show that appeal to cowboy aficionados and senoritas everywhere. He has refined his skills into a high quality family entertainment. Sure to conjure up iconic images and sounds of the Alamo; the movie Western – ‘Rio Bravo; and for those hopeless romantics out there -- Zorro! I call him -- ‘Sexy Zorro!”
Barrera’s skills can even be a seen over the internet on various MySpace and YouTube sites via Sacramento punk band Red Tape and promising young movie director Todd Wilber. Barrera is featured as a cowboy hero character in Red Tape’s 2007 "El Salvador" music video. Proving to be the baddest vaquero in the Central Valley, El Salvador uses his lasso and bullwhips to dispatch a gang of banditos. The two-and-a-half minute video is tribute to movie director Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi / Desperado movies.
Barrera is also scheduled to perform Saturday, August 13, 2011, at the annual Woodland Tomato Festival held at Freeman Park in Woodland, California.
For more information on cowboy trick roper and whip master, James Barrera, visit his web site at www.trickroperjm.com. For more information about the football event, visit www.49ers.com. For more information, go to: www.woodlandtomatofestival.com
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