Baja California
(Calabaceados)

Hernán Cortés is currently considered the conqueror of the peninsula, although the first European to land on what is now the Baja California peninsula was the Spanish pilot and navigator Fortún Jiménez, who, in command of the ship Concepción, whose skipper was Hernán Cortés, sighted and visited the peninsula in 1534, which he thought was an island.
 
They entered the Gulf of California and visited on the outward and return voyage the abandoned town of Santa Cruz, known today as La Paz. They arrived at the northern end of the Gulf of California on September 28, at what is known today as the mouth of the Colorado River and called the mouth of the river "Ancon de San Andres".
 
On January 16, 1952, the Northern District of Baja California ceased to be a federal territory to become the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, made up of 4 municipalities: Ensenada, Mexicali, Tecate and Tijuana.

"El Calabaceado" is a traditional dance rooted in the State of Baja California, whose origin comes from the time of the mining boom in El Real de Castillo and the flourishing of cattle in our state. It was born from the activities of the cowboys and the imitation that they made of the cattle. 

It was settled in the Arroyo del Sáuz (El Aserradero Viejo), in the Ejido Sierra de Juárez, Municipality of Ensenada where the traditional Fiesta del Ejido Sierra de Juárez is celebrated, the second week of July, during this celebration, the whole community dances it.

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There are dancers who stand out because they develop great skill and accentuate the strength of the dance while showing great flexibility in executing the basic steps: kicks, cruzados, caballos, punteados, and specifically the "calabaceado" or rehilete, which is in itself the step that identifies this traditional Baja California dance.

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Dancing calabaceado among the cowboys, regardless of the competition that takes place in the contests, implies challenging "whoever is in front of you" to be recognized as the best and demonstrate supremacy, especially if you won in some luck in the jaripeo and, if on the contrary, you lost, but the rider is a good dancer, you get even by dancing, performing stronger than ever, to win a standing ovation as a prize.