From hípica to cabanha: Brazilian stable hands in different cultures and contexts

Abstract

In a country characterized by extreme social inequality, historically recent processes of industrialization and urbanization as well as rich popular equestrian traditions and culture, there is also an ample and modern equine economy which is just beginning to attract scholarly attention. Our chapter considers some of the emerging contrasts and contradictions of that economy and its sociocultural field, focusing on a group of workers whose often taken-for-granted labor makes its existence possible: stable hands. By examining stable hands in two different contexts- the formally organized, highly structured and largely feminized hípica, where classical equitation is enjoyed by elites, and the cabanha, a less formal environment that caters to and promotes 'traditionalist' equestrian practice, with a wider class base yet less female participation-we shed light on cultural diversity and conflict. We also engage with broad critical discussions on class, race and gender relations in the equestrian world, rural/urban reconfigurations and how work, leisure and sport are constructed in one contemporary Latin American society.