The vaquero (Spanish pronunciation: [baˈkeɾo], Portuguese: vaqueiro [vaˈkejɾu]) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that originated on the Iberian Peninsula. Today the vaquero is still a part of the doma vaquera, the Spanish tradition of working riding. The vaquero traditions developed in Mexico from methodology brought to Mesoamerica from Spain also became the foundation for the North American cowboy.
The vaqueros of the Americas were the horsemen and cattle herders of Spanish Mexico, who first came to California with the Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino in 1687, and later with expeditions in 1769 and the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition in 1774. They were the first cowboys in the region.
In the modern United States and Canada, remnants of two major and distinct vaquero traditions remain, known today as the "Texas" tradition and the "Spanish", "Vaquero", or "California" tradition. The popular "horse whisperer" style of natural horsemanship was originally developed by practitioners who were predominantly from California and the Northwestern states, clearly combining the attitudes and philosophy of the California vaquero with the equipment and outward look of the Texas cowboy. The natural horsemanship movement openly acknowledges much influence of the vaquero tradition.
Inquisidor (Spanish for Inquisitor) is the current ring name of Juan Miguel Escalante Grande (born March 24, 1977 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) who is a Mexican luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) portraying a rudo ("Bad guy") wrestling character. Unlike most enmascarados Inquisidor's birthname is a matter of public record, often masked wrestlers in Mexico keep their private lives secret from the wrestling fans, but Inquisidor used to wrestle unmasked under the ring names Vaquerito ("Little Cowboy") and Vaquero ("Cowboy") .
Juan Escalante is the brother of a professional wrestler who works under the ring name Pólvora, the cousin of wrestlers Mictlán, Súper Nova, Texano Jr. and the nephew of El Texano.
Escalante started out wrestling in the Mini-Estrella division, which in Mexico is more than just midget professional wrestling exclusively for little people, but also includes a number of wrestlers who just happen to be short compared to the average. He competed under the ring name Vaquerito ("Little Cowboy") and worked primarily on the Mexican independent circuit. Aroun 2000 he began appearing for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) as well, working a storyline feud with Mascarita Mágica ("Little Magic Mask") that lead to the two men meeting in consecutive Luchas de Apuesta ("bet matches") where both competitors put their hair on the line, Vaquerito won the first match and has Mascarita Mágica shaved bald after the match, but lost the rematch some months later and had to be shaved bald himself.
A Vaquero is a Spanish or Mexican rider noted for equestrian skill and ability to handle cattle.
The term may also refer to: