A Lecture about Cowboys

Professor Diaz: OK, so let’s get started. The cowboy way of life is one of the (1) .…………….
As you know, cattle eat grass—a lot of grass—so a herd, or group of cattle, must be moved often
to (2)……………………………………. The people who (3) …………………………………

A lot of people today think that the last cowboys (4)……….. a long time ago, and it’s true that
there are fewer cowboys today than in the past. (5)………………………….. in this because
cowboys usually don’t (6)……………………………………………………………... But in
some places, cowboys still ride their horses as they move cattle to places with more grass. They
also still practice (7)…………………………… such as sleeping outdoors under the stars and (8)
………………………….. at night. Their way of life hasn’t changed much over time because
their work hasn’t really changed.

Today we’ll talk about two regions in North America that still have cowboys – (9) ……………

And thanks to a fascinating book on this topic by a National Geographic photographer named
Robb Kendrick, we’ll be able to look at two actual cowboys from those places. Kendrick’s book
is called Still: Cowboys at the Start of the Twenty-First Century. As he was writing the book,
Kendrick interviewed modern cowboys in different places, and he used a very old kind of camera
to photograph the cowboys.

The first cowboy is Tyrel Tucker.

 lives in (10)………….
 He was (11)…………… when Kendrick took this photo.
 Tyrel was born in Wyoming and was (12)……………… before he could (13)………...
 He got (14)………………….. when he was just two years old!
 According to Kendrick, Tyrel started working as a cowboy during his school vacations and
developed (15)…………………………….
 He eventually left school to help with the family ranch and was happy to do that.
 While all of his classmates were (16)………………………………………, Tyrel was
working outside.
 As you might guess, however, living away from home and the actual work of a cowboy can
be quite difficult.
 In Kendrick’s book, Tyrel describes one winter when he and his older brother, Blaine, were
working on a ranch in Arizona. He estimates they took care of (17)………………. there, so
it was a big job! Tyrel and Blaine were the only people on the ranch.
 They lived in a very small house—a shack, really—with (18)………………………………,
potatoes, and hamburgers every day. But even so, Tyrel enjoyed the work.
 Kendrick also interviewed cowboys in Mexico. The cowboy tradition there began in (19).……,
when Spanish people brought the first cattle to the New World. In Mexico, large ranches needed
workers to take care of their (20)…………………. These men were called vaqueros, from the
Spanish word vaca, which means cow. The vaqueros worked (21)……………………, so they
,started wearing big hats to keep the sun off their faces and (22)………………………………..
Later, some Mexican vaqueros moved north into Texas, and their clothing—hats and boots —
became a part of the cowboy culture there, too. Wearing cowboy hats and boots is a custom that
people have (23)………………… in many parts of North America.

These days, there are two kinds of cowboys in Mexico. Vaqueros work with cattle on the
ranches, especially in the northern region of the country. They still ride horses and live outdoors
for many months at a time. In addition, Mexico also has charros, and they’re an important part of
popular culture in Mexico. Charros wear beautiful cowboy clothing, ride horses, and compete in
sporting events called charreadas. Most charros don’t work on ranches, but they are part of the
cowboy tradition in Mexico—a tradition that has been preserved and continues to this day.

The second cowboy is Manuel Rodriguez - one of the Mexican cowboys that Kendrick
interviewed for his book.
 He was working as a vaquero in Coahuila, Mexico, when Kendrick met him. Manuel started his
work as a vaquero early in life.
 He started (24) …………………. at La Mora Ranch when he was (25) ……………………….
His parents, his grandparents, and even his great-grandparents have all worked at La Mora
Ranch.
 When Kendrick took this photo, Manuel had recently (26)…………………………………, but
he was planning to move back to the countryside and work as a vaquero again after (27)………

OK, so these examples from Kendrick’s book show us that there are still cowboys in North
America today who are part of a very old tradition.