Shelby's Dubai Diary

Robot jockeys and sprinting SUVs bring camel racing, the sport of sheikhs, into the 21st century

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Put it on your bucket list. Time honored and often referred to as "the sport of sheikhs," camel racing in Dubai is one of the wackiest sports I've ever seen.

Forget the grace of speeding thoroughbreds coursing in unison down the track. Think instead of an unruly herd of knobby-legged creatures, mounted by robots, and not always inclined to travel in the right direction.

Our early-morning outing to the Al Marmoun Camel Racetrack with Arabian Adventures brought great photo opportunities, more than a few laughs and sheer enjoyment. Only a short drive from downtown Dubai, the race course is a modern, sophisticated operation with beautiful grandstands and modern starting gate with a platform for viewing directly above the camels. But before we took our places trackside, several among our travel writer group ventured into the lumbering throng of camels and their handlers.

The colorful robots, wearing the camel's racing silks, look like tiny monkeys straddled atop the beasts.

Hundreds of camels, draped against the early morning chill in colorful blankets, lounged on the open sands or ambled through the crush toward their place in line for the races. Their keepers, wearing turbans and robes of all description, were as colorful as the dromedaries. To our surprise, the handlers were as blasé about our photography as the camels. In fact, in many cases they smiled approvingly. Something you won't find when trying to photograph the Dubai citizenry.

In 2002, the sheikhdom outlawed the use of children (child trafficking victims from India) as jockeys, replacing them with robots. The colorful robots, wearing the camel's racing silks, look like tiny monkeys straddled atop the beasts. Their effective whips are remote controlled by the trainers who ride along side the race track in a parade of white SUVs, horns blowing, urging on their humpback steeds to go faster. It's a wild mix of modern technology and ancient sport.

On our day at the races, the camels were not all so enthused about the direction of the run. As the metal gate holding back the camels lifted, the only signal of the start, most of the camels headed down the track while a handful of others drifted to the right and some even turned around heading back towards the starting gate. Handlers ran on the track shouted and waved their arms while owners in adjacent SUVs blew their horns and shouted as they kept pace with the camels. It was a delightful chaotic picture that can be seen in the video below.

The races go on for several hours but an early arrival guarantees the colorful tableau of hundreds of camels and their handlers. Top speed for camels approaches 11 miles an hour and the length of the course, which can go as long as five miles, depends on the age of the camels.

A visit to the camel races means bringing your own water and supplies. There are no kiosks for food and drink and the restroom facilities are basic, as in bring your own toilet paper.

Next: Flying high in business class as a guest of Emirates Airline. To view the previous day's story on Dubai, click here.

Dubai camel races are held in the early morning as the beasts get slower as the day progresses.

News, Shelby, Dubai camel races, February 2015

Photo by Shelby Hodge

Dubai camel races are held in the early morning as the beasts get slower as the day progresses.

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New Texas museum shines spotlight on Tejano music history

Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum, San Antonio, tejano music

Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Roger Hernandez serves as board president of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum.

For a city that proudly calls itself the capital of Tejano music, San Antonio has long been missing a permanent place to honor the genre’s pioneers and preserve its history. That gap officially closed In December with the opening of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum at 1414 Fredericksburg Rd.

The music couldn’t have found a better steward than its founder and board president. Roger Hernandez has had his finger on the pulse of Tejano music for decades. His company, En Caliente Productions, has provided a platform for countless performing artists and songwriters in Tejano, conjunto, and regional Mexican music since 1982.

Hernandez says his wife, who ran a shop at Market Square years ago, would often get questions from visitors about the location of a physical Tejano music museum, a thing that simply did not exist. In 2022, he banded together with friends, family, and other local Tejano music supporters to make the nonprofit Hall of Fame a reality.

“I decided I've been in the music scene for over 40 years, it's time to do a museum,” Hernandez recalls.

Hernandez says a brick-and-mortar Tejano music museum has long been needed to remember musical acts and other individuals who grew the genre across Texas and northern Mexico, especially those who are aging. Recently, the community lost famed Tejano music producer Manny Guerra and Abraham Quintanilla, the renowned Tejano singer/songwriter and father of the late superstar Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Both deaths occurred roughly one week after the Totally Tejano museum opened to the public.

“They're all dying. They're all getting older, and we need to acknowledge all these people,” Hernandez says.

The Totally Tejano Museum — named after Hernandez’s Totally Tejano Television Roku streaming — has 5,000 square feet of space packed with plaques, photos, promotional posters, musical instruments, and other memorabilia honoring the pioneers and stars of the beloved genre. Mannequins wear stage outfits from icons like Laura Canales and Flaco Jimenez, and a wall of photos remembers late greats. Totally Tejano Television plays legendary performances on a loop, bringing the exhibits to life.

The newly opened Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum includes a growing collection of memorabilia. Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Hernandez says the museum will soon welcome permanent and rotating exhibits, including traveling shows, a Hall of Fame section, and an area paying homage to Chicano music crossovers, such as the late Johnny Rodriguez, the South Texas singer-songwriter who blended country with Tex-Mex music. Plans call for the organization to hold its inaugural Hall of Fame induction in February 2026.

Eventually, a 2,000 square feet back room will be converted into additional display space and host industry gatherings, community symposiums, and record and video release parties. The museum also plans to add a gift and record shop and a music learning room where visitors can listen to early Tejano music and browse archival photos. Hernandez is already talking with local school districts about educational field trips.

Much like Tejano itself, the museum is a grassroots production. Hernandez and fellow board members have used their own money to rent, renovate, develop, and maintain the museum space. The board also leads the selection of the Hall of Fame honorees and curates the exhibits.

Hernandez has been heartened by the museum’s reception, both from media outlets and music fans around Texas and beyond.

“We had a radio station come in this morning from Houston to interview us,” he says. “People have come in from Lubbock, Texas. We have had people from Midland, Texas. We have another person who emailed us who’s coming in from New York. People are learning all about us.”

That includes many of the musicians who helped shape the genre. Johnny Hernandez, Sunny Ozuna, Elida Reyna, and Danny Martinez from Danny and The Tejanos are among the luminaries who have already graced the halls.

The Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum is now open 10 am-6 pm, Tuesday-Sunday, and closed Monday. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Fans can call 210-314-1310 for more information.

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