Rethinking Mezcal: A New Materialist Approach
Mariana García Medina Student registration number: 900906250010 Study programme: MSc. Development and Rural Innovation Chair group: Sociology Development and Change Course number: SDC-80430 Thesis Sociology of Development and Change Supervisor: Dr. Gerard Verschoor (SDC) Examiner: Dr. Severine van Bommel (COM)
August 2018
Cover illustration from Alberto Cruz Pérez© Colectivo Burro Press
“There is no sense in which the notion of a human can be disentangled from the non-humans into whose fate it has woven more and more intimate over the ages” Bruno Latour - Pragmatogonies (1994, p.793-794)
“You don’t find mezcal, mezcal finds you” Popular mezcal saying
“Long live the multiple” Deleuze and Guattari (1987, p.6)
Letra de la canción Mezcalito Oaxaqueño Lyrics of the song Oaxacan Mezcalito Alberto Sánchez López Alberto Sánchez López
Gota a gota se llena el cantarito Drop by drop the little flagon is filled De perlas producidas de fuego y sol Of pearls produced from fire and sun Trabajo de las manos campesinas Work of peasant hands Producto de la tierra y el sudor Product of earth and sweat
- - Yo quiero invitarles un mezcalito I want to invite you a mezcalito De manos Oaxaqueñas From Oaxacan hands ¡Si señor! Yes sir! Producto natural de los magueyes Natural product of maguey Y que viaja directo al corazón Which travels straight to the heart
- - De punto el Espadín tiene que estar Rigorous the Espadín must be Los años su labor realizarán The years will perform their work Se corta y se lleva para el palenque It is cut and taken to the palenque Se hornea, se muele a fermentar It is cooked, it is crushed to ferment
- - Si quieres un legítimo mezcal If you want a legitimate mezcal Tienes que aprender a perseverar You have to learn to persevere Esperas que fermente poco a poco You wait to ferment little by little Y luego lo tienes que destilar And then you have to distil
- - Dos veces se destila el mezcalito Twice the mezcalito is distilled Y al final tú lo podrás saborear And at the end, you can savour it Sugiero que lo tomes lentamente I suggest you to take it slowly Para que así lo puedas disfrutar So that you can enjoy it
- - Minero, de Pechuga o con Gusano Minero, de Pechuga or con Gusano Si quieres tú lo puedes reposar If you want, you can mature it O si gustas lo añejas lentamente Or if you like it, it ages slowly De maguey cien por ciento original Of maguey one hundred percent original
- - Regalo de Oaxaca para el mundo Gift from Oaxaca to the world Los magueyes que Dios nos regaló The magueyes that God gave us Es producto de manos campesinas It is the product of peasant hands La Diosa Mayagüel nos lo legó The Goddess Mayagüel entrusted it to us
Contents Acknowledgments ...... 1 List of figures ...... 2 CHAPTER I GRASPING THE MEZCAL-WORLD ...... 3 1.1 The mezcal-world at first glance ...... 3 1.2 Setting up the Oaxacan scene ...... 6 1.3 Mezcal: first encounters ...... 9 1.4 Thesis overview ...... 18 CHAPTER II THEORIZING THE MEZCAL-WORLD ...... 20 2.1 An attempt to bridge theory and practice. A New Materialist Approach ...... 21 2.2 Core concepts and main considerations: assemblages and affects ...... 22 2.3 Research Questions ...... 24 2.4 Methodology ...... 24 2.5 Data Collection Methods ...... 26 CHAPTER III AFFECTS AND EFFECTS OF MEZCAL ...... 28 CHAPTER IV MEZCAL ENCOUNTERS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE ...... 37 4.1 Maestro Rufino Felipe Martinez ...... 37 4.2 Maestra Berta Vázquez ...... 41 4.3 Maestro José Santiago López ...... 45 4.4 Maestro Francisco García León and Maestro Hermógenes...... 49 4.5 Maestra Reyna Sánchez...... 53 CHAPTER V TASTES ...... 58 CHAPTER VI DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 69 6.2 Rethinking the mezcal-world through assemblages ...... 69 6.2 Final thoughts about the mezcal-world ...... 78 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 81 ANNEXES ...... 87 ANNEX 01. ABBREVIATIONS ...... 87 ANNEX 02. MEZCABULARIO ...... 88 ANNEX 03. MEZCAL VOCABULARY ...... 89
Acknowledgments
To my father Alberto, for inheriting me your affection to the countryside and for your strength and endurance. To my mother Marilú for your infinite love and dedication. To my siblings Ricardo and María Jose, for being both, example and pride. To the four of you, for these months of tireless fight. For what we were, what we are and what we will be.
To my supervisor, Gerard Verschoor. For your time and support during the thesis. For sharing with me the passion for mezcal and for guiding me to express my affections. Thank you for telling me ´let yourself be affected´.
Thanks, to other professors from the MSc. programme. Specially, to Alberto Arce and Pieter de Fries critical thinkers that helped me to look beyond, to go further.
To Severine van Bommel, for examining of the thesis and for your valuable comments.
To my home Droevendaal 107, for all your love, support and care throughout these two years.
To my family and friends in Mexico and around the world.
To my MDR comrades. Specially to Eliot, Vera, Milos, Deidre and Sebastian, for sharing your lives, for all the good moments spend together, for all our sociological conversations that boosted my intellect. Never forget: go with the flow!
To the mezcal-people. Thanks for welcoming me in your palenques, mezcalerias, houses and restaurants. For your time, knowledge and passion. Thanks for all the mezcales shared with me. This work would not be possible without you.
This research was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACyT) as part of the financial support that allowed me to accomplish my MSc. Development and Rural Innovation. Many thanks to the Mexican people who trough their taxes, contributed to my studies.
I am indebted to the many people who contributed in this research. Finally, I hope this thesis is the beginning of something better.
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List of figures
Figure 1. Mexican mezcal exports from 2011 to 2016 Figure 2. Street art in Oaxaca city Figure 3. CUISH logo Figure 4. Mezcaleria CUISH Figure 5. Poster used for a regional maestro’s meeting Figure 6. Poster used for the first national maestro’s meeting in 2017 Figure 7. Poster used for the campaign ‘Sin maguey no hay mezcal’ Figure 8. Two-sided poster of the agaves biodiversity Figure 9. Entryway to Maestro’s Rufino palenque Figure 10. Maestro Rufino in his palenque Figure 11. Maestra Berta in her palenque Figure 12. View of Casa Armando Guillermo Prieto Figure 13. Agave Espadín Plantation Figure 14. Piñas of maguey Pulquero at Maestro Jose Santiago´s palenque Figure 15. Maestro Francisco García and a Tepextate Figure 16. Maestra Reyna and Maestra Berta at the Virgen del Rosario mayordomía Figure 17. Maestra Reyna’s palenque Figure 18. Magueyes from Maestra Reyna´s greenhouse. Figure 19. Archivo-Maguey logo Figure 20. Archivo-Maguey mezcales menú Figure 21. Organoleptic and Sensory tables from Archivo-Maguey tasting methodology Figure 22. Mezcaloteca label
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CHAPTER I GRASPING THE MEZCAL-WORLD
1.1 The mezcal-world at first glance
Mezcal is a Mexican a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the cooked hearts of diverse agave species, commonly known as maguey. The world mezcal comes from the Náhuatl words metl, meaning agave, and ixcalli, which means cooked, referring to the maguey cooked heart. When I am asked by persons of other nationality than Mexican to define mezcal, I am always tempted to simplify and say that it is kind of Tequila’s half-brother. Or as one of my informants said that tequila is the famous cousin of mezcal. I usually say that to have a point of reference, but later I try to explain the many differences among both, such as their way of production, their geographical areas of production and of course, I add that mezcal instead of being produced in an industrial way such as tequila, mezcal is usually produced in an artisanal, small-scale manner.
As a Mexican, I had always been aware of this spirituous drink that gripped the countryside and was deeply rooted in the history of my country. According to Bowen (2015) the earliest documented reference of distilled agave spirits dates to 1619, however, Serra Puche and Lazcano Arce (2016), through an ethnoarcheological study argue that the production of these beverages dates to pre- Hispanic times. In the same way, I knew that mezcal was mainly produced in the state of Oaxaca, nevertheless, our paths did not cross until 2013 when “Carmen Mezcaleria” opened its doors in Metepec; a neighbouring city to my home town of Toluca.
‘Carmen Mezcaleria’ is a bar which sells various types of mezcal and mezcal cocktails. In a short time, it became the trendy place to go; it had affordable prices and a hipster-Mexican vibe which made me feel a l'aise. I enjoyed listening to stories about mezcal; rumours of how it came from the highlands in Puebla or the mountain ranges of Oaxaca. Eventually, I started to drink mezcal regularly and, oddly, I felt a visceral connection with those unknown places and producers. I was experiencing the mezcal boom first hand, beginning in Mexico City, and moving out to conquer the world. It stirred in me a curiosity around its history and culture. I began to ponder how this transformation, from a local traditional beverage to a world delicacy export, manifested in those distant Oaxacan mountain communities I had heard of before. Those questions got stuck in my mind, until it came to choose a subject for my thesis research, one year ago.
I was surprised by the information resulting from typing ‘mezcal’ in the web search engine. From articles written in The Guardian heading “Mezcal's meteoric rise continues, but not all industry insiders are ready to toast” (Tucker, 2016), web sites affirming that the biggest global spirits companies such as Diageo, Bacardi and Pernod Ricard were establishing in Oaxacan territory, anticipating the impacts for the small-scale producers (Hines, 2017; Bowen, 2015) to itinerant tastings given all around the United States1. Mezcalerias were opening doors and the mezcal was settling down in the most important cities in the world. Washington DC, Los Angeles, Paris, Amsterdam, New York, Chicago, London and Tokyo. Very little effort took me to find out that in the Netherlands, mezcal can be bought
1 See http://www.mexinabottle.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkbMj3b5oPc
3 online2, the prices per bottle unduly ranged from €9.95 to €198.50. And if I felt like drinking mezcal, I could pay a visit to an Amsterdam bar and have some of it for €13 a pour3.
Far away from my country, on the other side of the world, I discovered a changing mezcal-world. I could see how a local product was being globalized; how the people, their livelihoods, their poverty and their knowledge were being marketed. As far as I could see there were two emerging lines of mezcal; the recently industrialized mezcal and, on the other hand, the long-standing, artisanal small- scale mezcal. I reflected about the possible impacts that those changes could bring to the environment, peoples’ culture and livelihoods. What was happening with the producers I had heard rumours of and fantasized about? How were their lives impacted and how was the conception of this mysterious drink changing?
According to Verschoor (1996) during the administration of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988 -1994), the production of agave for tequila and mezcal production was boosted as part of large-scale program to increase the competitiveness and production of the micro-scale and medium sized agricultural enterprises. Institutional incentives were provided to create alternatives for income generation in rural areas. Indeed, the growth of agave plantations, the production and consumption of tequila and mezcal, at national and international level have been actively encouraged by the Mexican state. The institutions involved include the Ministry of Agriculture Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA)4, the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR)5, the Ministry of Economy (SE)6 and ProMéxico, a subdivision of the Ministry of Economy that promotes international trade.
In recent years, the government’s incentives have been paying off. There was a steep increase in mezcal demand from domestic and international markets. According to official data from the Ministry of Economy, mezcal exports, and the economic benefits stemming from them, have grown considerably in the last six years (See Figure 1). The agave spirit was being exported to 52 countries, with the United States as the main recipient of the spirit, followed by Taiwan, France, United Kingdom and Spain (SAGARPA, 2017).
Exports of mezcal from 2011 to 2016 30,000,000 26,811,862 20,000,000 19,796,627 13,357,727 10,000,000 7,501,414 263,768 2,076,624 2,712,924 0 0 22,325 739,732 1,899,495 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Annual export volume in liters Annual export revenue in USD
Figure 1. Mexican mezcal exports from 2011 to 2016 Own source with data from the SIAVI (2017)
2 See https://www.drankgigant.nl/sterke-drank/mezcal 3 See https://www.mezcalreviews.com/mezcal-in-amsterdam/ 4 In Spanish Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Desarrollo Rural (SAGARPA) 5 in Spanish Secretaría de Turismo (SECTUR) 6 in Spanish Secretaría de Economía (SE)
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As with tequila, mezcal has a regulatory framework which manages and controls its production and distribution. In 1994 the Denomination of Origin (DO) and the Official Mexican Standard NOM-0707 of mezcal were established. This effectively restricted production of ‘legitimate’ mezcal to 11 Mexican states out of 31. The DO is an international standard given by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)8 which protects the name, reputation and quality of agricultural products and foodstuff produced in certain area. The NOM-070 is the Mexican legal instrument that regulates mezcal production, bottling, commercialization and limits its legal production to certain geographical areas in Mexico. A short time after, in 1997, the Mezcal Regulatory Council (CRM)9 was created to verify compliance with these regulations and, in 2005 began to certify mezcal batches (CRM, 2015).
Mezcal was capturing the attention in national and international academia. The mezcal regulatory framework has been debated and contested for several reasons10. Bowen (2015), who had an extensive previous trajectory working on tequila’s DO11, argued that mezcal’s DO should be a way to protect the beverage as a local product from mass production, protecting both, the geographical environment including natural and human factors, but in her opinion the reality was different; “the protective institutions were better understood as a part of an effort to consolidate the power of political and economic elites within the industry and enable better access to global markets” (p.48), following tequila’s food steps, promoting the modernization of mezcal and adopting protective measures which embrace neoliberalism.
Antonio and Ramírez (2008) stated that the production of mezcal in the so-called Mezcal Region12 of Oaxaca was steadily in decline and that only a small number of producers and companies with economic power concentrated its production and commercialization there, this statement is confirmed by Bowen and Hamrick (2014) who said that “a growing group of distilleries has begun mass- production of mezcal, adopting similar strategies to those employed by the largest tequila companies” (p.27). Domínguez Arista (2016) and Bowen (2015), argue the exclusion caused in some regions that are not legally recognized by the DO, thus not being allowed to call their product mezcal, but “agave distillate” and, therefore, losing opportunities to access a broader market or to receive government support for agave and mezcal producers. In this sense, the rigorous regulations of the DO and the Regulatory Council have repercussions especially for small producers who often lack economic resources to cover the high costs of the certification process, information and knowledge to comply with such measures.
So, to sum up, not only was there a heavy pressure on small-scale mezcal producers within the DO to fulfil a rapidly growing market. Many producers outside the regions protected by the DO, were now excluded from a ‘golden’ opportunity for development and were denied the right to call their produce by its name. The globalization of mezcal was seemingly fostering greater inequalities within longstanding rural producers, rather than providing the development the government had sought to establish.
7 In Spanish Norma Official Mexicana (NOM-070) 8 In Spanish Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intellectual (OMPI) 9 In Spanish Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM) which was previously called Consejo Mexicano Regulador de la Calidad del Mezcal (COMERCAM) 10 See Bowen, S., & Hamrick, D. (2014) and Bowen, S. (2010). 11 See Bowen and Zapata (2009) and Bowen (2012). 12 The Mezcal Region is located in the state of Oaxaca which is constituted by seven districts: Tlacolula, Yautepec, Miahuatlán, Ejutla, Ocotlán, Zimatlán and Sola de Vega (Antonio & Smit, 2012).
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Bearing the previous mezcal context in mind, I decided to build upon the literature that purports that neoliberalism, an advanced form of capitalism favouring the idealized notion of free markets, is problematic due to the creation and/or increase of social, political, and economic inequalities (Fletcher, 2010). Rather than fulfilling its promise in developing nations of open markets and increased trade leading to prosperity, neoliberalism more often fragments fragile local networks, promotes high levels of debt and gives small-scale entrepreneurs little to no protection from the floating market, dominated and controlled by multinational corporations.
The existing literature concerning mezcal describes the structural impact of globalization, which I define as the process by which neoliberalism thrives through the constant pursuit of new markets. In the sense, as a mode of international trade which transforms mezcal from a largely locally produced and sold spirit to a worldly available mass-produced commodity, having as consequence the standardization and homogenisation of said product.
It was claimed that the forces of capital repeatedly re-create identical inequalities and problems in the areas it exploits. This conception is seemingly destitute when considering the agency of those actors involved. Against this view, many authors, (e.g. Arce, 1993), argue that local people are responding to processes of change, actively trying to solve their own problems through interpersonal networks, social relationships or by other means. In the same regard I trusted that local actors, such as small-scale producers, were not passively adapting to the challenges of neoliberalism. As previous mezcal literature shows, globalization was undoubtedly affecting the livelihoods of Oaxacan small-scale producers of mezcal and I sought to uncover if those adaptations and responses were uneven and unpatterned rather to strictly responding to a top down tailored form. In fact, I use the term ‘mezcal- world’ throughout this thesis to emphasise the immersive nature of my ethnography, as if embedding myself in the culture of mezcal was entering a new, insular, localized world. How were mezcal producers finding new and innovative ways to challenge these forces and to remain within the mezcal- world?
1.2 Setting up the Oaxacan scene
I had planned to leave for Oaxaca the 20th of September of 2017. However, the 19th of September an earthquake, measuring a staggering 7.2 on the Richter scale, shook Mexico for the second time that month. It was impossible to reach Oaxaca in those circumstances. After the first couple of days of chaos, pain and fear, the country and us, its citizens, started to return to normal once again. I arrived at Oaxaca city on Wednesday September the 27th of 2017, one day before the First National Agave- Mezcal Congress13, my entry point to the mezcal-world. The field work was divided in two periods. The first from the 27th of September 2017 to the 4th of December 2017, and the second from the 4th of January 2018 to the 26th of January 2018.
The area of study chosen was the Mezcal Region in the state of Oaxaca which is constituted by seven districts: Tlacolula, Yautepec, Miahuatlán, Ejutla, Ocotlán, Zimatlán and Sola de Vega (Antonio & Smit, 2012). The region produces 75% of the national mezcal production (Antonio & Ramírez, 2008). As previous studies indicated, the international alcohol enterprises were settling down in Oaxaca;
13 In Spanish Primer Congreso Nacional de Agave-Mezcal
6 therefore, the region was selected because it was the area where I could better perceive the impacts of the increasing duality between small-scale producers and international corporations.
Located at 462 kilometres southeast of Mexico City, around seven hours by car, Oaxaca City is nested on the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountain range. The city is the political capital of the Mexican state of the same name. Throughout its history, the state of Oaxaca has been one of the most neglected states by the federal government. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI)14 70.4% of its population lives in poverty while 26% of it in extreme poverty (2018), having the second highest index of poverty at national level. The state of Oaxaca ranks the last places in the country on indicators such as education, access to social security, housing quality and basic services (CONEVAL, 2013). The situation is commonly justified arguing its territorial extension (4.8% of national territory), its distance from the capital and its abrupt geography (Brulotte, 2012).
Conversely, Oaxaca is a privileged entity due its biological and socio-cultural wealth. According to the World Wildlife Fund Mexico (n.d) it is the state with the highest level of biodiversity in the country. Socio-culturally 14% of the Mexican population who belong to an indigenous people, lives in Oaxaca. In 2013 sixty-six indigenous languages were registered in the state with 34% of the population speaking them as a mother tongue (INEGI, 2013).
Recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)15 as World Heritage, the capital is extremely beautiful. Its architecture, a Spanish and indigenous weave legacy from the colonial era, can be appreciated in its churches, Dominican monasteries and colourful house facades. Old mansions have been recovered and serve as galleries, restaurants, hostels, museums, artisanal shops and boutique hotels. Some others have been abandoned close to fall into pieces and the less lucky ones, look like they are going to collapse soon, having scaffoldings and safe tape as premonition.
The city of Oaxaca is nationally recognized for its social movements and public demonstrations, such as the famous protests and the occupation of the city by the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO)16 in 2006. During my months in Oaxaca, it was not uncommon to postpone the visit to a palenque, or to be late for meetings because of the demonstrations, which sometimes turned violent. The urban landscape of the city reflects this evocation. In its cobbled streets is frequent to find art street17, using techniques such as stencils, posters, mural or graffiti, scattered around, laying somewhere between vandalism and art18, manifesting and communicating their social and political undertones.
14 In Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) 15 In Spanish Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO) 16 In Spanish Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca (APPO) 17 Art street is usually made by Oaxacan artists such as Lapiztola https://www.artrepresent.com/lapiztola/ or Yescka https://guerilla-art.mx/yescka/ 18 Street art has been censored in the past. See https://www.vanguardia.com.mx/articulo/censuran-arte-urbano-en-oaxaca
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Figure 2. Street art in Oaxaca city It says ‘Justice or violent revolution’ claiming justice for the 43 missing rural students since Source: Cristina Sevilleja
Among its markets, colours, ceramic, fabrics and gastronomy, there is an interesting mélange of cultures in the city. Indigenous people, national and international tourists, Oaxacans who live in other cities in the country, or from villages that visit the capital to buy some goods, visit the doctor, or doing a bureaucratic paperwork, along with the community of temporary and permanent foreigners. All of them give the city an interesting and singular character full of contrasts.
Amid all of this, mezcal is lived and felt in the city. The markets Benito Juárez and 20 de Noviembre have stands selling a vast variety of mezcal bottles, easily offering more than forty different types, from mezcal joven19, mezcal reposado20, mezcal añejo21, mezcal con gusano22, mezcal abocado23 and cremas de mezcal24 of all kinds of colours and flavours. Some labels allude the Mexican culture with skulls, hats, ponchos, agaves, pyramids, lucha libre25 masks. Other bottles have simpler designs, light colours, seeming more sophisticated. A number have the certification hologram seal, the Tax Administration Service hologram seal or random hologram seal which are frequently used as a marketing strategy. Their prices vary considerably, and it’s difficult, if not impossible to recognize the differences among the mezcales, making a challenge to choose a bottle26. Time to time there is a man who will be offering soda bottles filled with a crystal liquid saying that is mezcal produced by him.
19 In English means young mezcal. According to the NOM-070, this type of mezcal is unaged. Therefore, it is transparent, and the flavours and aromas are those from the agave and from the its making process. 20 In English means rested mezcal. According to the NOM-070, this type of mezcal is aged in wooden barrels for two months to one year. 21 In English means aged mezcal. According to the NOM-070, this type of mezcal is aged in wooden barrels for more than one year. 22 In English means mezcal with worm. A ‘gusano de maguey’ (maguey worm) or a gusano rojo (red worm), insects’ larva, is added to this type of mezcal. It was as a marketing strategy to differentiate mezcal from tequila. The worm alters the original flavour of the mezcal. 23 This type of mezcal is usually infused with herbs, plants, fruits, insects or animals. The intention of such is to modify its flavour and in some communities these types of mezcal are used as home remedies. 24 Cremas de mezcal are cream-based mezcal liqueur. Their flavours and colours vary widely. 25 Lucha libre is a type of professional wrestling from Mexico. The contestants wear masks and costumes. It is characterized by rapid holds and acrobatic techniques. 26 For an in-depth analysis about the controversy of mezcal labelling see the chapter by Larson and Aguirre, Normas de etiquetado y dilución de significados en la comercialización de mezcal y otros destilados de maguey en México. In J. Vera Cortés & R. Fernádez, Agua de las verdes matas. Tequila y Mezcal (1st ed., pp. 157-182). Artes de Mexico y del Mundo.
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On the streets that surround these markets, next to grocery stores which offer diverse varieties of Mexican food delicacies such as chilies, spices, herbs, chapulines27, Oaxacan chocolate and black clay pottery, there are small mezcal shops from the biggest mezcal distilleries brands which are usually attended by a woman, who offers a sample of the beverages available for sale in small clear plastic cups. Also, there are expendios, points where bottled or in bulk mezcal is distributed (and sometimes consumed), usually owned by mezcaleros from Matatlán.
Walking along the city centre of Oaxaca is easy to come across with mezcalerias which are specialized mezcal bars. They usually have an interesting repertoire of mezcales that they sell through their own brand. In some of these places is common to receive information about the mezcal that you are consuming while in others is even possible to ask for a mezcal tasting.
Mezcal goes hand in hand with Oaxaca gastronomy, in this way in most of the restaurants no matter of its category, the spirit occupies an important part of their menu. Besides, Oaxaca art ateliers in the city, for instance Burro Press28, exhibit graphics and lithographs inspired in the maguey and in mezcal production process.
From this picture I would like to point out two founding aspects of mezcal and the city of Oaxaca. First, they are both bursting with culture and life, a melting pot promoting massive diversity and vitality. Second, together they are a point where certain paths cross politically, socially and economically, sometimes with violent consequences.
1.3 Mezcal: first encounters
The First National Congress of the Agave-Mezcal organized by the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Integral Regional Development (CIDIIR)29 was my point of entry to the mezcal-world. The event allowed me to contact a part of the Mexican academy, mainly from AGARED30, who are devoted to doing research on the agave-mezcal; mezcal producers, public servants from the ministry of Economy and the Sistema Producto Maguey Mezcal Oaxaca31, mezcal enthusiasts and mezcal entrepreneurs. Some of them became my main informants.
After the congress, I attended to diverse governmental meetings relating to the DO of mezcal, producer’s meetings, a press conference, I visited some palenques where I observed the mezcal production process and applied semi-informal interviews with mezcal producers, owners of mezcalerias, public servants, mezcal consumers and academics. I did participant observation through mezcal consumption in mezcalerias and mezcal tastings. The following section will outline my initial findings regarding the political, economic, social, environmental aspects of the mezcal-world.
During my first month in Oaxaca, I felt overwhelmed. Despite being in my own country, everything seemed completely new to me. Every day I learnt a bit more. It did not take me long to realize that behind my computer at the Leeuwenborch building in Wageningen, I oversimplified the mezcal-world.
27 Chapulines are toasted grasshoppers usually with garlic, salt and lime which are typical of Oaxacan gastronomy 28 See http://burropress.com/ 29 In Spanish Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIDIIR) 30 http://www.agared.org/ 31 Sistema Producto Maguey Mezcal is an organizational strategy from SAGARPA to enhance the maguey-mezcal value chain
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Just as Valenzuela-Zapata (2028) writes in the preface of Garcia’s recently published book “Le mezcal. Enfant terrible du Mexique”, I was facing a “a reality much more complex than it appears at first sight” (p.15).
I confirmed that the Oaxacan government’s agenda was focused on achieving productivity and competitiveness in the mezcal ‘agroindustry’ as a strategy for enhancing the regional economy. During my time spent there I attended to a series of meetings organized by the ministry of Economy. Their aim was to develop a strategy to avoid the territorial extension of the DO. On September 2017 the governments of the states of Aguascalientes, México and Morelos, presented an official petition to be included in the territory protected by the DO (DOF, 2017a; DOF,2017b; DOF,2017c).
Neither the government of Oaxaca nor some mezcaleros32 agreed with those requests. During the meetings the discourse of mezcal legitimacy and the need of its protection was constantly repeated. However, when I spoke with some assistants I was told that the risk for Oaxacan producers was that the states which asked for the DO are located closer to the capital. The fear was that their cost of production and distribution on those states could be lower compared to Oaxaca, and the tourism that were arriving to Oaxaca would prefer to visit places nearby the capital rather than visit Oaxaca. Part of the present and future economic growth of the Oaxacan mezcal industry was perceived to be in danger. Therefore, the government and mezcal enterprises did not hesitate to fight back those petitions hiring lawyers and international experts in the field of Geographical Indications to defend ‘their’ DO33. Similarly, as it pointed out by Sarita Gaytán and Bowen (2015) in the tequila case, private and public actors used the language of authenticity, place and quality to justify the defence of given DO.
While the “fat-cats” of mezcal were hooked up on the protection of the DO, most of the smaller producers were clueless as to what a DO is and what it represents. But some of them know that there is a process with which they struggle: the certification of mezcal. The producers know that being certified means taking part of the formal market of mezcal and by doing so, having access to a larger market. However, only ten to twenty percent of mezcal producers are certified (Bowen & Hamrick, 2014; Bowen, 2015) the main causes are the lack of financial resources for affording the certification costs (Garcia, 2018) which can be divided roughly in three: the first payment relates to the CRM inscription (around 700 euros), the second is a yearly quota (around 70 euros), and the third one is payed per batch and it changes depending of the number of batches produced and the litres per batch; and the long, complicated and bureaucratic processes suggested impossible for them (Bowen, 2015). As Garcia (2018) argues the certification process and the compliance with the global regulation supports large producers and discourage the smaller ones34.
In addition, I learnt that the mezcal sold in the ‘legal market’ like in restaurants, mezcalerias or bars, was subject of very high taxes overseen by the Tax Administration Service (SAT)35, a federal government agency. There is a Special Tax on production and Services (IEPS)36, commonly called IEPS, which corresponds to the 53 percent of the price. The IEPS is exclusively paid by the domestic mezcal
32 Name given to a person who has some relation with mezcal through its production or distribution. 33 See Bowen (2015) Chapter 5 for more information about the history of the mezcal Denomination or Origin. 34 For more detailed information about the unconformities of the DO and the certification of mezcal see Bowen (2015), the chapter Making Mezcal in the Shadow of the Denomination of Origin. 35 In Spanish Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) 36 In Spanish Impuesto Especial Sobre Producción y Servicios (IEPS)
10 market, while the exports taxes for international market vary by destination country. As noted by Garcia (2018) and Bowen (2015), this mandatory financial charge makes mezcal more expensive for the national market, making international sales more enticing. There is also a Value Added Tax (IVA)37 which corresponds to the 16 percent of the price. The total sum of those taxes is the 69 percent of the price of mezcal. Therefore, if a consumer pays $150 pesos for two ounces of mezcal, $103.5 pesos are taxes. The rest, which is the profit, is divided between the seller, the bottler or distributor and the producer.
As cited by Bowen (2015) and Garcia (2018), it was frequent to come across cases of corruption, fraud and nepotism for instance being negligent during the certification processes and the consent to adulterate mezcal with sugar cane alcohol. These circumstances were prevalent in the institutions that regulate mezcal as well as from powerful political groups. These have a great influence in the industry and are considered a valuable asset to the families belonging to a mezcal-industry’s elite38.
Alongside my attendance at the conferences, I met some producers and I decided to start to visit them in their palenques to get an impression of how they lived. Since my first visits I noticed the generalized poverty, marginalization and exclusion faced by most them (Sánchez López, 2005; Antonio & Ramírez, 2008; Bowen, 2015; Garcia, 2018). Small-scale producers experience many challenges. Most of them need a retailer or other intermediaries to whom they sell mezcal in bulk. A minority have direct access to markets through their own brands, selling their mezcal per bottle. While it is true that some of the producers were more informed of the economic value of their mezcal and demanded a specific amount of money in return of it, and that there were retailers willing to pay a 'fair price'; this type of producers and retailers were the exception. A large majority have great problems finding distribution channels for their mezcal and often they must sell off their product cheaply. In this sense, small-scale producers are usually subordinated to the economic control of intermediaries (Antonio, Ramírez & Smith, 2015) who set low prices and “impose constraints that prevent producers from making their own decisions about how to produce their mezcal” (Bowen & Hamrick, 2014) and how and to whom sell it.
I observed that in some mezcal producing areas, for instance Matatlán, immigration to the gabacho39 was a common phenomenon (Antonio & Ramírez, 2008; Durán Férman, Durán Férman & Robles Torres, 2015) and as suggested by Ríos and Kumar Acharya (2012), migration was practiced in a ‘circular manner’; meaning that rather than just having an economic repercussion through remittances, there were other aspects, such as new ideas about mechanization and innovation that influenced traditional mezcal production processes.
Regarding the environment, I found that most mezcal producers were constantly concerned about the availability of mezcal’s raw material, the agaves. Throughout my interviews and talks, two points frequently came up: the scarcity of agave (Antonio & Ramírez, 2008) and the loss of biodiversity. The greater the demand for mezcal, the lower the quantity of agave and the higher the prices (Garcia, 2018). The main issue is that to mature and be ready to produce mezcal, the agave plant needs to grow at least six years when it is a domesticated specie and around fifteen years when it is a wild species. Therefore, if there is a shortage now, due to the long maturation period, this will likely extend for at least a few years to come. I frequently wondered if the mezcal-world was going to face what Bowen
37 in Spanish Impuesto sobre Valor Agregado (IVA) 38 See http://www.mezcalistas.com/what-just-happened-with-the-crm/ 39 Mexican slang meaning the United States.
11 calls ‘production of cycles of surplus and shortage’ (2015, p.101) which since the 1980’s obliged the tequileros40 to dabble in Oaxaca to buy agaves (Antonio et al., 2015). What would happen if both, Jalisco and Oaxaca run out of agave?
Agave biodiversity is endangered. Most of the wild agaves that are currently used for mezcal production had not been bred in the past by humans, simply because there was no need for doing it. Agaves were used to satisfy a traditional consumption far different to the demand existing today. Recent changes in the patterns of consumption have differed; export markets demand intricate and diverse mezcal s, with a huge variety of alterations to the production process, as will become later in the following paragraphs. In this sense, there are communities where there is a lack of knowledge about the reproduction of endemic varieties. Time is tight and mezcal demand grows. This situation has created a speculation atmosphere accompanied by social issues such as the theft of planted agave.
Depending on the region, there are also other natural resources threatened such as the timber products used for the cooking of agave and the distillation process. Then, if the wood is available in the region is collected by the producers themselves, if there is not wood available in the surroundings, producers would buy it from other areas. Sánchez López (2005) and Antonio and Smit (2012) reported that degradation and soil erosion are observed along the state of Oaxaca caused by the increased use of fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides, and poor soil management for maguey monoculture plantations, replacing the traditional peasant practices such as rest soil periods, rotation and companion planting.
During my visits to the palenques, I noticed a wide difference among them, even in the same town, in the same street. This distinction begins with the agave used to produce mezcal. The spirit is produced by at least twenty agave species (Colunga-GarcíaMarín & Zizumbo-Villarreal, 2007) which are usually divided in three. Cultivated or domesticated agaves, which are usually produced as monocrops in big extensions being mainly the agave Espadín (Agave angustifolia Haw) and the Cincoañero (Agave cantala) which have been displaced by the former. Then the agaves campesinos41, which are being recently planted and cultivated but not in large areas as the domesticated ones, some of these are the Tobalá (Agave potatorum) and some agaves from the Karwinskii family like the Tobaziche, Cuish and Bicuishe. Finally, the division of the wild agaves which are uncultivated growing in the nature, such as the Barril (Agave macroacantha) and the Tepextate (Agave marmorata) among many others (Sánchez López, 2005). Besides, each producing region has meaningful differences in their soil, water, minerals and wood which are reflected in the mezcal.
In the same regard, the process of making mezcal varies from producer to producer. Once the agave is harvested, the production of mezcal takes around thirty days. The agave is usually cooked on pit earthen ovens, their capacity varies from 3 to 10 tons. In contrast, in the mezcal industry, agave is cooked in autoclaves. The time of agave cooking will also vary it can take at least four days up to 15 days. Here, producers must be very careful because of the temperature, they do not want a raw agave nor a burned one. Once the agaves are cooked, are taken away from the oven, mashing is the next step. In Oaxaca, I saw three ways of doing it; it can either made by hand, by a tahona42 or with the help of a motorized shredding machine which reduces time and effort.
40 Name given to a person who has some relation with tequila through its production or distribution. 41 The word campesino, has a similar definition as peasant. 42 A tahona is a large stone wheel that is used to crush the roasted hearts of agave known into a fermentable mash. It is pulled by a donkey or a mule.
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After the agave is crushed, the fibre is placed in wooden barrels, clay pots, bags made of cattle hides or plastic tanks to ferment. Fermentation is a very critical point because is when the agave sugars are transformed in alcohol and the risk in this step is that alcohol becomes vinegar. The process is conditioned by many factors such as the level of sugar contained in the agaves and yeasts which are the responsible for transform the sugar into alcohol. A traditional mezcal does not need any additives to carry on the fermentation; it only relies on natural yeasts. However, it is widely known that some producers (small-scale or not) add chemical fertilizers or other additives, for instance ammonium sulphate, to shorten the fermentation time. Likewise, room temperature is a decisive element in this stage; when it is warm, fermentation will take less time than when is cold, thus, fermentation can take from a couple of days to more than fifteen days. In this sense fermentation period changes from region to region due the multiple microclimates in Oaxaca. Mezcal producers master the fermentation process through their senses of smell, hearing and taste, with which they determine the moment when the fermented mash is ready to be distilled.
Distillation in Oaxaca is made in stacked clay pots stills or in copper stills, the technique used vary depending of the region. Though in some places the mezcal is only distilled once, most of them are distilled twice and few agaves must be distilled three times. The time of condensation, separation of water and alcohol, also varies depending of the technology used and, once again, embers temperature requires a lot care. The distilled is divided and storage in three parts. The first part of the distillation is called puntas o cabezas (the tips or the heads), the middle part is called cuerpo (the body) and the last part is called colas (the tails). The purpose is to get rid of the methanol and propanol, which are harmful for human health, and to grade the alcoholic level of the cuerpo adding some puntas and colas. This process is named ‘rectificación’ (rectification), ‘refinado’ (refined) or ‘ajuste’ (adjustment), and it’s made through the empirical knowledge of producer. For this, they make what is called the ‘venenciado’ consisting in pouring some mezcal in the producers’ mouth and then blow it through a reed in a jícara43. Then, the producer observes the size, the time of permanence and the colour of the perlas44, the bubbles formed, and determine the alcoholic level of the mezcal. The mezcal is adjusted to the producer taste and if a producer can choose he45 will adjust it around fifty and fifty-five alcoholic percentage46. Using an alcoholmeter is the other way to measure the alcoholic volume of mezcal, however, this technique is used by the big companies or by the mezcal certifiers.
I noticed that the labour force in palenques vary widely but overall, mezcal production in an artisanal small-scale way is carried out in a familiar way. In the palenques each member of the family, children, women, youth, insofar as is possible, contributes to this endeavour. In some palenques I noticed what is called in Oaxaca tequio, guelaguetza or guetza. A way of producing mezcal in a collective manner. Therefore, when a person is producing mezcal, neighbours, friends, family and acquaintances might help. The people who help do not expect anything in return. The workforce is voluntary with the hope
43 Dry calabash gourds, which are traditionally used as cups for drinking mezcal 44 Perla or in its plural perlas, mean in English pearl; are the bubbles formed through an empirical way used by the maestros mezcaleros to check the quality and alcohol degree of the spirits. The droplets appear in the moment when a sample of mezcal is poured into a jícara 45 I make use of the pronoun in its masculine form for a simpler reading of the thesis. However, I would like to note that in many cases while talking about producers, masters, mezcaleros or consumers I also refer to women. 46 For a more detailed explanation of the mezcal production process see the Chapter II. Proceso de elaboración del aguardiente mezcal, and Chapter III. Recuperación de Tecnología Artesanal from Sánchez López, A. (2005).
13 and trust that in a future, if needed, he will be helped in return. In some cases, if there is money available, producers might hire day labourers for helping in some tasks.
In addition, it is common to work as a ‘mediero’ or ‘trabajar a medias’, which can be traduced as ‘work in halves’ a way of produce mezcal which involves two parties. One person supplies the raw material and another person with the palenque and the workforce required for mezcal production. The resulting amount of that mezcal batch, would be distributed in two equal amounts for both parties. However, this specific traditional arrangement that was very common in the past is gradually disappearing. Nowadays the agave is becoming a market for the higher bidder, and some maguey producers prefer to charge higher prices rather than continuing with those arrangements resulting in a transformation of the social fabric of the communities.
I was amazed by the process of mezcal making. In each palenque I learnt a little bit more, every time more surprised. Knowledge, passed down through generations, was endless, every producer had its own way, its own tricks, its own story. Therefore, a mezcal is the result of a natural richness combined with the experience and knowledge of the producer, making each batch of mezcal unique47. As noted by Verschoor (1996), despite it can be seen as a straightforward process, it is a unstable and fragile process which incorporates a complex blend of decisions and situations arising at any time.
Meantime, my field work in Oaxaca city was about visiting mezcalerias, restaurants, expendios where I used to sit down, chat with the person in charge of the bar, talk with the drinkers, observe, listen and savour mezcal. Once, I visited ‘Mezcaloteca’ (which means mezcal-library), one of the pioneering places for mezcal tastings. I was surprised when the barman was Bastien, a French of Asian descent, who spoke Spanish fluently and who could explain about the mezcales that we were tasting. He is one of the many foreigners that are involved in the mezcal-world. Some of them mastered traveling along all the dirty roads of the state reaching the most hidden places in search of mezcal. Later, they would return to their countries with some extraordinary mezcal in plastic bottles that they would share with friends, give a tasting, or sell to a bar. One more time, I found myself in a glocalised mezcal-world becoming simultaneously localized, regionalised and transnational (Swyngedouw, 2004). The presence of foreigners was such that even once, somebody in the most natural way told me “We all [the mezcaleros], have our gringo48”.
The time was passing by and I was becoming more and more passionate about mezcal. I was able to spend all day long learning about it and savouring it. I was hooked by the mezcal-world. Fascinated by its contrasts and its diversity. However, the more I learnt about it, the more I was confused about my research. I came across a study aimed to characterize small-scale mezcal producers from one community to better understand their challenges; and if it is true that its objectives were not the same as mine, the conclusion made me think about my thesis. For example, the authors wrote: “The main limitation of the research relates to the sample size, [52 small-scale producers] which was limited due to the difficulties to access remote communities; this study cannot be generalized” (Espinosa Meza, Rivera González & Maldonado Ángeles, 2017, p.2). They were right. It was quite ambitious (and even foolish I would say) for my part to try to pigeonhole the producers attempting to generalize about their ‘changing livelihoods’.
47 In Spanish: La mano del productor. Meaning the personal ‘touch’ of the producer. 48 Gringo is a word used in Mexico for United States citizens. In this sense it is non-derogatory. Folklore says that when the US invaded Mexico, US soldiers were wearing green uniforms and Mexicans shouted at them ‘green go’.
14
The diversity of producers, of their knowledge, of their relationships, of their life stories, of their challenges changed from palenque to palenque. There were innumerable variables that I would not be able to measure or even to describe with the amount of time given for the thesis. I had to rethink my research questions. I shared my concerns with Gerard, my thesis supervisor, and he told me “let yourself be affected”. Then, I continued observing, interviewing people, visiting palenques, drinking mezcal, talking with people and reading.
Through my field research I noticed the historical, cultural and social importance of mezcal. I observed that mezcal was part of the social celebrations such as calendas49, weddings, childbirths (Mitchell, 2005). Mezcal consumption stand out in Catholic religious festivities, such as patronal holidays and mayordomias50 (Garcia, 2018). It was used in limpias, rites aimed to clean body and soul from negative energies or thoughts (Gross, 2014). Likewise, mezcal, sometimes mixed with medicinal plants, was used as home remedy for muscular pain, diabetes, indigestion, hypertension and cold among other ailments (Gross, 2014; Garcia, 2018). The drinking of mezcal often involved various small rituals such as spilling some drops from the glass onto the ground as way of thanking the earth (Gross, 2014); this custom was repeated on the tombs in the cemetery during the Day of the Death celebration, to toast with the deceased. Finally, following Garcia “Mezcal is characterized by this paradox: it is consumed in situations of both misfortune and joy” (2018, p.45); as the mezcal-saying goes “for everything bad, mezcal, and for everything good as well” 51.
In the middle of those reflections I started establishing contact with a group of people that were embarked on the crusade of the promotion of the what they called ‘the mezcal culture’ and the stewardship of ‘traditional mezcal’ or better, the ‘traditional mezcales of the Mexican peoples’52. In his book, Garcia (2018) refers to them as the ‘promoters of traditional mezcal’ who try to re-establish and respecting as much as possible the yesterday practices of mezcal production and consumption. Some of them were mezcal producers, other distributors, other owners of mezcalerias and often these lines were blurred.
Within this group of people, traditional mezcal defenders, language changed, and for them it was important. Producers were not only producers, they were addressed as Maestros Mezcaleros and its feminine Maestras Mezcaleras53, recognizing women producers that were before overshadowed. They followed the way French refer to the bakers: Maîtres Boulangers or to the Pastry Chefs: Maîtres Pâtissiers; acknowledging their artisanal work and knowledge. The maestros and maestras were the ones who mastered mezcal production. In this way, they opposed themselves to the vocabulary and manner of speaking of some intermediaries, both national and foreigners, who speak of the maestros as if they were their private property: ‘my producer(s)’ instead of the producers who produced the mezcal or ‘the producers with whom I work’. In this vein, they expressed their awe and admiration for
49 A typical celebratory Oaxacan procession accompanied by traditional brass-band music, dances, firecrackers, giant puppets and mezcal. 50 Catholic stewardship of the saints or virgins in a town. 51 From its original in Spanish “Para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien, también “ 52 In Spanish, Mezcales Tradicionales de los Pueblos de México 53Henceforth, I will use the words maestro mezcalero and maestra mezcalera, or maestro and maestra for a simple reading of the thesis. I decided to do not use a translation of the world because I firmly think that such as the words Chef, of Maître, it is important to keep the world in Spanish as is a Mexican metier. In the same way, when using the word maestros, in plural, I also refer to female producers.
15 the maestros, valuing their work and recognizing their expertise.
For the proponents of traditional mezcal, a maestro was the author of the mezcal that he produced and the mezcal had the ‘mano’, the hand, of the maestro. Following Eduardo Ángeles54 in the documentary trailer by Wolfinger (2017) ‘Unlike other spirits, every mezcal has an author. It comes from a person and a place. Seek out its story and find the hand that made it’. In that respect each mezcal was unique. Usually those mezcales were referred as ‘traditional mezcal’, ‘mezcal del bueno’, ‘mezcal de verdad’ or ‘mezcal legítimo´ meaning a traditional mezcal, a good mezcal, a real mezcal and an authentic mezcal respectively.
Therefore, a traditional mezcal marshalled the following features: must be 100% agave having a cooked maguey taste; it must be produced exclusively with ripe agave, its production processes are strictly natural, that is, without using chemical products that accelerate them, particularly during fermentation; the distillation process should be made by discontinuous methods (also referred as batch distillation) rather than a continuous method (the batch distillation is used for small volume processing while the continuous distillation is used by the large mezcal enterprises); mezcal must be produced and consumed with an alcoholic degree of at least 45%, the spirit is colourless, transparent and, when shaken a mezcal must make perla (Pérez, 2007). In this manner, the mezcales aged in wood barrels, that had some percentage of added other types of sugars alcohols, flavours, colours or chemicals are excluded from their understanding of ‘traditional mezcal’.
Traditional-mezcal defenders strongly believed that the flavour of each mezcal was shaped by the terroir55 as a fusion of natural resources such as the agaves used, the water, the yeasts, the maestros mezcaleros savvy through the processes used in mezcal production along with technology used. In this sense, they would rarely make use of the French world terroir, but in our conversations and in the documents produced by some of them, they would frequently use the word ‘gusto histórico’ literally translated in English as ´historical taste´, a concept was proposed by Cornelio Pérez:56
“[historical taste] can be defined as the collective construction of regional gastronomic tastes through time, which generates rules of how the mezcales should taste and smell, how they should be elaborated and what are the quality tests that they must undergo so that, in their origin, are considered legitimate, good and tasty” (2007, p.57)
I started to pay attention to the way mezcal was discussed and to the practices that were taking place around its consumption, mainly in the mezcalerias. As Gross (2014) noticed beforehand, I realized that maguey and mezcal were sometimes “[…] talked about and treated with reverence, […] often personified, and endowed with a particular ‘personality’” (p.14). For instance, it was not rare to listen that given mezcal was ‘though’ such as a person would be. Following the same author, I was becoming
54 Eduardo Ángeles, is a fourth generation of maestros mezcaleros. He is the owner of the brand Lalocura. Eduardo advocates for the preservation of knowledge and tradition, and the sustainable use of natural resources. See https://www.mezcallalocura.com/philosophy 55 French word widely used in the French wine Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC), a geographical indication labelling. It refers to the environmental factors including soil, climate and water where a crop grows. Usually the term also includes human knowledge and know-how 56 Cornelio Pérez has been editor and advisor of diverse materials dedicated to biodiversity and cultural heritage of the mezcales. He is the coordinator of the Logia de los Mezcólatras in English Mezcólatras Lodge, a group of people dedicated to savouring and promote the culture of mezcal founded in 2005.
16 more aware of how the mezcal was ‘endowed with nearly magic powers’ (ibid, 2014, p.2) such as Garcia (2018) cited the words of one of his interviewees ‘the mezcal doesn’t gets you drunk, it makes you magical’ (p.276).
It was said that mezcal should be drank by kisses, with small sips, instead of big swallows. Drinking mezcal should take some time, without hurries. Further, it was proclaimed that mezcal should not be used to get drunk but to be tasted and enjoyed, although many failed in that attempt. This thought was expressed in many of my encounters, the drunkenness attributed to mezcal was said to be different and especial, in Garcia’s words ‘a lucid drunkenness’ (2018). In line with previous observations made by Cárdenas-Salcido and Hernández-Díaz (2016), I noticed the way in which mezcalerias were abandoned to a ‘hedonist consumption’ offering an individual and a collective experience of mezcal drinking. As the authors noted mezcalerias “managed to disassociate mezcal from its intoxicating effect to reformulate it as a legitimate enjoyment” (ibid., p.181).
The defenders of mezcal, or at least most of them, also looked to make business out of mezcal. However, instead of selling a product detached from its origins, tradition was the gravestone of taste, quality and uniqueness of each mezcal; being the antagonist of the often homogenized industrial mezcal. The commercial interest of this group was focused on offering an experiential consumption, where consumers does not only felt part of what they consume, but at the same time who learn about what they consume.
The drinking experience in the mezcalerias was flanked by the ‘education’ of the consumer, who was explained about the diversity of the agaves, the production process, the region where the mezcal was produced and the main characteristics of the mezcal that he was drinking, or better said, tasting. Pleasure and knowledge were merged (Cárdenas Salcido & Hernández-Díaz, 2016). In this way, the responsible behind the bar, was not only a seller, he was the one who deciphered the diversity and complexity of the plant along with the knowledge of the maestros mezcaleros to the consumers. During my mezcalerias visits, I realized with frequency that the tourist that I had met one day in a mezcaleria, the next day he would return to visit the same mezcaleria in search of something else, in search of more. I recognized myself with those behaviours.
With the pass of the time and at the end of my fieldwork I had many thoughts about the mezcal-world. As I previously showed, many of which have been cited by other authors. I consider this with the utmost respect, much has provided a substantial grounding to my own experiences. However, my field work experience brought forth two important and novel reflections, going beyond previous findings reports.
The first was that I ended up enshrouded in a world where human actors were seemingly not the main players. Mezcal, as an object, was the core and centre of such a world. At the same time, mezcal was produced by a multiplicity of objects and humans, and the relations among them, with paramount importance. Agaves, natural resources, temperatures, time, technology, yeasts, knowledge, labour, symbolisms, laws, rules, territories, flavours, smells; everything was diverse, unique and, everything seemed to be a crucial factor. The variation of any and of each had a heavy weight and would result in a specific mezcal, with its one and only world.
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In this light, contrary to Garcia (2018) who argues that “[…] standardization has created de facto two types of mezcal: the certified mezcal, mostly industrialized, and traditional mezcal, mainly produced in micro distilleries in rural areas” (p.30), I could not see two distinct mezcales. Certainly, there are multiple pathways, dictated mainly within small-scale and the industrial, but clashing and crossing so of often the lines seem blurred. Each attempt to classify seemed futile. Multiplicity echoed my head.
But then again, how was I supposed to explain the diversity that I was seeing and living. How could I explain the multiplicity of actants, their relations and their world?
The second of my queries, based on my observations along with my enmeshment in the mezcal(s) world(s), was concerning the specificity created around (or through?) the mezcal in its traditional form. Albeit as common thread, but not as rule, the promoters of the ‘mezcal culture’ had family mezcal roots, for instance coming from producers of distributors mezcal families, some of them did not. For some, their lives previously had nothing to do with mezcal but now it was their everyday. They were enthralled by the mezcal. I could see, perceive and feel those turns on me and in other people that I met in Oaxaca, or even friends or family to whom I introduced mezcal. It seemed that the more you knew and the more you learn, the greater the curiosity increased. How was it possible for me to end up with 40 litres of mezcal? What do I have in common with the mezcal-people? Is it possible for humans to develop relationships with non-humans?
1.4 Thesis overview
In this first chapter I have shown the context of my study presenting a part of the mezcal-world complexity. This shows the difficulty I had in its conceptualisation. I recognize the significance and value of previous research devoted to the study or mezcal; showing through diverse approaches the variety of challenges faced by this world. However, these studies do not consider and do not talk about the multiplicity of this world.
In the following chapter, I introduce the methodology and the theoretical grounding in which the thesis research was based, namely the new materialist approach, assemblage and affects. I explore each of these concepts in depth, reviewing their proponents and practicality and I will explain the reasons for using this theoretical grounding rather than other.
Chapter III, Chapter IV and Chapter V will refer to my ethnographic findings. I will portray part of my encounters within the mezcal-world. Through the stories I aim to illustrate the mezcal diversity, its contingencies and its vitality. In like manner, the chapters are aimed to show my engagement as researcher, steering the path of this research. I decided to write the first three chapters of pure ethnography because I considered that the stories would picture the everyday complexity and heterogeneity of the mezcal-world.
Chapter III is the first interview I had with one of my main informants. I decided on it because it was a critical point in my research; it was the first time that I perceived the mezcal as something more than a commodity and I saw feelings, history, energy and vitality. Through the interview a big context of the
18 mezcal-world along with its challenges and struggles are portrayed. The encounter is a clear entry point to dive into my emerging methodology.
Chapter IV paints my encounters with five small-scale producers that collaborate with the brand CUISH. The main intention is to tell their everyday stories in the palenques and in the countryside. I seek to portray the differences in their lives, in their geographical location, in the materials and methods used to produce mezcal, their challenges, struggles and preferences. The heterogeneity among them, attempt to show why I abstain from the use of the livelihood approach.
Chapter V will dive into in depth description of a tasting experiences that I shared with Chucho. A promoter of traditional mezcal. This chapter gives another set up of the mezcal-world.
Chapter VI is dedicated to the discussion where I apply the theoretical grounding to my findings; first, discussing mezcal as an assemblage; second, exploring how this challenge normal conceptions of globalization, namely through the movement of ‘traditional’ mezcal; next, I make a critique this movement and show that many of its efforts result in the same mistakes as the industrial alternative. Following this, I show how the movement was born of the assemblage, how it is conceived theoretically and how the same motivations that produced the search for a traditional mezcal, viewed as affects, can perhaps lead to a brighter future.
Finally, I complete this thesis with some conclusions and recommendations for further research. I posit that, while I have largely shown the faults of the currents moves to challenge globalization within the mezcal-worlds, I recognise certain aspects which I believe are successful. In hope, this thesis can provide a grounding for those defenders of the traditional mezcal to continue a more empowered and fruitful path to a sustainable traditional mezcal assemblage.
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CHAPTER II THEORIZING THE MEZCAL-WORLD
After the extensive mezcal literature research and later, my ethnographic encounters illustrated in Chapter II, Chapter III, Chapter IV and Chapter V, left me unsatisfied by existing research conclusions. I felt the need to conceptualize further than previous academics. Without doubts, their research was valuable for my understanding of the complex nature of the mezcal-world, and their contributions enriched the present thesis by stressing crucial economic, social and environmental issues. Undoubtedly, the documentation of these issues allowed me to go further.
Prior to leaving Wageningen, to travel to Mexico and indulge in the mezcal-world, I had envisioned studying this phenomenon through the Khanya Livelihood Approach (Hussein, 2002) and adaptation from the Sustainable Livelihood Framework.
The Sustainable Livelihood Approaches (SLA) discussion started in 1998 built on the work of the Institute of Development Studies (Carney, 2003). The framework has been applied in practical development work seeking for the understanding and betterment of rural areas around the world. This approach has been widely used, criticized and discussed by authors such as Diana Carney, Ian Scoones and Anthony Bebbington among other academics. The approach has been modified and implemented by non-governmental organizations such as United Nations Development Program (UNDP), CARE and Oxfam; and by governmental offices from diverse countries for instance the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID) which developed the ‘Sustainable Livelihood Framework’.
The flexible use of the Sustainable Livelihood framework is allowed and recommended (Carney, 2003). DFID stresses that there are many ways of applying livelihoods approaches to study development practices such as the reduction of poverty. The study is achieved through the analysis of people’s livelihoods, their assets and their strategies, depending of the local settings and objectives of its use. In this sense the approach would serve to identify diverse mezcal producers’ assets and capitals; the assumption was that their differences would reflect the variances of livelihood strategies among them.
The Khanya adaptation emphasizes the link between the micro-level (people’s lives), meso-level (local government) and macro-level (national governments and markets) (Hussein, 2002). In this sense, the analysis could cover in one hand issues relating to policies, institutions, market and in the other relationships among mezcal producers.
Despite that this framework could serve as a guide to the points where to look for, during my time in Oaxaca I soon realized that it was not enough to embrace the diversity among producers. These differences could not be measured and compared through a series of assets and capitals, their livelihoods also comprised local practices, social networks far more complex to study. Moreover, the livelihood approach was unable to enclose issues related to power and politics manifested in the mezcal-world that wriggle out from such fixed attempt to analysis.
As explained in Chapter I, the mezcal-world that I encountered was in constant transition. Changes arise at diverse ‘levels’ for instance at policy level that had a repercussion in both, the mezcal market and the lives of producers, however, I observed that these changes were not linear nor patterned; they did not affect everyone nor everything in the same way, and they were impossible to categorize and
20 say that they were mere ‘micro’ or ‘ macro’ changes. The mezcal-world is a series of constant becomings, changes were temporal rather than fixed.
In this vein I was challenged when I tried to understand the mezcal-world following the dualist ontology common from structuralist approaches such as global-local, structure-agency, human-nonhuman. The mezcal-world, as far as I observed, and I described in the previous chapter, it embraced these dualities. In the same way, I found this theoretical approach unsuitable to the mezcal reality, the livelihoods of people were derived from a mix of global and local, entangled processes. Therefore, structural approaches were also unsuitable to decipher the complexity and multiplicity within the mezcal-world.
The experience that I was living as ‘researcher’ in the field was beyond the theories and concepts with which I had become acquainted: the data, the information, the actants, their relationships, their disparities simply did not match the theories. From my perspective, most of the previous studies failed to describe the complexity of this mezcal-world.
Dissatisfied with existing theories employed to understand mezcal-worlds, I dived intensively in literature that I believed would help me make sense of the complexity of the mezcal-world. In the following sections I present the conceptual framework which I think better allows to grasp and embrace this complexity.
2.1 An attempt to bridge theory and practice. A New Materialist Approach The approach that most closely helped me make sense of my data and experiences in the mezcal-world was that of new materialism or neo-materialism. This field of enquiry, first proposed in the late 1990’s, has grown considerably in the past decade. The approach has been spearheaded by prominent contemporary thinkers such as Manuel de Landa, Rosi Braidotti and Jane Bennet who were inspired by the early work of the French philosophers Michael Foucault and mainly Gilles Deleuze in collaboration (or not) with Felix Guattari – the last two heavily influenced by the materialist philosophy of Baruch Spinoza.
Lately, the approach has been widely reconsidered and used by scholars such as Donna Haraway, Diana Coole, Samantha Frost, Nick Fox and Pam Alldred, Karen Barad and Richard Grusin, among others, thus giving rise to a new tradition of thought (Dolphijn & van der Tuin, 2012) anchored in a diversity (or combination) of disciplines including feminist theory, queer theory, science studies, philosophy, cultural theory and others.
New materialism as a field of inquiry shares an agenda with post-humanism in that it questions the anthropocentric doctrine where humans are taken to be the central entities in the universe and in its production. Thus, new materialism gives special attention to matter widely neglected in the past, de- centring the human in “favour of a turn towards a concern of the nonhuman” (Grusin, 2015, p.viii).
In this respect Bennet (2005), one of the main proponents of this field of enquiry, criticizes social science’ tendency to see social activity as composed of nothing but humans. Bennet problematizes the distributive and composite nature of agency, and asks: “Are there not human, biological, vegetal, pharmaceutical and viral entities?” (p.446).
In this sense, this theoretico-ontological turn proposed by new materialism recognizes ‘non-humans’, ‘matter’ or ‘materiality’ as “lively or as exhibiting agency” (Coole & Frost, 2010, p.7). In so doing, this post-humanist approach foregrounds matter as an active/agentic force which takes an active part in
21 the coproduction and enabling of (social) relations and, hence, of the social. As Coole and Frost indicate, “[…] materiality is always something more than ‘mere’ matter: an excess, force, vitality, relationality, or difference that renders matter active, self-creative, productive, unpredictable” (2010, p.9).
Following Fox and Alldred (2015) new materialism allows to overcome cherished social science dualisms such as mind-matter, culture-nature, human-non-human, reason-emotion, agency-structure. Likewise, the approach favours cutting across micro, macro and meso levels of analysis (which are not taken as givens). Breaking through these dualisms – what van der Tuin and Dolphijn (2012) call “the transversality of new materialism” – is, then, a key aspect of new materialism.
To sum up, new materialism withstands the anthropocentric belief of a human-centred ontology, thus reframing the way matter is understood and approached. The framework extends the capacities of agency and vitality to the non-human and the material. In new materialism, no entity has privileged ontological status over others; entities exist and have the capacity to relate and affect each other. In order to better present the new materialist approach, in the next paragraphs I elaborate its main concepts and considerations.
2.2 Core concepts and main considerations: assemblages and affects As explained by Fox and Alldred (2013), who elaborate on Deleuze and Guattari, a Deleuzian ontological approach is uninterested in what bodies, things, ideas, social institutions are; rather, it is interested in their relations: how they relate, in their capacities of action, of influence and doing. According to Fox and Alldred, the social emerges relationally; in this sense, entities produce, reproduce and coproduce relationships among themselves. The connections formed through these relations are associated in what, following a Deleuzo-Guattarian ontology, is called an assemblage, or constellation. Hence, assemblage(s) of entities (rather than detached actors) turn into wholes – and are what can be called the research unit of analysis.
But what is an assemblage? Being the core of Deleuze and Guattari’s (1987) ontology, the term assemblage was again put forward years later by De Landa (2006) and Bennet (2005; 2010). The term ‘assemblage’ or ‘thinking with assemblages’, ‘assemblage thinking’ or ‘thinking through assemblages’ has recently inspired diverse analysis in a wide range of fields of study such as geography, archaeology, ecology, art, history and social sciences (Anderson & McFarlane, 2011).
According to De Landa “assemblages are wholes whose properties emerge from the interactions between parts” (2006, p.5). Bennet explains that the heterogeneous formation of this whole is “made up of many types of actants: humans and nonhumans; animals, vegetables, and minerals; nature, culture, and technology” (2005, p.445). Therefore, an assemblage is inscribed within the new materialism turn, recognizing the existence of non-human beings. The gathering of these elements operates as machines that do something or produce something (Deleuze & Guattari, 1988).
Once the existence of these entities has been considered, in assemblage thinking the common understanding of agency is replaced by the Spinozist notion of affect (Fox and Alldred, 2015) meaning simply the ‘ability or capacity to affect and be affected’ (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987). Affects are disseminated within and between each entity that makes up an assemblage; within assemblages, then, there is no division among subjects and objects (Fox & Alldred, 2015): in an assemblage, every entity has the capacity to influence (or become influenced by) others.
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Affects refer in the same way ‘to the body and the mind’; they involve both ‘reason and passion’ (Hardt, 2007) and should not be confused with feelings or emotions. The understanding of this difference is fundamental for the assemblage ontology. In the words of Deleuze and Guattari “Affect is the active discharge of emotion, the counterattack, whereas feeling is an always displaced, retarded, resisting emotion. Affects are projectiles just like weapons; feelings are interceptive like tools” (1987, p.400). In this sense, affects can stimulate actions in other entities. Affects encourage effects. Therefore, affects are the interaction between entities -the capacities attributed to them. Affects are the essence of the associations among bodies. Affects represent the holding together of an assemblage, the vitality of it -the enactment of the assemblage.
The previous paragraphs entail that assemblages are relational. Assemblage thinking connotes groups or collectives with distributing ‘agencies’ (Anderson & McFarlane, 2011) where an entity cannot be conceived as isolated, unique or excluded. On the contrary, an entity comes into existence thanks to the interaction with others.
The affective alliance among entities is the core of an assemblage. Having assemblages as the object of study, “the concern is no longer with what bodies or things or social institutions are but with the capacities for action, interaction, feeling and desire produce in bodies or groups of bodies by affective flows […] and the capacities they produce” (Fox & Alldred, 2015, p.402). As pointed out by Fox and Alldred (ibid.) on the work of Deleuze and Guattari (1988), affects are not limited to produce one capacity. Thus, entities relate to one another other through affects which produce diverse capacities among various entities; particular affects operate in assorted manners within different bodies, sometimes producing unpredictable effects (Anderson, Kearnes, McFarlane & Swanton, 2012). Following this, social production is rhizomatic rather linear (Fox & Alldred, 2015, p.401).
Finally, due to their relational nature, assemblages can be perceived as territories (Anderson & McFarlane, 2011; Fox & Alldred, 2013, 2015) which are produced and contested by affective flows. These territories suffer processes of change through ‘assembling’, ‘disassembling’ and ‘re-assembling’, emphasizing in spatiality and temporality where elements are gathered and hold together. However, these processes are not fixed nor stable forms (Anderson & McFarlane, 2011). According to De Landa (2006) these transformations are produced through processes of ‘territorialization’ and ‘deterritorialization’. While territorialization stabilizes the assemblage’s identity, increasing its degree of internal homogenization and sharpening its boundaries, deterritorialization brings about changes in the assemblage – to the point of pursuing the formation of a new one (ibid). Therefore, assemblages are provisional territories where “relations may change, new elements may enter, alliances may be broken, and new conjunctions may be fostered. Assemblages are constantly opening up to new lines of flight (Deleuze & Guattari 1987) which, for Anderson and McFarlane, mean ‘new becomings’ (2011, p. 126).
To sum up: thinking through assemblages is thinking through multiplicities, complexity, difference and heterogeneity. It means thinking the rhizomatic possibilities in a non-linear system (Anderson, Kearnes, McFarlane & Swanton, 2012). An assemblage is a whole formed by heterogeneous entities of diverse nature, which correlate to one another by means of affects. Affects are correlational, denoting that they need two parties to be produced; they illuminate the power to affect the world and to be affected by it (Hardt, 2007). Furthermore, an assemblage can be conceived as a territory in constant change, “remaining deliberately open as to the form of the unity, its durability, the types of relations and the human and non-human elements involved” (Anderson & McFarlane, 2011, p.124). In this
23 respect, assemblages, through affects and the entanglements arising from them, are constant rhizomic becomings (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987).
2.3 Research Questions
The questions that came to plague me during my ethnography were not concerned with the top-down modes of operationalizing smallholder productivity, as asserted in Chapter I.
Rather I became obsessed with the material-human link between mezcal and the ‘world’ it has produced. Therefore, drawing away from the structured conceptualisation, I sought to use a methodology that challenged the assumption that the most significant influence on mezcal was the employment of global capitalism. I strived to centralize what had actually pulled me to this research topic in the first place, not the systemic movements of trade but the people and ‘things’ that converged around this allusive beverage.
I hereby maintain the definition of globalization in its loosest sense: as the mode of international trade transforming mezcal from a largely locally produced and sold commodity to a worldly available and mass-produced beverage. As is usually the case, these circumstances seek standardization and homogenisation of said product. These processes had initially peaked my interest in the topic as I had heard of the magnificent increases in exports of mezcal that had been occurring over the last five to ten years.
Once in Oaxaca, however, I came to realise that globalization was not defining mezcal. Hence, I formulated the following general research question:
What different ‘traditional’ mezcal worlds originate in Oaxaca and how do these relate to the globalization of mezcal?
To expand on this question, the sub-research questions that helped me to answer the main research question are the following:
(1) What affects fuel ‘traditional’ mezcal assemblages, and how are they manifested? (2) How do ‘traditional’ mezcal assemblages’ challenge homogenization and industrialization of mezcal? (3) To what extend can ‘traditional’ mezcal assemblages pursue their purposes?
2.4 Methodology
During my research I was confounded by the question; how could I explore the mezcal-world by not attempting to be part of it? My fieldwork in Oaxaca was based on an ethnographic approach, described by Schatz, as “[…] a sensibility that goes beyond face-to-face contact. It is an approach that cares-with the possible emotional engagement that implies-to glean the meanings that the people under study attribute to their social and political reality.” (2009, p.5). How could I explore such complexities and expect to feed them through a structured framework? - How could I immerse myself so fully and expect to retain an objective stance? - This is how I came to be, what I now understand as, ‘affected’ by mezcal.
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The fieldwork and the analysis based in the observations of the world that I was exploring along with the reflection of my encounters and experiences as ‘researcher’ influenced the shaping of this thesis research. In this sense, while conducting the fieldwork ethnography I transformed from a withdrawn observer into an affective methodology57. I define affect as the ‘ability or capacity to affect and be affected’; a non-conscious force diffuse within actors and actants that causes and influences action (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987). The authors Knudsen and Stage define an affective methodology as:
an innovative strategy for (1) asking research questions and formulating research agendas relating to affective processes, for (2) collecting or producing embodied data and for (3) making sense of this data in order to produce academic knowledge (2015, p.1)
Earlier, John Law (2004) made a call to social sciences, which aim to describe complex, diffuse and messy things, to create new forms of thinking, practice, relating and knowing; unusual or unknown methods in the social sciences. He suggests some possibilities such as “...hungers, tastes, discomforts, or pains in our bodies. These would be forms of knowing as embodiment” (ibid. p.1-2). An affective methodology follows the called ‘affective turn’ which according to Knudsen and Stage represents the urge to understand how bodies are affected and how they become “empowered and mobilized socially and politically” (2015, p.4).
The same authors remark that despite the differences among affect theorist and theories58 , they agree that affects travel between human and non-human bodies. Therefore, they argue that questions concerning affect become more answerable if researchers’ body is involved. In this way, researcher can collect material that allows ‘empirically based argumentation’. In this sense they conceive “the ‘researchers-body’ as an important resource for grasping the affective qualities of a certain research topic” (Knudsen and Stage 2015, p.5) 59.
Knudsen and Stage (2015) elaborate on how researchers do not create the world they investigate, but how they become affected by the researched world. They continue explaining that the “world reveal itself” during the development of the research. During my fieldwork, knowledge was co-constructed not solely by my personal reflections, the process of the research was steered by the mezcal-world through my interviewees, visits of palenques, observations, and through the affect embodiments of mezcal (Bøhling, 2015)
Therefore, the analysis of the thesis is based on my cognitive analysis in conjunction with my bodily- engagement process amidst the mezcal-world; what Haraway (1998) define as ‘situated knowledge’; where the researcher establishes a ‘conversation’ with the world. Knudsen and Stage (2015) inspired
57 For more about this methodology, see Affective Methodologies. Developing Cultural Research Strategies for the Study of Affect by Knudsen, B. and Stage, C. (2015). 58 There are some epistemological and ontological differences concerning the nature of affect. For more, read the Introduction of the book Affective Methodologies edited by Knudsen and Stage (2015). 59 The book “Affective methodologies” (2015), edited by Knudsen and Stage, presents the experience of diverse researchers which experimented or made use of affects in their researches to produce new understandings of events. Lisa Blackman (2015) dived into voice hearing, Elena Trivelli (2015) who researched a psychiatric hospital in Italy, writes about how the development of her research was based on her affects arising over time. Waterton and Watson (2015) challenge the conventional power of the researcher drawing upon two heritage sites letting themselves ‘being affected by the research’ suggesting that research “should be done in motion, contingent rather than predetermined, that would be the result of the context rather than a need of control” (p.103). In addition, Bøhling (2015) studied the bodily-affective dimensions of drinking and dancing, while making a strong reflection about the methods and methodology used in his research.
25 in Haraway’s work, explain that the main idea is that ‘researchers’ are not in charge of the world they study; conversely, the world can also reveal itself to the researcher.
2.5 Data Collection Methods
I practiced unstructured interviews which following Bernard “goes all the time and just about anywhere” (2011, p.156). In this sense, I spend important part of my time in Oaxaca in mezcalerias, which are the main drinking mezcal places (Wilson, 2004; 200)60 and visiting producers in their palenques. Similarly, I conducted semi-structured interviews to mezcal producers, owners of mezcalerias, public servants and appointed members of institutions such as the Ministry of Economy, Caminos del Mezcal and Sistema Producto Maguey-Mezcal Oaxaca. The interviews were scheduled with anticipation, open ended but following a general script or a list of topics depending of the interviewee lasting from one to three hours (ibid.). Further, I had several informal conversations when I was invited to social events such as anniversaries of restaurants and mezcalerias, casual gatherings of friends, and patronal feasts. Some of the information resulting from these experiences were captured as field notes.
With the passing of the time, I had the feeling that I was becoming more an acquaintance than a researcher. I felt welcomed in mezcalerias. In a couple of them I managed that instead of being served two ounces of one mezcal (as it is usually sold), to be served one ounce of one type and another ounce of another type of mezcal. The trick allowed me to taste more mezcales without getting drunk. These encounters allowed me to keep on-going dialogues with some of my main informants throughout the months. Some of my informants would introduce me to their families and share with me part of their lives, emotions, feelings, dreams and even confidential information. If asked, I would also share with them my thoughts, my challenges and some personal information. In this vein, the deep personal interaction I had with my interviewees, resulted ethically challenging at the moment of writing the thesis.
As sampling method, I used a purposive sampling that according to Bernard “you take what you can get” (2011, p.145), for instance, if during a meeting I would met a producer who would invite me to visit his palenque I would go to visit him. Also, I made use of snowball sampling method (Bernard, 2011) when I was advised in repeatedly occasions to contact somebody.
When considered pertinent, after having the consent of the person interviewed I made use of voice recordings. Most of the time it was not possible since many of my encounters were in public places, like bars and mezcalerias, where there was more people and music. In the same way, I made use of field notes and of a photographic archive which documents my time in Oaxaca. I transcribed and translated from Spanish to English the recorded interviews and field notes. To the extent possible, I tried to keep the language and manner of speaking of my informants. I apologize in case there are misunderstandings and assumptions from my part.
I practiced participant observation in governmental reunions that had as purpose the defence of the DO, as mezcal consumer in mezcalerias and mezcal tastings, in a guided tour to a popular palenque
60 Drinking places are often significant and culturally patterned spaces for drinking. The term is used by anthropology of drinking researchers such as Wilson (2004; 2005) and other authors who contributed in the book ‘Drinking cultures. Alcohol and Identity’ (2005) edited by the same author.
26 among tourists and in the festivities of the Day of the Death. I helped a couple of times behind the bar in a mezcaleria and in daily activities such as the building of Day of the Dead altars61, the tagging of mezcal bottles or in the relocation of an underground mezcal warehouse-tasting room. As well, I made use of secondary sources of information through extensive literature review and the analysis of regulatory documents, legislations and mezcal statistics.
Regarding research ethics, I informed all the interviewed people about my position as researcher and I was sincere about the intentions of my project. When I was asked about my research I would explain about it. However, I consider important to note that a part of the information was gather by observing or having informal dialogues with people in mezcalerias, mostly bartenders and consumers, which were not informed about my role as researcher.
Every time I conducted an interview, I asked the consent for using their names and taking notes and/or pictures. While writing this thesis I faced the dilemma of anonymity, however, I decided to use the names of my informants because I considered important to recognize their knowledge and valuable contributions to this thesis. Their lives and their relationships are, in fact, the essence of this research. Despite tempting, because of my interest to document and acknowledge the multiple differences among mezcales, I decided to avoid documenting specific steps carried out by diverse producers in the process of mezcal production. Their knowledge and ‘secrets’ had been preserved for generations, therefore, I consider that it was not ethical to mentioned them. In the same manner, I decided to avoid prices which can be considered a sensible topic.
This thesis research talks about the beautiful part of the mezcal-world. However, I am aware that the mezcal-world faces important issues that should not be neglected. For instance, poverty and marginalization lived by most of the small-scale producers, health problems entailing mezcal production such as alcoholism, rheumatism, lung damage and loss of sight, the neglected role of female producers, day labourers and maguey growers among others. In this sense, it is not my intention nor to neglect these problems nor to romanticize the mezcal-world. I tried to, at least, mention them along these pages, nevertheless due time and length constraint of the thesis I was not able to devolve into them.
Despite this thesis seeks to portray and highlight the mezcal-world everyday life through the voice and life of people; I speak from my own experience, from my own perceptions of the mezcal-world. At the end this thesis is a personal interpretation, a trial to make ‘theoretical’ sense of the realities observed and lived in a specific context and time.
61 In Spanish Día de Muertos. Is a Mexican traditional holiday where we remember friends and family who have died. We build altars for honouring them using marigolds, tequila or mezcal, water and the favourite dishes of the departed.
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CHAPTER III AFFECTS AND EFFECTS OF MEZCAL
During a weekend-trip to Oaxaca, in December 2014, making the most of being there, I tried to find “un mezcal de verdad”, “a real mezcal”. Based on this vague definition, my reasoning to find this mezcal was to ask about a place where it was small-scale produced. Perhaps a cooperative, I thought. My quest sent me to CUISH62. I remember that while heading there, I was walking away from the city centre. I crossed some drunks and prostitutes on my path, a common scene in the twilight of Oaxaca City suburbs, far from the bright lights of central promenade. I checked the address a couple of times just to be sure that I was walking in the right direction.
When I arrived, I found myself in a tiny room where the bar counter stretched from one side to the other. Without much detail, as far as I remember, the person in charge of the bar explained that CUISH was, in fact, a cooperative and that mezcal was produced in a traditional way. I tasted a couple of the mezcales, I bought a bottle and left. After some years, during my first field work month in Oaxaca, several of my interviewees spoke about Felix, sometimes addressing him as “Felix from CUISH”, and recommended me to contact him. I was not sure about what to expect from him, nor from CUISH. Opinions where quite positive about both. I was hesitant but at the same time curious about them.
I met Felix the 18th of October of 2017. It was a warm and sunny day in Oaxaca City. I started to walk towards CUISH in direction of Central de Abastos. This time I did not hesitate. I crossed the markets 20 de Noviembre and the Benito Juárez, where one market ends and the other begins. I was overwhelmed by the intense aroma of chocolate, bread, fruit, chapulines, tlayudas63 and dirt. After that, I spent a moment in the Mercado de Artesanías. I was always delighted by the colours of handmade embroidery and woollen tapestry from Tetotitlán del Valle. I walked east on the street General Ignacio Zaragoza, crossed some prostitutes and drunks, who perhaps spent some time in one of the nearby cantinas64. I had a similar impression years before. I continued walking through the street Díaz Ordáz. The smell of the smoke expelled by the busses was strong and dense. Next to a supplier of dried chillies, grains and spices, I found the place I was looking for. On its front it has a sign that reads "CUISH, Mezcaleria".
Figure 3. CUISH logo It illustrates a bat and a hummingbird which are the main agave pollinators Source: Picture provided by CUISH
62 CUISH is the name of the cooperative, brand and mezcaleria which was inspired by an agave of the same name. From now on, in order to avoid confusion, I am going to spell the name of the cooperative in capital letters and the name of the agave with lower cases. 63 Traditional Oaxacan dish. Consist of a large and thin tortilla covered with diverse ingredients. 64 Type of popular bar in Mexico.
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At first sight I was quite amazed. There was a huge difference from the image of the place that I had store in my memory from years back and the place that I was visiting that day. I was captured by the contrast of colours, ranging from the black of the metal and the natural colour of the fine wooden bar. The back bar was a matching natural wooden shelve, occupied by alluring mezcal bottles waiting to be sold and accompanied by some damajuanas65 filled with some unthinkably desirable mezcales. Likewise, a couple of clay-made bats figures, main pollinators of agaves, could be appreciated. Hanging from the walls there were a couple of suggestive paintings, I assumed Oaxacan art. I discovered, peeking from the top floor, agaves of diverse colours, sizes and shapes.
Figure 4. Mezcaleria CUISH Source: CUISH’s Facebook
I asked for Felix. I was guided to a sitting room farther back the bar. I was impatient, and my curiosity pushed me to the second floor. Once again, I was grasped by a sense of treasure and mystique. In front of me there was another bar, this one looked like the abandoned sister of the previous located in the ground floor. Replete of mezcales in different type of containers. I recognized the label of the mezcal that I bought years before. Other bottles had no label, instead they had the type of agave from which the mezcal was made or the name of whom I presumed were the producers, written with black indelible marker. There were also some dusty and greenish damajuanas.
After some time, my patience growing thin, Felix arrived. As a way of greeting we shook hands. Felix sat down and took out an agenda from a leather suitcase. I started explaining who I was and the intentions of my thesis research, I was sincere with him explaining that I was not sure yet exactly about what, but I wanted to tackle social aspects of the mezcal. Somehow between kind and serious, he told me that he was willing to support everything related to mezcal research, that much research was needed in the field. I felt welcomed by him.
Felix is thirty years old, he is a painter and studied political sciences. He is from Santiago Matatlán, a town and municipality in Oaxaca, located at 50 kilometres southeast of Oaxaca city, being is part of the Valles Centrales Region. Felix comes from a family of producers and distributors of mezcal. His
65 Containers used for store or transport mezcal. They are usually made by glass with a spherical shape. Usually, they have a wicker or other vegetables fibre cover, and its function is not only to protect said container, but also to give stability to its base, and facilitate its handling.
29 mother’s side of the family have been producers of mezcal for several generations; while his dad’s family are “gente de campo”66 maguey producers and milpa67 growers.
His parents ran an expendio, which is a place where mezcal is distributed, from 1987 to 1994, in the same street where CUISH is located. However, they closed it because in those times mezcal was quite discredited; it was said that mezcal was drank only by poor people, or by people from the countryside. As many other persons from Matatlán, they migrated to the United States for some time. When coming back to Oaxaca, his mother re-opened the expendio, to shut it down once again.
Ten years ago, in 2008, Felix resumed the family business. He recognizes that his decision was influenced by his uncle Cornelio Monterrosa, who formed the Union de Palenqueros68; an association of mezcal producers which had as its main objective to organize themselves for coping with the prohibition and taxation from the government in those times69. From his uncle’s activism, Felix learnt about the diversity of agaves, the diversity of mezcal production regions and the diversity of mezcal. In fact, in past times mezcal was not being differentiated depending on the maguey from which is mezcal is produced. Before, it was common to drink just ‘mezcal’; it didn’t matter, as much as today, if mezcal was Espadín, Tepextate, Barril or a mix (today called ensemble). When Felix became aware of that diversity and the difference between the mezcales, he started to categorize them. Therefore, following the example of his uncle, Felix initiated CUISH aiming to distribute mezcal and to recognize the diversity of mezcal.
CUISH is a Sociedad de Producción Rural (SPR), translated into English as Rural Production Society, which is formed by five small-scale traditional mezcal producers from the Valles Centrales Region and the Sierra Sur Region. The main objective is to distribute the mezcales produced by the producers through CUISH, the brand, the mezcaleria and the expendio, recognizing their diversity and their small- scale artisanal production. In such a way CUISH generates a relatively fixed economic income for the producers.
Felix followed the conversation explaining some parts of CUISH's history. In the street Díaz Ordáz 712, expendio CUISH opened its doors clandestinely in December of 2008. After some months it was closed by the authorities. In June 2009 this time complying with the official permits, the expendio was reopened. As expendio was the legal status of the place, they were not allowed to sell mezcal per glass, even if it was done from time to time. Felix envisioned to sell mezcal in the expendio, and after several negotiations with the government, that I could imagine were quite cumbersome, the legal status of ‘mezcaleria’ was created. Therefore, the expendio became, the first legitimate mezcaleria in Oaxaca. Proudly, Felix said
66 In English people from the countryside. 67 It is a crop-growing system used since ancient times in Mexico. The most common crops are maize, beans, tomatoes, squash and chiles. In some mezcal communities the agave is planted within the milpa. 68 In English Palenqueros Union. 69 For an extended overview of tequila and mezcal history see Chapter 2. From the Fields to your glass in Divided Spirits: Tequila, Mezcal, and the Politics of Production (Bowen, 2015)
30
... Even though we are here in the outskirts, in the outlying area … they've even written about us in some books, the mezcaleria [referring to CUISH mezcaleria] is a place where people come for mezcal, this is not a touristic place. That's how it was born, that's how it grew after the expendio that my parents had for many years next door.
Felix changed the topic to Maestros and Maestras del Mezcal70, an organization composed by mezcal producers from diverse regions all over México. One of the main objectives is to maintain, promote and protect the culture, history and natural resources behind the production of traditional mezcal through social organization. Besides, they seek the acknowledgment of the expertise and knowledge of the maestros. Thus, dignifying their trade as mezcal producers. Felix has been one of the main leaders Figure 5. in this movement since its creation in 2014. “It has been difficult Poster used for a regional maestros’ for us, it has been hard” was his first phrase. He continued meeting Source: CUISH We [the association] have even won... well periodicazos71, claiming that we put at risk the health of consumers, or because we ask to the maestros a moche72 for the meetings... Thousand things... But we have the satisfaction that we have the support of the maestros mezcaleros, and that [having the support of the producers] very very few [persons]...
One of the main activities of Maestros del Mezcal has been to create alternative spaces, mainly meetings called "Encuentros de Maestros y Maestras del Mezcal", in English “Maestras and Maestros Mezcaleros Meetings”, organized at state and national levels. The main objective of the meetings is that small mezcal producers can sell their mezcales without the need of intermediaries. Felix told me
This space [referring to the mezcaleria], has served for their meetings, their assemblies… who has made the
Figure 6. biggest of the work is Abel and I have helped in what I Poster used for the first national can. But the idea is that the producers organize maestros’ meeting in 2017 themselves, that’s the main objective. I believe that Source: CUISH much has been done…but a lot is missing, a lot is missing.
70 See http://maestrosdelmezcal.com/ 71 Jargon referring to fake news usually for defamation. 72 Jargon used as chip in, contribute or bribe.
31
Besides, within the association, they carry out public demonstrations to manifest their discontent with some laws that they consider threaten the maestros or the mezcal, also they promote some awareness-raising campaigns like the one of “Sin Maguey, No Hay Mezcal” that means “Without agave, there is no Mezcal", a claim to respect the maguey used by mezcal producers to make mezcal.
Figure 7. Poster used for the campaign ‘Sin Maguey no hay mezcal’ Source: CUISH
Felix continued,
The meetings of maestros mezcaleros is something without precedents. There have been mezcal fairs, such as the 'International Mezcal Fair'. Which first, it charges the admission [to the public]. Second, it charges the mezcal brands a good amount of cash. And three, [the fair organizers] give eight million pesos [around three thousand six hundred euros] to the government. They have hit us from there. They [the fair organizers] have sent letters to the municipality, To the municipal president, so that they [the municipality] do not allow this type of events [the maestros mezcaleros meetings] arguing that 'we promote illegality’, ‘we risk the health of consumers’
I could imagine the time and effort invested in this endeavour, but it was difficult for me to describe Felix’s feelings and I would say that even with the passage of time, it was always a challenge for me to decipher him. I could understand that he wanted to promote and care for the traditional mezcal and to recognize the work of the maestros mezcaleros. I sympathized with the cause. But, why? Was it worth it? I decided not to push on it because it was our first interview and I assumed we would have more time ahead for discuss these issues.
The conversation was steered to the topic of wild agaves. I was interested in the subject because during my time spent in Oaxaca I had heard several times that back in time mezcal was mainly produced from the Espadín agave and that the production of whole batches from one wild agave specie is quite new. I was impressed to learn that one of the parameters to define the price of a mezcal is it’s based on its rarity. Those trends are accompanied by constant discourses related to agave scarcity and the urgency of reproduce these agaves. Felix explained that for instance, the reproduction of Tepextate is very
32 challenging. From a single plant only between thirty and forty percent of the seeds will survive. I remember that a bit disconcerted he told me
It [the reproduction of magueyes] must be done. Because… because, these types of agaves [wild agaves] have already been popularized. And sometimes, I say… I don’t know… They [the wild agaves] were going to scatter anyways […] Right? But every now and then I think it [the promotion of wild agaves] was counterproductive because brands with lots of capital arrived and, if we [small producers] took years [promoting the consumption of mezcal], they do it like this [snapping his fingers]73. I have seen the process of well positioned brands. They used to come here [to CUISH], to taste the mezcales etcetera, etcetera. And we used to explain them ‘this [mezcal] is from Santa Catarina Minas, this other [mezcal] is from Chichicapam and they used to tell us ‘we want to work with the producers, we want to have a [mezcal] brand’, ‘everything will be very nice and lovely’, ‘with an integral development’ etcetera, etcetera. Nevertheless, not always is like that. But what they have, is a lot of capital. And to have a large distribution [of mezcal], large amounts of agaves are needed. So ... uh... if the population of wild agaves declines; it is not due to those batches that have been always produced but to the demand of large markets. And well, to the tequileros. Definitely. It doesn’t matter which village you go, it doesn’t matter, either in the Mixteca, in the Sierra Norte, in the Sierra Sur or in Valles Centrales, whichever, any producer will tell you the damage due the industrial extraction of agave made by them for tequila production.
I felt overwhelmed by all the information. It was the first time that somebody talked to me about so many topics at the same time. I tried to process the information. It was warm, there was some local people drinking some mezcal in the bar. We continue talking about the issue of natural resources scarcity. Felix told me that it is necessary that the maestros mezcaleros start to reforest trees for the firewood that used the wood that is used for the cooking of maguey and the distillation of mezcal, the endemic agaves and the care of aquifers
It is true that those haven’t been taken care by us […] It is matter of communication, of organization. We have to say ‘maestros, the vinasses74 are going to screw the river, they will screw the water wells, we are self-fucking ourselves. And it’s true […] It is simple, but it is also difficult…
Felix expressed his concern about the extraction of resources from distant territories. According to him, there was a correlation between natural resources and mezcal. Then, the environmental damage and the loss of natural resources’ biodiversity would be echoed in mezcal’s diversity. If natural resources are lost, mezcal heterogeneity is endangered, thus the result would be a similar mezcal produced everywhere. He exposed
…it will be lost this thing about mezcal that one [mezcal] from Santa Catarina Minas tastes different from this other [mezcal] from Baltazar Chichicapam, even if they are five kilometres far away from each other, which tastes different from that one from Santiago Matatlán, that tastes different from that one from San Dionisio Ocotepec. Because they have certain type of soil, water, they share some [species of] agaves but they have those differences… because
73 In México snapping fingers is part of the non-verbal communication and means quick or quickly. 74 Vinasses are the liquid waste resulting from the production of mezcal. It is an acidic liquid very aggressive to the environment. Usually there is no treatment for this type of residuals.
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that’s Oaxaca, due its rugged geography. Then, the historic taste is being lost, because the maguey from Matatlán it isn’t any more from Matatlán, is from…I don’t know, from Zoquitlán. The wood it’s no longer from Matatlán, it comes from the Mixes. And the worst thing that can happen is that water is not anymore from Matatlán, it’s from somewhere else. That is a serious problem. That nothing is from there [referring to Matatlán], just the alembic; not even the workforce […]. So, it will be lost what French people call: the terroir. And well… the mezcal becomes something else, a liqueur. Besides, if the transnationals [mezcal companies] come and say ‘the people [referring to the consumers] like it [referring to mezcal] soft, of 36-38 degrees’. Then, you are making liqueur; that’s no more a cultural good. You speed up the process of the maestros mezcaleros. If before he used to have one alembic, or he used to commit part of his time to grow maize, or beans, or chili, etcetera, he will quite those activities to meet the demand [of mezcal].
Felix continued telling me that some years ago, magueyeros and mezcal producers signed fixed prices contracts for five or ten years with certain mezcal brands. This means that the prices of maguey and mezcal were not subject to bargain along the duration of the contract. “Imagine! That doesn’t benefit anyone”, he said. According to him, the price of agave quadrupled only in the last two years. This situation had an impact for everyone in the mezcal-world. But, the most affected were the magueyeros and mezcal producers who signed those contracts. Prices were set and would not change. Therefore, the magueyeros and mezcal producers who had signed those contracts faced a huge disadvantage. The mezcal producers who signed contacts would have a minimum profit margin due the increased production costs due maguey rising prices, and magueyeros who signed the same contracts would not be able to take advantage of this golden opportunity. Disappointed he expressed “…they were profiting with the good will of the maestros, noble and very hard-working people”
His discomfort coming from seeing the abuse of those brands was fuelled by something else. He added
Even worse, in a Forbes list75, the magazine, it appeared the five top [mezcal] brands… uh… ‘premium’. From those brands, I saw two that have these types of contracts, but for sure, they are [sold] in the best restaurants
Another form of exploitation came from public servants. He mentioned the story of one deputy who made a project presumably along with a mezcal producer’ association from the Chontal highlands. A warehouse including bottling equipment was built with government resources. Eventually, the deputy used the name of the association only for compelling with bureaucratic procedures, but at the end she was the only owner of the building.
Felix followed
Those kinds of abuse are happening…. So, that is why the organization [of producers] is needed. My family tells me: ‘why are you doing that [working with the producers], you could work with our mezcal only. But the truth is, that… I was very influenced by my uncle.
I continued asking Felix about how he works with the producer and how the mezcal, and its price, was negotiated. He replied that he does not buy maestros’ mezcales; that he promotes and distributes their mezcales. He confessed that usually he feels a great pressure from the maestros to sell the mezcales as they would like. According to him, selling mezcal was becoming a difficult endeavour due
75 See https://www.forbes.com.mx/forbes-life/mezcal-los-mejores/
34 the increasing pressure from the authorities. In the past, some bottles in Mexico City had been confiscated because there were no certified hence there did not have the certification holograms. Therefore, CUISH was obliged to certify as much as mezcal as possible. Selling uncertified mezcal was becoming risky. Felix explained me that in a previous meeting with the producers he made them aware of the situation. Without certification, selling mezcal was a risk endeavour. In spite that some palenques were already certified, the process of certifying each batch was always a wager.
Discussing the production of mezcal Felix explained me that among the industrial production of mezcal chemicals are used to accelerate fermentation. He expressed
…the maguey already took a long time [to mature], and if you do not want to wait fifteen more days [of fermentation time]; it’s … it’s very silly not to wait for a natural fermentation when the maguey took already eight years
We came back to the topic of the plants, he wanted to tell me something about the ritual importance of the Tepextate, but instead he said “… I also really like its shape because it is like… it’s like a huge Tobalá…”. I noticed some excitement, he got up from his seat and went to the bar. I followed him. He took some photo albums and a poster. Then, he offered me a mezcal. As I used to do, I let him choose it. He poured me two ounces of Tepextate. I was excited. We returned to our previous spot, and he said
Look, this poster is like our ‘classic’ and it has helped us with the diffusion [of mezcal diversity] and is very didactic. We have produced like this kind of things, fanzines, posters… and here at the back part [of the poster] there is some information… we missed some biography from the CONABIO76, but these texts come from our experience. So, this [pointing an agave design] is the Tepextate. I will show you a picture… so, this is the Tepextate maguey. I like its shape, its dimensions, it is a long-lived maguey, with just few stalks, but like very… its… its… its cuticle is gritty, it reminds me like a dinosaur… and its mezcal as well, I love it. It is like, more complex, very floral but at the same time herbaceous, or at the same time fruity. I like its perfume [ opening a Tepextate bottle for after smelling it] Uff…this one is of my favourites.
Without the need for asking him any question, he continued explaining me that due to the great diversity wide range of mezcales it was very difficult to state which was ‘the best mezcal in the world’. He told me that the diversity of mezcales comes from a mingle between Oaxaca’s natural biodiversity of the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre del Sur and the social diversity from the diverse range of peoples.
76 In Spanish, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y uso de la Biodiversidad. In English, National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity
35
We discussed some points about the IEPS and he shared with me that they recently they were selling less because their prices doubled due the taxes. “That’s another topic. A hard one”, Felix acknowledged that taxes have to be paid, but his stance was that those taxes, in one form or another, should be reflected in some way such as in the improvement of a road or the betterment of palenques.
I asked Felix if in CUISH they labelled some mezcales with other names such as “agave spirit” “agave distilled” or “Komil”, names that sometimes are used to avoid the certification process and cost. After taking a moment for reflecting he answered me “You can do it but… hum……No. Well no. It has always been called like that and it will be called like that”.
I wanted to know his point of view of the current state of affairs of the mezcal-world and the future. It as big risk that the mezcal is becoming just a trend, following the steps of the tequila because such as the tequila, after some time of glory it could go out-of-fashion. He continued
The vindication of mezcal is made through diffusion, tastings, telling people about alcohol levels. A traditional mezcal must be above 45˚, it does not necessarily have to carry the worm, all the aromas and flavours that you perceive should be pure, of each maguey, it has to smell baked maguey, there is a great diversity of agaves, it is a lot of work, it is scientifically proven that it is the best distillate for human consumption [...] then there is much to share. And at the end, this vindication must be made now spreading the culture because in the end it is the national drink. The tequila is 'the famous cousin' isn't it? 'The rich cousin' [...] It must be made because it must be given. But meanwhile, we are in between to know if it is a fashion or is a true encounter with us, with our identity. It must be made a vindication ... and an acknowledgment to the people who produce it.
It seemed to me that many more things could be said but I had already big pieces of information. After a big silence, Felix asked me: “and how is the Tepextate?” and I replied, “I love it, that’s why I’m sipping it”.
It was the moment of finish our conversation. I had too much information in my mind and I had the feeling that, in that moment, there was nothing more to be said. Felix saved my Figure 8. Two-sided poster of agaves biodiversity phone number and I saved his. He would call me if he was Source: CUISH going to visit the palenques in the coming days.
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CHAPTER IV MEZCAL ENCOUNTERS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
4.1 Maestro Rufino Felipe Martinez Saturday October 21st of 2017 and Friday November 10th of 2017
Maestro Rufino’s palenque is in Santa Catarina Minas, a town sited in the Ocotlán district, in the Valles Centrales Region, around forty kilometres southeast of Oaxaca city. The town is renowned by the production of the mezcal usually called ‘mezcal minero’ literally translated into English as mine mezcal. What makes special the mezcales of this village is that traditional mezcal distillation is made with superimposed clay pots and some people say that the quality of the water and soil minerals give a peculiar mineral taste. At the entrance to the town, there is a sign that says: “Welcome to Santa Catarina Minas, the cradle of mezcal”. As a characteristic of Valles Centrales, in the distance the mountains can be appreciated. At the edge of the road and the streets of the village Karwinskii magueyes of different varieties and ages dress up the scene.
After one hour driving and a stop at the Ocotlán market for breakfast. Felix and I arrived at our destination. There was a grid of reeds with a metal door in front of us. We went out of the car and Felix started to knock the door and to shout some names. I tried to sneak an eye through the cracks on the grille without success. Felix climbed a stone to look over the fence. There were people inside and we could enter.
There were some diverse agaves planted in harmony with banana trees. Piles of wood here and there. I could hear a stream nearby. I recognized three parts which composed the palenque. Right to the left there was a shed where the maguey is chopped, and mallet grounded. Next to it, out to the open, the fermentation vats are. Alongside this area, there is a hut where the process of distillation takes place. In front of it there is an earth oven with a red ceiling covering it. The structure is one of the few economic helps that the government has given as support to some producers.
Figure 9. Entryway to Maestros Rufino’s palenque Source: Author’s picture
37
Some men were chopping some cooked agaves under the first roof. We greeted but we did not stop. There were not the people we were going to visit. I followed Felix to the distillation area. While walking my nose detected the smell of sugar becoming alcohol coming from two fermentation vats that were covered with petates77. In the distillation area there were two alembics made from superimposed clay pots with bamboo tubing. Embers lit, distilling mezcal. The early morning sun it slipped through the spaces of the fence delineating lines in the smoke that came from the burned wood. On top of the first clay pot there was a small altar with the image of the Santa Catarina, the patroness of the town, and the Juquila Virgin which is venerated in Oaxaca. Moni and Lalo were there. Felix greeted them and introduced me and explained them that I was doing a research about mezcal. They started to talk, and I understood that Lalo was the son of Maestro Rufino and is married to Moni. Maestro Rufino was not there, since dawn, he went to work in his land. I remarked some blankets on the floor, to later assume that they must have spent the night in the palenque distilling.
While Moni and Lalo continued to distil, they shared with me some of their knowledge and life producing mezcal. Lalo started learning by doing how to produce mezcal twenty years ago. Since then, he helps his father in the palenque. Apparently, Lalo was famous for being a good maguey cutter because of his skills and practices. They told me that in his younger days he cut eight tons per day. Moni, who is thirty and is one of the women of whom little is spoken in the mezcal-world, was helping in the maguey and mezcal production since she got married with Lalo and, for two years ago she has been learning and helping in the mezcal distillation. It was the first time that I saw the process of distillation in clay and I learnt that producers must be very careful with the fire temperature because they risk that clay pots burst or to have a bad quality product as consequence of high temperatures. It was the moment of replacing the clay pot, and I witnessed the process.
After some more talk they asked me if I wanted to try some mezcal. I gladly accepted the invitation. Moni, Felix and I left Lalo working in the palenque and we walked towards their house which is located approximately one hundred meters far away. At the entrance, there was a stunning Tepextate planted. Felix made me stop. He showed me the maguey closely and told me it was his favourite maguey. He taught me how to distinguish this type of maguey by touching the underside of its stalk. He continued telling me that he liked it because it felt like if it was a dinosaur. He was right. The under part of the Tepextate's stalks are like that, rough, like the skin of an iguana, a chameleon or a dinosaur.
We entered Maestro Rufino’s house which is shared with Moni, Lalo, their two children and Lalo’s brother. Lalito, her younger son was there. His mother asked him to say hello, and timidly he did. Moni invited us to sit down. Followed, she proudly displayed two awards that were given to her father in law. The first one dated from 2015, granted by the association Maestros de Mezcal. It was as recognition of his knowledge as his life experience as mezcal producer. The second, given one year later, in 2016, by the CRM, for the same achievements.
Moni continued telling Felix about certain women that did not came back to the palenque to buy mezcal. She elaborated saying that said woman wanted to make them sign an ‘exclusivity contract’ but as they refused she never came back. Moni offered me some exquisite mezcales while she convinced Felix to take more mezcal for CUISH. Felix agreed, and they loaded the truck’s trunk with mezcal, perhaps Arroqueño. Felix and I said goodbye and continued with our journey.
77 Artisanal carpet made by palm natural fibres
38
The 10th of November was my second visit. The main objective of it was to meet Maestro Rufino and interview him. Felix and I arrived at Maestro Rufino’s house and found Moni waiting for us. Once again, Maestro Rufino was not there. This time he was solving some errands concerning a sheep. I was quite disappointed because I really wanted to meet him. At that point, at least I thought, it was very important for the research to have an interview with each producer of CUISH. I had some time constraint issues that would prevent me from visiting them again. However, I realized that it was the second time that Maestro Rufino was not around due other chores and I reflected about the dynamism of livelihoods in the countryside. In this case, concerning the small-scale production of mezcal. That thought could be a good reflection for the thesis, I considered. And, in the end, I could have another interesting perspective coming from Moni’s experiences.
Unlike our last journey Felix and I had not had breakfast. Felix proposed to have lunch in a local restaurant located nearby. Moni agreed, and we went there by foot. We crossed a bridge that for my point of view was quite big, even ridiculous, for the rivulet over it. Moni interrupted my thoughts. She told us that not long ago a mezcal producer had drowned there. That took me by surprise. How could someone drown with water that does not go further than the knee? Then, alcoholism came to my mind. Alcoholism is a topic in the world of mezcal that not many people talk about, but many feel it, hang with it or undergo it. I realized that when one gets involved in the world of mezcal, it becomes obliged to drink mezcal. Always. Day or night. The mezcal is looking for you and you are looking for it. And then, from mezcal to mezcal, day by day, I could see that alcoholism was a real issue. From the producers in the palenques who had to go into rehabilitation clinics, to the high commands in governmental instances. In Oaxaca, I got used to listen stories of producers who had stopped drinking, or others who were letting their liver rest for some time, or mezcalerias' stories that frequently ended up in car accidents. Once again as if Moni was guessing my thoughts she added that when the man drowned, he was drunk.
We arrived at the restaurant that was hidden somewhere in the undergrowth. It was a cosy place with lots of charm surrounded by nature. The two women who attended the place greeted Felix with glee. We ordered. For me some enchiladas with tasajo78 and cafe de olla79, and Felix, as I predicted, enfrijoladas80 with two sunny side up eggs.
I started the interview with Moni. I confirmed that Maestro Rufino, Lalo and she oversee mezcal production. As mentioned before, she has been learning for a couple of years how to distil mezcal. Once, Lalo told her that it was good for her to learn in case that he would not be there one day. She added “I have to learn, that’s what we do for a living”. She seemed happy and content about it. Her son also helps in the production of mezcal in small tasks such as cleaning and hand over some things. Moni explained that sometimes they need to hire a day labourer who helps cutting maguey or covering the oven. He is payed $250 pesos per day (around 11.6 euros) and, he might ask for a Coca-Cola, a litre of mezcal and, of course, his lunch. She told me that time to time they rent the palenque to other people that do not have one. In return they get paid back with mezcal. I recalled the men that I saw in the palenque the first time I visited them.
I asked her why they did not produce aged mezcal or mezcal with worm. Lalo did not like it, she said. Before, they used to produce more mixes, but now less and less because "the flavour of each one was
78 Oaxacan beef cut usually smoked 79 Coffee brewed with cinnamon and sugar 80 Mexican traditional dish made with tortilla and beans sauce
39 no longer distinguishable". In the palenque, they mainly produce Arroqueño, Bicuish, Tobalá, de Pechuga, Coyote and Marteño.
While speaking on maguey, Moni told us that Lalo and Maestro Rufino had some plots planted with maguey of good quality which was ‘ready’, for being harvested and produce mezcal. They did not want to sell it for now, but they had a lot of pressure from other family members who wanted to buy some of their maguey. This confirmed the rumours of maguey scarcity that I had been listening quite often to throughout my stay in Oaxaca.
Figure 10. Maestro Rufino in his palenque Source: CUISH
Maestro’s Rufino family also works the milpa for self-consumption, sometimes they buy and resell sheep and zacate81. Despite these complementary sources of income or livelihood strategies (as rural developers would call them) mezcal remains the main source of income for the family. They sell part of the mezcal in the community and through other middlemen. However, being part of CUISH was favourable ensuring regular sales and revenues from mezcal.
When I inquired about the certification, Moni told me “It is a mess, people say that you break even”. Felix intervened adding that certifiers visits are random, and when they go to a palenque and they do not find anyone they put in the registers that the palenque “Doesn’t exist”.
An aged man entered the restaurant. He was Maestro Rufino. By chance he was coming back from the sheep-venture and as he was hungry he passed by to have lunch. He was surprised to see us there. We shook hands and I felt those rough hands, commonly of people who work the land. Maestro Rufino is
81 Maize forage used as animal feed
40 seventy-eight years old and he started producing mezcal fifty-eight years ago, when he was twenty. All his life. Lately he had some constraints to produce mezcal because he had cataracts and the smoke was not good for his eyes. Felix was constantly concerned about his health but Maestro Rufino seemed not to be afraid, with mischievous humour he told me “with mezcal, the disease doesn't fuck me".
I asked him how he calculates the alcoholic degree of mezcal, and he told me that he did not know anything about grades. If mezcal burns on the lips or in the throat, it needs to be adjusted. He added that sometimes his nephews call him to “fix” their mezcal. I ventured and asked him if he charged them in return some money; he turned to see me as if I was coming from Mars. I enquired again and asked him how he knows that mezcal is ready, to what he calmly replied: "to my taste"
Changing the topic and coming back to the maguey, Maestro Rufino without further ado said “Now, I've decided, I'm going to sell some rows of maguey to earn some dough”. That statement took us all by surprise, but I think Moni was the most surprised after she had just told us that Lalo’s thinking was exactly his father’s opposite. Such a twist. I could not void to smirk. After such revelation, Maestro Rufino surprised me one more time. He told me that he was thinking to ‘innovate’. He wanted to try to make a mezcal with pineapple. Incredible! To which Moni quickly added as a condition: "but it has to taste as mezcal".
We continued chatting for a while when Felix and I realized that it was already late. Moni asked my phone number and she told me that they would invite me next time they would cook maguey. I appreciated and enjoyed the idea. We said goodbye to Maestro Rufino who had to continue with his duties. Moni, Felix and I went back walking to their house. As I anticipated Moni invited us to taste some mezcal. Followed, I decided to buy an ensemble: Tobalá-Bicuishe, the one that I liked the most.
4.2 Maestra Berta Vázquez Saturday October 21st of 2017, Friday November 10th and January 10th of 2018
Maestra Berta’s palenque was our second stop after visiting Maestro Rufino’s. San Baltazar Chichicapam, where is located, is 15 kilometres after Santa Catarina Minas, with direction to San Dionisio Ocotepec. The road is coloured by nopales, magueyes and marigold flowers reminding me that the Day of the Dead was near. I observed some maize fields with the signs of one genetically modified seeds corporation.
During the ride, Felix told me that lately there was a lot of agave theft. I found the situation shocking. I was used to hear about car, banks or even cattle theft. But, maguey robbery? I pictured the cunning and skills needed to achieve such felony. A few weeks later, I learnt that a year ago, one of the communities caught maguey thieves who were lynched by the villagers. The same story was repeated a couple of months ago but this time but the good heart of the affected would forgive them and would turn them over to the police.
Finally, Felix and I arrived to Maestra Berta’s palenque. It was bigger than I expected. A big tile roof was in front of us. Maestra Berta was waiting. She had loose long greyish-whitish hair. Like all the times I met her, she was wearing a dress, this one, was made by blue shiny fabric with a traditional flowered apron. She greeted Felix with appreciation and he introduced me. She kissed me. The Maestra was not alone, she was accompanied by Toño her grandson who is approximately ten years old.
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Figure 11. Maestra Berta in her palenque Source: CUISH
Maestra Berta is sixty-two years old and she learnt to produce mezcal when she was a child while helping her parents. She had been fourteen years producing mezcal in the palenque where we were, but it does not belong to her. Her son Pablo, who unfortunately passed away fourteen years ago, was the owner and it was inherited by his widow; however, she has another job. For that reason, it is Maestra Berta who takes over the production of mezcal, even if some decisions are taken by her daughter-in-law.
Maestra Berta showed me the palenque. The grinding of agave is made using a tahona which is pulled by a donkey or a mule she rents paying per day $1,200 pesos (around 50 euros). It has eight fermentation vats and three copper alembics which in their cement base had painted white calla lilies inside of black clay jars with an orange background. The palenque has two pit ovens. One with a red roof and the other open-air, cooking some magueyes. In the tip of the earth mountain there was a cross made of wooden twig with little pink flowers dressing up their points, to entrust it to God.
There is a pile of wood used for the maguey cooking in the oven and another pile of wood used for distillation. There is not the same type of wood. I noticed that there were very small agaves growing indistinctly on the ground, mingling with weeds, yellow flowers and charcoal. We went back to the distillation area, where a man was supervising the mezcal distillation, and she offered me a jícara with freshly distilled Tobalá. Then she suggested us to visit her land where the maguey had been planted. Felix, Maestra Berta, Toño and I got into Felix’s truck.
In our way, we did a quick stop in a mezcal warehouse which is shared with one of her sons. As it is common in the houses of mezcal producers, it had a patio where different magueyes were planted. Without much order, careless. A few, they grew on their own, others had been planted together with the later intention of being transplanted in the field. Inside the house, Maestra Berta had boxes with glass bottles, some gallons filled with mezcal and a bottling machine, which she does not use. We continued our way. The landscape was beautiful. Mountains seemed closer. Hilly terrain. Agaves,
42 nopales82, huizaches83, Cardon cacti here and there. It was a warm sunny day. It was lonesome. Soil in that area did not seem fertile, plebby, sandy and stony. Making hard to dig on it. I wondered how the agaves could grow in those conditions granting the planting and harvesting of maguey as challenging tasks. I imagined Maestra Berta walking at five in the morning in that road.
Approximately twenty minutes after we had to continue our path by foot because of a river. Maestra and Felix seemed a bit worried about me. I took off my boots to cross the river, I felt the cold clear water, refreshing me. Kindly, Toño was making his best to help me. Along the path agaves were planted as a fence. It was a hot day. While we were walking, Maestra Berta was showing us the agaves, like in a tour museum. I presumed pride, such as a mother talking about her children.
Some agaves were wild, growing without logic, they reproduced themselves without human help, therefore there were diverse species, ages and sizes. Unlike, others were recently planted by Maestra Berta in rows, she anticipated their need in a near future. I was explained that annually for three years ago she plants around 1,000 and 1,500 agaves per year. Despite this, for two years, Berta had to buy maguey because the ones that she had were not enough to meet the mezcal demand or were not ready to produce mezcal.
At some point, Maestra Berta indicated the territory of land that she had to clean up from bushes and wilderness with hast. In some parts of Oaxaca, as a customary law, land belongs to those who work it. If it is not worked, it can be taken away. She was planning to hire a couple of day labourers to do it despite the costs of this investment.
We started our way back. I could not resist the temptation and I asked Maestra Berta if I could have one of the four centimetres magueys that were growing next to the road. She gave me her permission. Toño happily decided to help me with the endeavour. It seemed a simple task. I took my knife out and with rocks we start to dig in the soil. We were so focused, but we failed. The roots of the baby agave where so attached, and the soil. It was so hard to dig that it was simply impossible. We failed. When we reached Maestra Berta and Felix, they had dug out a much larger maguey, about two or three years old, around seventy centimetres tall and they were removing the thorns from the tips, so as not to hurt us. Between feeling extremely embarrassed and happy, I rendered thanks for the gift.
We finished our tour in Maestra Berta’s house. I felt that she was feeling comfortable with me, unlike at the beginning. That situation gave me a satisfaction feeling, I knew that if she trusted me I could be able to meet her deeper and through her trust I could gather valuable information to better understand the mezcal-world. She warmed some minute black beans from the last harvest which, according to her, was a meagre one. We sat down and eat. Maestra Berta’s offered us a mezcal. She gave me a Mexicano, a rare mezcal. Tasty, fresh, green. Then I tasted an exquisite ensemble Tobaziche- Espadín which became one of my favourite companions at night in Oaxaca when I was writing this thesis. I asked her if it was possible to buy a litre, and she went to prepare the bottle. She came back, and when I tried to pay her, she refused. I ask Felix to intervene, but he didn’t. My Mexican experience told me that it was going to be impossible for me to pay her that time. It was not the first time that it happened, and I needed to find a plan to stop these circumstances. I was genuinely ashamed. And as if it was not enough, she gave me some of the meagre-harvest beans and some homemade chocolate
82 Is the common name given in Mexico for Opuntia cacti, usually called in English as prickly pear. In Mexico is used as a common ingredient in numerous cuisine dishes. 83 Huizaches is a species of shrub or small tree wide common in Mexico
43 bars prepared by her. My embarrassment became again gratitude. Berta liked me, and I also liked her too. Felix and I said goodbye and we headed to our next palenque visit.
The next time Felix and I went to visit Berta, I was very pleased to see her again. The purpose was to apply her a questionnaire concerning her knowledge about mezcal production. Maestra Berta received us with joy. She was with Toño and, on this occasion, she was renting the palenque to other producers. There were four men, one woman and one girl around eighth years old. The girl called my attention because while the men were grinding the maguey and the woman was taking care of the distillation, the girl was playing around but being attentive to the production.
I started with the questionnaire. Most of the questions seemed to me the recapitulation of my last visit. One of the questions was concerting the challenges of mezcal production. Naively, I thought that responses would be to do with the certification, or the taxes but I was wrong. Maestra Berta told me that her biggest challenge was her constant struggle with some day labourers. The first time I saw her she told me “it is a lot of work being woman”. Maestra Berta grows maguey and produces mezcal. But, she cannot do everything alone, thus she pays day labourers from the area to help her with different tasks, for instance cleaning the land, harvesting maguey, covering the oven and sometimes to look after mezcal distillation. However, several times, maybe encouraged by mezcal, they insulted and humiliated Maestra Berta, telling her, among other things, that she is not a real producer, nor a Maestra mezcalera. In the same way, Berta suffers with the rumours and gossips of the townspeople who as mockery, they ask themselves: What does Berta do in the palenque or in the countryside with so many men? All this is a burden for Berta.
The palenque she suffers from water scarcity and she is often obliged to buy water because there are no direct water resources nearby. The same happens with the wood that she needs for mezcal production. I asked her which kind of magueyes she produced. She told me “Tobaziche, Tepextate, Mexicano, Tobalá….as it is given [by nature], is produced” meaning that when the maguey is ready for being harvested is time to produce mezcal. I also asked her why she was producing just white mezcal and no others, she told me that it is the most popular among buyers. She told me that she preferred to drink Tobaziche or Espadín, confessing that she prefers to drink alone and when she is tired. I thought it was admirable that she was renowned for one of her favourite mezcales, her Tobaziche.
She answered all my questions and doubts about the mezcal production process and when we finished we went to her house again. This time I told her that I wanted to buy some mezcal, that I was aware of the work and time of produce it was enormous, that I knew the price and the only way I would take it was that she would let me pay for it. Just after this prattle, she would agree. I succeeded. I bought a litre of Tobaziche, delicious and fresh. I thought, better than the last one. We said goodbye and she gave us some fresh corn. She told me to come back soon, after finishing my master’s.
During my last days in Oaxaca I heard from Felix that Maestra Berta was going to come to the city. I knew that this was the last opportunity to see her, likewise to buy some of her mezcal. We met in CUISH-Mezcaleria. It was beautiful, we were both happy. She handed me the medida84 of mezcal and we sat down to talk about everything and nothing. We asked for a few glasses at the bar and poured some of her mezcal, we toasted, and we drank it, enjoying it. Berta seemed a bit worried about me, she told me that I should find a husband in Oaxaca. I laughed! She had to leave soon because she had
84 Term that refers to the amount of five litres of mezcal
44 to pay a visit to the hospital. Maestra Berta shared with me some homemade tlayudas. We took a picture and we said goodbye, again with the promise of seeing each other soon.
4.3 Maestro José Santiago López Friday November 10th of 2017 and Saturday January 13th of 2018
To get to Matatlán, you must take the federal highway number 190. It is an interesting road. When leaving Oaxaca city, and starts to cross the diverse towns the road sides are full of small informal business, shops and restaurants. For a while I had the feeling that the city never ended. I was prevented of driving that road. Quickly I realized that I had to be careful with the unpainted speed bumps, potholes and taxi drivers who thinks themselves Schumacher.
Highway 190 is part of the tourist route “Caminos del Mezcal85 launched and promoted by the Oaxacan government. It is usually the route that tourists, both Mexicans and foreigners, take when they rent a tour with a travel agency in Oaxaca's downtown searching for an ¨all included day¨ with mezcal, archaeological ruins, crafts and natural sights.
The first signs of the mezcal scene are the companies that produce thousands of litters of mezcal per month, reaching international markets. The first one is Casa Oro de Oaxaca, located at the height of the exit to the town San Jeronimo Tlacochahuaya. This Oaxacan company has gained national and international popularity for its mezcal con gusano, being a pioneer brand in the mezcal global market.
Few meters ahead, on the right side you can see a steel mesh protecting a monoculture of agave Espadín. The site is perfectly taken care of and neatly organised. In the centre, four pit ovens with red roofs stand in beautiful condition. A little further back there is a structure of a greenhouse, probably used for agave Espadín seedlings. The entrance to the company, reminds me of those from industrial parks. A billboard ad in the heights writes: "Casa Armando Guillermo Prieto", below the brands it produces: Zignum, El Señorio and El Recuerdo de Oaxaca. These brands are distributed by Bacardi along with the Spanish company Beveland86. It is also said that they merged with the transnational Coca-Cola. Behind all of this, the stunning mountains.
Figure 12. View of Casa Armando Guillermo Prieto Source: Author’s picture
85 See https://www.viveoaxaca.org/2015/03/CaminosdelMezcal.html 86 See https://www.beveland.com/en/categoria-producto/mezcal-en/
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Next to this image, there is the palenque of Casa Chagoya, producers of eight brands of mezcal, from mezcal blanco to bottled mezcal-based cocktails. The owners are from Oaxaca. Along with Casa Oro de Oaxaca is one of the largest Oaxacan mezcal companies.
After, the Benevá immense autoclaves can be seen. A few kilometres further in front of the road exit to Teotitlán del Valle, a town renowned for its woollen tapestry dyed with natural colorants embroidered on looms, is the palenque "El Rey de Matatlán" literally translated in English as “the Matatlán King”. As a tourist draw, this palenque is a must-see; vans filled with tourists pour in from Oaxaca city. Dafne, a master’s student, described this place as "Mezcalandia", alluding to Disneyland. The place is divided in several areas, each one with its own bar with hundreds of litres of bottled mezcal and mezcal creams, with stamp holograms that do not belong to the Mezcal Regulatory Council or to the Tax Administration Service. Possibly, aiming to mislead the consumers, making them believe that they are buying certified mezcal.
From that point, a series of palenques-factories-distilleries begins, tourist stops, with bright colours, making suggestion to the "Mexican culture" with a donkey here and there, maybe a hat or a poncho. Perfect marketing methods, trap for naive tourists. The perfect marketing ploy to lure in travellers, out to grab the best Instagram snap. Getting closer to Matatlán, agave Espadín fields are seen, both in the distance and close to the road. It is undoubtedly a beautiful image.
Figure 13. Agave Espadín plantation in Santiago Matatlán Source: Author’s picture
Along the road, after about thirty kilometres, one arrives at the last stop, Santiago Matatlán. At the entrance of this town there is a sign inscribed: "Welcome to Santiago Matatlán Oaxaca, the World Capital of Mezcal"87. The town is known for its production and its mezcal commerce which formally started in 1940 with the demand of mezcal from Jalisco buyers for the tequila industry 88. Of the towns
87 In Spanish “Bienvenidos a Matatlán, Capital Mundial del Mezcal” 88 Further details about Matatlán: Antonio Bautista, J., Ramírez Juárez, J., & Smith, M. (2015). Origen, auge y crisis de la agroindustria del mezcal en Oaxaca. In J. Vera Cortés & R. Fernández, Agua de las Verdes Matas. Tequila y Mezcal (1st ed., pp. 110-122). Artes de México y del Mundo.
46 that I visited, Matatlán was the biggest one. Despite that the government has invested in the infrastructure, when one is there, it seems that tourists rarely reach that destination.
The connoisseurs of mezcal and mezcal producers from other mezcal regions do not have any trust to 'that mezcal'. Some will say that along with the biggest companies, this is the place where the industrial mezcal, the one frequently produced in big quantities, produced with poor quality and often homogenized and adulterated is produced. In this regard, it is the snub mezcal, frequently receiving the cold shoulder being called with diverse derogatory terms such as “mezcal-tequila”, ‘industrial mezcal’, ‘mezcal not mezcal’, ‘adulterated mezcal’, ‘tablet-mezcal’, ‘cheap mezcal’, ‘mezcal for being mixed’ among others.
Its reputation becomes difficult to defend when it is well known that there are some mezcal producers that have distrustful practices such as the addition of fertilizer tablets to boost the fermentation process or to mix the mezcal with ‘conejo’ (meaning rabbit in English) that is sugar cane alcohol. In addition, it is said that mezcal from Matatlán as a rule is sold in bulk to large mezcal companies to be later adulterated by being mixed with other mezcal batches or by adding chemical colourings and/or flavourings and thus get the same flavour, aroma and colour in greater homogenized quantity. Poor agave and poor mezcal.
Although, much of what is said might be true, in Matatlán there is a great mezcal tradition. Mezcal is part of the daily life of the town and the people. It is consumed in social and religious celebrations and as I experienced during the Day of the Dead festivities, mezcal is offered with devotion and respect to the dead. In Matatlán I learnt that before drinking mezcal is good to thank Mother Earth, pouring a little of it in the ground.
As in everything and everywhere, there are exceptions that break the rule, and Maestro José Santiago is the best example in Matatlán. The first time I visited Maestro Santiago in his palenque was November. His house and palenque are on the same property in the centre of the town. At the entrance of his home there are some agaves of different types and different ages. I was impressed how well they were looked after, as a botanical garden. This plantation made me happy. Having different agaves with their diverse colour shades, shapes, textures and sizes allowed me to appreciate their difference and learn from them.
Maestro Jose Santiago came out to welcome Felix and me. He is a big man, bearded, who smiles. We walked through a path in the middle of the sown agaves, on the right side was the house of the Maestro and on the left side the palenque. Next to the oven, there were some gigantic piñas89 of maguey Pulquero. Felix was wide-eyed, apparently it was not common to find piñas of such magnitude. It was true, during my repeated palenques visits in Oaxaca, I never found anything like that. Maestro Jose Santiago and Felix were envisaging the good quality of the mezcal produced out of them. Both were already fervent to taste that mezcal and I was starting to be curious. Hopefully before leaving Oaxaca if I could try it.
89 Name given to the heart of the maguey. It is the part used for mezcal production.
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Figure 14. Piñas of maguey Pulquero at Maestro Jose Santiago´s palenque. Source: Author’s picture
We went to sit down next to the alembics surrounded by hundreds of mezcal litres. I noticed that he had some large glass bottles, like those used for cheap wine, with distinct snakes inside. In the walls of the palenque there were some colourful art pieces making use of assorted magueyes seeds, suggesting some magueyes. The author was Maestro Jose Santiago. Since the first time I visited him, Maestro Jose Santiago was friendly with me and I felt free to ask him questions. Both times we had pleasant conversations. Maestro Santiago is forty-one years old, compared to other maestros mezcaleros that I met, he was young. At the age of fifteen, he started to help his father and grandfather in the production of mezcal. His grandfather used to work in the palenque of El Cortijo, an Oaxacan mezcal brand, later was his father who started with his own palenque for mezcal selling.
Maestro Jose Santiago is a content man of his job and his mezcales; “Whit what I produce and what I do, I am happy”90, he told me. While remaining modest, he is proud of his knowledge and expertise. He told me that he was talented at producing wild agaves such as the Jabalí, which means wild pig in English, an receives that name because it is very difficult to ‘tame’. The reason is the foam resulting from its fermentation which makes challenging the distillation process requiring to be triple distilled to make it lighter.
The reputation of his mezcales had grown little by little. I noticed that he was pleased about it. He told me that once Molotov (a Mexican Spanish rock band), asked him to produce some singular mezcal batch for them. He offered me to taste the mezcales. How to resist? He gave me a little of the Jabalí he was talking about. I found it delicious. It was the first time that I was tasting a Jabalí, and such as some people say that you won’t forget your first kiss, usually when you drink a new type of mezcal, the same happens.
Maestro Jose Santiago had some maguey planted but in order to satisfy the growing demand, he also buys most of the wild agave that he uses from magueyeros generally coming from Santa María Zoquitlán, located in the Sierra Sur Region around fifty kilometres away. He also has his milpa, where he grows maize and beans for self-consumption. He told me that he does not rent his palenque because he works on it one hundred percent and there was no time to rent it. I realized that he had
90 In Spanish "Con lo que produzco y con lo que hago, soy feliz”
48 some earthy coloured adobe bricks, I was explained that they were made with the leftover bagazo91 from the distillation. At one time he produced them for sale but now he uses it as mulch for the agaves, as other producers do.
The Maestro explained that he produces mezcal joven and ensembles because he does not what to compete with his father, who produces mezcal reposado and mezcal with worm. He mostly produces Espadín, Tepextate, Cuish, Madre Cuish, Mexicano, Arroqueño y Jabalí. Part of the mezcales batches produced are certified by the CRM. For him, it was not difficult to get the certification because two years ago, one of his friends invited him. He sells the mezcal in bulk, and when I asked him if he wanted to sell it per bottle he commented: “Maybe my children. I want to avoid the fatigue. That’s another thing”.
In the palenque everybody helps. His wife sometimes checks the distillation, his two sons, who are fifteen and twelve years old, help him during the weekends and his adult daughter from time to time. Don Noel and Don Jacinto are permanent day labourers. He told me that two years ago day labourers were paid $120 Mexican pesos per day (around 5 euros) and these days the wage is $300 (around 12.5 euros), it was not the first time I had heard this.
I asked Maestro Jose Santiago if he drank mezcal, he told me that it depended on the occasion. Often, he would stop drinking for two or three months. His first choice is to drink mezcal from the Cuish maguey “I like it for what it is. It's a maguey-mezcal that not everyone knows how to produce”, he told me. Out loud I ventured to disagree with him, explaining that there was something about the family Karwinskii that was not pleasant to my palate. Felix and he seemed offended, they looked at me as one somebody say, “this one doesn’t know anything”. Following this, using a transparent hose, from a big blue mezcal container, he took some mezcal out, poured it into a jícara to then offer it to me. Ingenuous me. That Cuish was very distinct in comparison to the ones I had tried before.
He told me that I would be always welcome in his palenque and I was very grateful for that. When I said goodbye to him, he gave me a blue glass bottle full of spirit and told me he had offered a same bottle to the wife of the governor of Oaxaca. I felt praised.
4.4 Maestro Francisco García León and Maestro Hermógenes. Friday November 12th of 2017
I saw Maestro Francisco García León only once, briefly. He might not remember me anymore. His palenque is in San Guillermo Miahuatlán at 120 kilometres far away from Oaxaca City, around three hours by car. The town is part of the Sierra Sur region, in the south of the state of Oaxaca. For arriving there it is necessary to take the highway 175 which leads first, to San José del Pacífico, preferred mountain destination by tourists for the consumption of 'magic' mushrooms and then to Huatulco, a popular beach resort.
The mezcal-landscape is quite different from Valles Centrales, especially from the area surrounding Matatlán. There are no international companies settled down there, in comparison there are few palenques alongside the road. Nor are there ad billboards, just wood banners which write “Mezcal”.
91 Solid waste resulting from mezcal distillation. Most of it is the remaining maguey fibre.
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I was not recommended to go to that area alone; neither driving nor by public transport. Therefore, I had to wait for the opportunity to go with Felix. The situation made me reflect about two things, the first was that I realized how dependent on Felix I was. The second was that it was better to go with someone who knew the maestros. Felix had a trusted relationship with them. And I was sure that if he was backing me up, the producers would better share with me their information and knowledge.
Mezcal producers were more cautious with outsiders. Stories about outsiders who had abused and swindled the maestros were very common. An unfamiliar person visiting palenques and asking questions (such as I was doing it) could have been perceived as a middleman or a mezcal entrepreneur, and I was neither of them. In this way, Felix was a very important person during my fieldwork in Oaxaca.
Before visiting maestro Francisco, we went to visit Maestro Hermógenes whose palenque was further away, in Lachiuizo. Maestro Hermógenes and Felix met each other through the association Maestros del Mezcal and have been in contact for many years. He is not part of CUISH, however, from time to time CUISH sells some batches from other producers. Such as this time, when maestro Hermógenes had insisted on Felix to visit him. On our way Felix said, “he is going to want some dough”, meaning that Maestro Hermógenes wanted to sell him some mezcal. Apparently, the Maestro had some social commitment and he needed some money. Felix explained that it was a request to which he could not say no.
We met Maestro Hermógenes in a petrol station in Miahuatlán, from where we followed him to his house hidden in a blushed labyrinth of unpaved roads. His palenque was neat like the others. Nothing in particular captured my attention. I took advantage of the situation to talk with Hermógenes and ask him some questions out of curiosity. I was very surprised to discover that unlike most of the producers I met before, he did not learn to produce mezcal when he was a child, he was taught by a Maestro or Maestra. Interesting.
Maestro Hermógenes took us to a storage shed. On this occasion, there was no interview from my part; this time was only about tasting. When we entered the shed, lots of large blue plastic drums of two hundred litres surrounded the walls. Mezcal paradise. Some of them had been labelled with mezcal brand tags or had names and dates written in permanent marker and masking tape. We started the tasting. To begin, he served us a sample of four different batches of Bicuishe. Absolutely incredible. I was astonished about the flavours and aromas and the immense difference among them. I thought that my palate was more familiarized to the flavours of the mezcales from the Valles Centrales region. Of course, there was something in the flavour in common, they were all Bicuishe, but at the same time each one was quite unique.
Hermógenes continued offering us some others. Felix was asking me what I was thinking of them. It was difficult to say that one was better than another. Some of my preferences coincided with Felix’s, others not. I was feeling happy about my developed ability to distinguish some differences among mezcal varieties. Felix also recognized that. We tasted so many others and after Felix choose the ones that he wanted to get. They calculated the price for the mezcal plus the estimated price of the cost for renting a truck with the required permits for transporting the mezcal from the palenque to Oaxaca City, and agreed on a date to make the transfer.
Without power to restrain, I bought a litre of Bicuishe which was very tasteful, mineral complex; and a litre of Pulquero with Espadín blend which for being a mezcal I found it quite subtitle, elegant. I bought thinking about my sister who does not like strong alcohol, therefore, I thought it could be a good
50 mezcal for ‘beginners’. Hermógenes gave me as a present some Pulquero, sweet, fruity, fresh. It made me happy because a mezcal Pulquero is not a mezcal that can be found everywhere.
Maestro Hermógenes got on the truck with us. His son followed us in a motorcycle. At one point, Maestro Hermógenes asked Felix to stop the truck for showing us his milpa. He went inside of it and he offered us some tender maize cobs. We thanked him, and he mound the motorbike behind his son. We headed to Maestro Francisco's palenque.
In tour way to our next destination, we passed by small stands selling mezcal in water cans, using plastic tarps as sun shelters. Again, I realized the differences compared with Matatlán. We stopped next to the road where there was an arrow pointing to a palenque above it located on a hill. At Maestro’s Francisco house, there were some women, men and children gathered. We greeted them. Maestro Francisco’s wife called him. He greeted us. Followed, we went to the palenque who was a little bit lower than his house, in the middle of a hill, surrounded by trees. There were a couple of oxen in a barn. Wooden signs of each area of the palenque were hanging, but nothing was happening there. I was lonely. Bleak picture. In the grinding area, there were dried leaves, signalling that there had been no mezcal production recently. The vats of fermentation were empty, and the stills were not lit.
Figure 15. Maestro Francisco Garcia and a Tepextate Source: CUISH
We sit near the grinding area. Maestro Francisco is sixty years old. He was not an exception; he began learning to produce mezcal when he was a child helping to carry wood, stoking the fire of the distillation and shaving the maguey among other tasks. He had been producing mezcal for twelve years in the palenque where we were, earlier he had to pay rent in other palenque to produce his mezcal.
He produces some food in the milpa, and the zacate is used to feed his livestock. He elaborated: "the mezcal is a job, and the countryside is used to eat and to do not have major expenses”. Hence, Maestro Francisco and his family rely on their work in the countryside. Formerly, Maestro Francisco had more than twelve hectares of land that he had distributed among his children. For that reason, in present day he had to buy agave. Felix told him that he would try to talk with Maestro Rufino to see if he was
51 willing to sell him some maguey. It was not the first time that I noticed Felix acting as an intermediary; trying to solve problems or promoting collaboration amid producers.
Interrupting the scene two trailers loaded with agave passed by the highway. Maestro Francisco explained to me that sometimes ‘those from Jalisco’, tequila producers, come to the area to buy maguey. According to him it was convenient because they used to pay a good price for the maguey.
The workforce in the palenque are his children, his daughters-in-law and in the Maestro’s words "even the kids, so when they grow up, they have learnt". Sometimes, when more labour is needed they must hire a day labourer who receives his daily pay and given two meals per day. Day labourers do not distil, this job is reserved for Maestro Francisco, his children or his daughters-in-law.
I asked him what type of mezcal they produced, he told me that he produces mezcal blanco, mezcal joven, without being mixed nor distilled with any kind of fruit. The result was 48% alcohol content. He said “I do not sell mezcal watered down. The one who knows [how to produce mezcal], does not dilute it .... it is the custom to sell the good [mezcal]”. I asked him if he drank mezcal, and he said: “Me, a drunk? Before, yes. Not now”. Nowadays Maestro Francisco drinks very little mezcal and for what he said, he has no preference for any.
He pointed out that from his three children, there is only one who wants to continue producing mezcal. Maestro Francisco confessed “It's all complicated, it's a lot of work, cutting it, reaching a good fermentation, the distillation. And there are no good sales”. They seemed to struggle with mezcal sales and as far as I understood most of the production is distributed through CUISH. As other with producers, they had no other ‘significant’ intermediaries. Some people go to buy directly in the palenque, either people who live nearby, or tourists, but according to the Maestro, those buyers were not very common, and their purchases sales are often limited to a couple of litres.
I was almost finishing the interview when a car stopped next to the highway. Then, he shouted asking if mezcal was sold there. Receiving positive answer, he got down from his car to buy mezcal. Maestro Rufino indicated him to go up; that over there somebody would serve him. We continued to talk. Nonetheless, five minutes after we were interrupted again by a young couple of buyers looking for mezcal, “But, what's going on?" exclaimed surprised Maestro Francisco. Seemingly, having various buyers at the same time was not normal. Maybe Felix and I had brought him good luck. This time he went up his house with the buyers, with his promise of coming back quickly. I doubted it. Felix and I were left there, but not for long. For the third time, car with buyers asking for mezcal. Realizing that my interview was over, we went up with them.
Maestro Francisco accompanied by his wife were inside a small cellar giving the buyers mezcal samples. They seemed happy. We stayed for a while to observe and of course, we were offered mezcal. Tasting time. The mezcales produced out from magueyes form the Karwinskii family, such as Cuish and Tobaziche are Maestro´s Francisco speciality, and are the ones sold in CUISH. However, he also produces other varieties such as Tepextate, Espadín and Tobalá. In this manner he produces Pacheco and Ramírez, which are named after the men who have planted those magueyes in their plots because nobody knows which type of agaves are. I tried a few of them.
Felix showed me a one thousand litres tank with mezcal which had the CRM stamps meaning that it was already certified. Apparently, he had to agree with Maestro Francisco on a date for transporting it to CUISH warehouse. I imagined all the effort, time and money invested in that batch. Afterwards I
52 would learn that Maestro´s Francisco palenque is certified, and contrary to what I supposed several batches of mezcal have already been certified. Even, as I write these lines, there is a batch that is supposed to be exported to the United States.
As it was getting late and we had a few hours of driving ahead, we said goodbye and left. Obviously, I bought a bottle of a fantastic herbaceous mezcal Cuish.
4.5 Maestra Reyna Sánchez Saturday 28th of October of 2017 and Thursday January 18th of 2018
Figure 16. Maestra Reyna and Maestra Berta at the Virgen del Rosario mayordomía Source: CUISH
Since beginning my field work, in several interviews Maestra Reyna’s name popped up. She was famed for being one of the ´few´ Maestras Mezcaleras, women who produced mezcal. She was known for her courageous character and her delicious Tepextate and the Madre Cuishe. The first time I met her was the 28th of October 2017 in a press conference92 that was held in CUISH mezcaleria. It was organized by the association Maestros del Mezcal together with Claudia Corichi García, a national level deputy. The aim of the meeting was to present and promote a bill to protect traditional mezcal by lowering the IEPS to 50% instead of 70%. Likewise, the creation of two founds was requested. The first one for the certification of small-scale palenques with the purpose of incorporating them into the formal economy, and the second, a fund to protect endangered species of maguey.
The meeting was led by Abel Alcántara, a man who has been collaborating with the association. The podium was formed by the federal deputy Claudia Corichi García, followed by Berta, a human rights defender, Oralia, an Oaxacan woman trying to organize female mezcal producers, Maestra Reyna, pioneering the project of agave reproduction, and Ulises Torrentera, an influential man in the mezcal- world. Felix was the host, but as we say in Mexico, he did not want to "appear in the picture", therefore, he did not sit down in the main table. There were also 14 maestros and three maestras coming from different Oaxacan regions. Ryan, who is from California, collaborates with CUISH and is involved in the Maestros del Mezcal association was also there.
92 For more information visit https://periodicomomento.com/noticias/nacional/ciudad-de-mexico/exigen-pago-de- impuestos-justo-para-el-mezcal-artesanal
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When Maestra Reyna had to talk, without hesitation she said, “we have to organize ourselves, otherwise we never do anything”. She explained that she already started with the reproduction of some agaves and that the seedlings she used to sell in previous years at $6 pesos, she was now selling them for $10 pesos. Her eagerness surprised me. At the end of the conference, she gave me her phone number and invited me to visit her palenque, however, it would be another three months before I saw her again.
In mid-January my field research was a race against the clock. One of my missing parts was Maestra Reyna. In those days, Felix, was in a great hurry; he had many things to do, trips to other cities, CUISH everyday jobs and his religious and social obligations in Matatlán. He could not go with me and as people used to say it was not convenient to me to go alone to the area of Miahuatlán. I had my hands tied.
Felix tried to contact Reyna by phone. One might think it was an easy task, but where she lives, there is little or no phone signal. Thus, contacting her becomes a challenging endeavour. I learnt that is important to know her routine, for example, she often goes to Miahuatlán on market days. Then the chance of reaching her increases. Patiently following these clues, I got finally through to her. She preferred that I visit her at home, but I explained that it was complicated, that I was not able to go there. Without being very convinced, we agreed to meet at 10:00 am on January 15th at the Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer (PROFECO)93 a governmental organization established to protect consumers against offenses or fraud by companies. I had already heard from Felix, that Maestra Reyna was in the process of filing a complaint because she was being charged too much for the electricity.
The day of the appointment I arrived at nine fifty in the morning, ten minutes before our appointment. By eleven twenty in the morning, there was still no sign of Reyna. I asked for her and try to call her by phone. Nothing. Discouraged, I left. At two o'clock in the afternoon, after a series of cut calls and voicemails, I was able to contact her. She told me that she had some free time that we could met at the same point where we had agreed to see each other that morning. Crossing the city was a quest. It was very hot and some of the main streets were closed for protests. When I arrived, Reyna was sitting outside a store. We salute and moved to the shade.
She asked me to help her with her phones, two small Nokias. The trick was to exchange batteries and sim cards to make them work. A wreck. I understood that those cell phones were partly to blame. She made a call. Maestra Reina said that she did not have much time, she was waiting for some guys to pick her up because she was teaching them to produce mezcal and she had to supervise the process.
In the middle of that hassle I managed to ask a couple of questions, but it was a bit foolish of my part. Valuable information was not going to come out that way. Reyna insisted that I should visit her whenever I wanted. And she told me with authority, to write down in my notebook how to get there. I inscribed as list a series of places names and some keywords. After a few minutes a car arrived to pick her up. I was discouraged, worried for my thesis and thinking that maybe I would not see her again.
That same night, I had a tasting at Archivo Maguey with Chucho. I told him what had happened and tried to convince him to come with me to visit her. My plan was convenient for him, he needed to go
93 In Spanish Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor (PROFECO)
54 to Miahuatlán because he had to give some money to Maestro Mencho, one of the producers with whom he works. We agreed to go there three days later.
On Thursday, January 18th, at eight in the morning, I went to pick up Chucho at Archivo Maguey. We took the highway 175 towards Miahuatlán. It was a pleasant way, Chucho and I were talking about our lives, but mezcal was at the core of the conversation. I asked some doubts that I had concerning the process of production and the difference between magueyes. We also had some time to dream of sustainable development projects and with the valorisation of maestros’ knowledge.
I trusted that Chucho knew more about how to get to Maestra’s Reyna house. I trusted in vain, the area was quite big, and we were eventually lost. "But, you know, right?", he asked me. I took out my fieldwork notebook and showed him the list I had written a few days ago. It did not make any sense. Well, I thought, all roads lead to Rome. Despite the optimism, we both knew that finding Reyna was not going to be easy. While finishing breakfast, I received a call from Reyna. She had gone to Miahuatlán to continue with her electricity-affairs and we could met her in the town. I breathed easy.
We found Reyna. She was in a hurry. We waited around half an hour for her to finish her chores. When finished, she got on the truck and started to indicate the way. I was extremely happy that she was with us. By no means we would have found her house. We were quite far from Miahuatlán, inside the mountains in a desolate area. After passing a village called Xitlapehua she told me, "From this point, with the indications that I gave you, you are going to lead us". She was proving me. I tried to follow my notes, without too much success.
Finally, we arrived at her house next to the palenque. Her mother was there, I raised and waved my hand to say hello in the distance. We sat down in the patio, I explained what I was doing, and I asked her if I could ask her some questions. She told me that it was alright; that Felix had vouched for me and I was approved. Carefully, I tried to not apply too much pressure; Maestra Reyna was tough. It was my most challenging encounter. Reyna had been producing mezcal since she was seventeen, thirty- four years ago. She learnt "Just like that. Watching her dad working [producing mezcal]". She told me that her dad used to be a mediero, who is a person that has their own maguey but does not have a palenque, thus they produce mezcal in a palenque that is not his own and usually pay to the owner of the palenque with half of the mezcal production. It was Maestra Reyna who bought the palenque.
Chucho, who was listening and probably getting bored of my questions, teased Maestra Reyna asking her if she could give us some mezcal. She went inside her house which was also the mezcal storage place. In miniature glasses, similar to those that girls use to play kitchen when little, she brought us a bit of mezcal. The three of us toasted. I was excited. It was not about quantity (a bit disappointing, though) but about quality. It was a Mexicano. Amazing. Sharp. Fresh. She realized that Chucho and I were delighted. Maybe, that helped because she started to soften.
I continued asking if she payed day labourers to help with the mezcal production to which she responded:
I can’t explain you that. Tomorrow they come with me [to her palenque] and the day after tomorrow I go with them [to their palenques], with the persons who came before... Here, there is no payment; it’s goodwill...There are no day labourers. Here, we work all together
I continued asking why she produced mezcal joven and she replied, "I don't have patience to produce others". She told us that near the day of the dead festivities Ryan (the Californian) and Max (another
55 man from the United States) brought to her palenque all the required things to make a special batch for the occasion of the Day of the Death.
I already knew that story because a couple of days while visiting Sosima, a Maestra Mezcalera and who taught me lots during my days in Oaxaca, Ryan arrived by coincidence and he made us try what he baptized as “mezcal of the altar”. The mezcal had chocolate, marigold flowers and diverse seasonal fruits as ingredients. She continued saying that she has had to distil that mezcal batch three times implying a huge amount of time as if to say, "that is the reason why I don't produce other mezcales". However, she also mentioned that when a client asks her to produce certain mezcal, she does it.
We continue drinking mezcal. All were especially good. Reyna knew it. When I asked about the certification she told me
I've been offered to be payed [the certification process] but what I don’t like, is that I would have to sell [the mezcal] to only one person... I listen many things. I do not believe them [the intermediaries] anymore ... I'm very calm like that. Let's see later
Following this, she got hooked on a conversation about mezcal production with Chucho. I realized that I still had a lot to learn about mezcal. There was no longer any elephant in the room. Reyna was happy and me too. She made a pause and went for more mezcal. Taking advantage of her absence, excited, Chucho told me "Tastes like Reyna", referring to the mezcales. He was right. Reyna’s mezcales that I had tasted before in CUISH had something similar with those that we were tasting in the palenque. Reyna’s imprint, Reyna’s signature.
We made the tour of the palenque which was twenty meters far away. None signal of recent production. It was like exploring a cemetery. It was the first palenque that I visited that had no altar. There were some dried marigold flowers lying in the floor, I assumed the remains of two months ago. Some forgotten women's shoes lay on the floor. In that palenque, Reyna produces Barril, Jabalí, Madre Cuishe, Cuishe, Espadín, Tobaziche, Tepextate, Pulque and Tequileros.
Reyna owned some land where she had planted some agaves, but she produces “what is coming” meaning that she produces mezcal from those agaves that are ready, mature, even if there are not literally hers.
Figure 17. Maestra Reyna´s palenque. Source: Author’s picture
56
She took us to see the agaves seedbed, located behind her house. It was more like a greenhouse covered with black shade cloth. Hundreds of little agaves. They were sown so close to each other, so scrambled, that it was difficult to know what kind of species they were. Maestra Reyna looked happy, proud. It was a stunning scene. I would say that even Chucho was amazed. She was clever. On the one hand, she was securing her own magueyes for the next years, and on the other hand, generating an extra income through the sale of agave seedlings.
Figure 18. Magueyes from Maestra Reyna´s greenhouse. Source: Author’s picture
We went back to her house. Her mother was preparing tortillas with purpled wild huajes94 and beans for us. We sat down. Reyna went for more mezcal. I could feel it already in my body. Luckily, we were eating. She came back and it was my time for answering her questions. She was curious about my life. We finished eating and we went inside her house to purchase some mezcal. A real dilemma to make up my mind. I was becoming very mezcal-greedy. I knew it and I was not very happy with myself about that. Moreover, leaving Oaxaca in a couple of days, did not help with that situation. Finally, I choose a Jabalí, or as Reyna called it Jabalín; Chucho did the same. We said goodbye, I left was pleased because finally I had met Reina and I could write about her.
94 Also called guajes. Its scientific name is Leucaena, is a plant from the legume family. Native from the Americas. Widely consumed in the state of Oaxaca
57
CHAPTER V TASTES
The first time I saw Chucho Ortiz was on the 6th of November 2017, during an event called “Mezcal Journey. Dialogue of Knowledge about the Sustainable Production of Artisan Mezcal”. I was invited to join by Graciela Ángeles, an artisanal mezcal producer who is and advocate of the traditional mezcal culture. The event was organized by AGARED, a national scientific organization which seeks to promote the benefits and use of agave based on scientific research. The conference took place in the Centre for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS)95 in its campus located in Oaxaca City. The event was aimed to discuss relevant issues concerning the sustainability of artisanal mezcal production. The participants were small producers, mezcalerias owners and researchers working in different areas related to the agave-mezcal.
Even though Chucho and I shared acquaintances, for some reason we had not yet met. I remember two details drew my attention about him. The first, he was wearing Mexican boots, which is not very common to see among young adults. The second, he had a tattoo in the shape of a maguey stalk along his right forearm. I wondered if he had some special relationship with the plant, with the beverage, with both, or none of the above mentioned. Later, I would know that some people called him “Chucho Espina” which means “Chucho thorn”.
It was Félix who encouraged me to talk with Chucho. One evening after coming back from visiting some palenques, Félix proposed me to go to Archivo Maguey (meaning in English Maguey Archive), the restaurant-mezcaleria-tasting room that Chucho owns. I knew that Chucho was a friend of my mezcal- acquaintances Ulises Torrentera and Sosima, and I agreed with the idea. It could be a wise idea to give it a try. Therefore, we headed from CUISH towards Archivo, the common name given to “Archivo Maguey”.
The place was in Morelos street, located right in the city centre, a couple of blocks far away from the cathedral. The heart of the hustle and bustle tourism. Surrounded by museums and art galleries. Next to the famous In Situ the mezcaleria owned by Ulises. I was quite surprised that I had not been in Archivo in the past. The façade painted in terracotta. The entrance is a large old wooden door, in its right side there is an iron work window, quite emblematic from colonial Mexican cities. Above the window there is a balcony with matching iron work. Hanging above the door there is a wooden sign, commonly used in Oaxaca City, which says: “Archivo Maguey, Mixtec Cuisine”. We entered the place. A big house with architecture of Spanish colonial times. Terracotta colour in the walls combined with white colour for the arches. Clay bricks flooring and renovated black wooden ceiling. CUISH mezcaleria came to my mind, the furniture design was quite similar: natural coloured wood mingled with black ironwork.
We approached the bar. The wall behind was replaced by an immense mirror making the place seem bigger than what it was. On both sides, there were two triangular shelves, laying on them there were some glassed damajuanas of different sizes and colours together with a couple of wooden snake shapes. I noticed some clay figures, a decapitated dog, that I imagined lost its head in a previous fall next to a couple of piglets. Beneath the mirror there was a counter where bottles of mezcal rest. Felix
95 In Spanish Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social
58 greeted the barman and asked after Chucho. The bartender told him that he was upstairs giving a tasting. We decided to stay for a while in case he would finish soon. While we were waiting, Felix ordered something to eat and me, even though I was tempted to try at least one of those mezcales, I chose a beer. I was tired. We had been tasting mezcales all day long. Now that I have some time to reflect about it, I do not know if I chose a beer because I doubted my palate’s ability to enjoy another mezcal, or because I thought that I had already drunk enough good mezcal and maybe those would not be as good as the ones tasted during the journey.
As usual, even before the field work, in my role as a consumer, not as a ‘researcher’ I felt curiosity about the mezcal bottles. At that point in time, wherever I was, I would cautiously check logos, labels and search for the tax or the certification hologram stamps. I was confident that the information given in the outside of the bottle would reveal some hints of the mezcal inside, its brand and, with some luck, the maestro who produced it and its production technique. I asked the bartender if he could show me a bottle of mezcal and he handed me two of them.
I found them interesting, I observed everything but traditional. Avant-garde? The logotype made of lines and points, suggested me a glass of mezcal with a maguey superimposed in a three-dimensional figure. On the top of the labels there were two different phrases written. One was "Abusing the consumption of this product is harmful to health, but good for the spirit" and the other one was "The ceremonial relationship of mezcal with native peoples can only be understood by drinking mezcal". Below the phrases, in small letters, the following features could be read: mezcal producing family, state, region, town, type of agave, type of maguey, grinding type, fermentation type, source of the water, technique of distillation, distillation times, way in which the volume of alcohol is adjusted, alcohol volume expressed in percentage, year of production, total litres produced from that batch, type of oven used (for instance the natural resources that were used during the cooking process i.e. volcanic stone and oak wood), maturity of maguey (referring to the years that the maguey must grow in order to being able to use for mezcal production), celebration (meaning if the mezcal was consumed on a specific holiday or festivity) and ecosystem.
Figure 19. Archivo Maguey logo Source: Archivo Maguey Facebook
Some of the previous characteristics can be found in other mezcal bottles’ labels, where the most common are: the content of alcohol and the Mexican state where is produced. The bottles that are certified by the CRM must specify: volume in millilitres, alcohol percentage, mezcal batch number, bottle serial number, the type of mezcal and it must say ‘Made in Mexico’. Most of the mezcal brands
59 that promote the traditional mezcal use labels as a manner to recognize the mezcal producers adding their names. In the same way, this type of brands adds some extra features which make the mezcal ‘traceable’, however, it was the first time I saw nineteen characteristics on a label.
I benefited from the opportunity to take a look at the mezcal menu. Mezcales were classified in three: magueyes campesinos (peasant magueyes), magueyes salvajes (wild magueyes) and magueyes ceremoniales (ceremonial magueyes). In other restaurants the menu was divided by the type of magueyes or by the producer region. At the same time, each mezcal had three categories. First the maguey name, then the family to which that maguey belongs and finally the producing region. Besides, each mezcal had two sensory profiles, for instance sweet, earthy and fresh, just to mention some. After this quick inquiry. Felix and I decided to leave. Agreeing to come back to visit Chucho another day.
Figure 20. Archivo Maguey mezcales menu Source: Archivo Maguey
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On the 10th of January of 2018, around five in the afternoon, I went to Archivo. These time Chucho knew that I was going to pass by. When I arrived, I assumed that he was in ‘the cave’, as the tasting room is known. However, I asked for him just in case he was not there. “Yes, he was upstairs in the cave” was the barman response. I headed towards ‘the cave’, paying attention to the stairway. I remembered that there were some agaves hanging from the handrail and walls on triangle flower pots, but I never picked up on the mural in one of the main walls, painted in black contrasting with the white background. It seemed to be dedicated to the Mexican countryside and to the agave-mezcal. At the bottom the shape of some peasants working the land, they were accompanied by an ox, a bird and a rabbit. Above them, human faces were portrayed and reminded me the ancient Mexican codices. Likewise, there were meaningful elements from the mezcal production such as a bat and a hummingbird, main agave pollinators; and a couple of gourds, commonly called jícaras, which are traditionally used for drinking mezcal. Later, I would learn that the name of the mural is ‘The Ticunchi’, which is an endemic maguey from the Mixteca, the Oaxacan region from which Chucho and his family originate.
At the end of the stairs, on the second floor almost right in the front me, there was an arch, in its top it had a bat made from wire on. As many other mezcalerias in the city, the place gave me the impression to be devoted to the maguey-mezcal. Under the arch there are sliding doors and below them, a partition screen saying "Archivo Maguey: tasting room & mezcaleria". Behind the partition screen there was a square room, the only one in the place without sunlight. There were few tables, Oaxacan art paintings hanging from the walls and some shelves. It would seem that that is all, but in the left corner at the bottom, if you push the shelves, they will move. That is the hidden door to the cave. I entered.
I found Chucho there. After greeting each other with a quick hug, as it is customary in Mexico, we started chit chatting, he told me that he would answer my questions and after we would make a “sensory tasting”. We agreed that I would listen to all the things that he wanted to share with me and, if needed, I would interrupt him to question.
Chucho started telling me about a recent meeting he attended a couple of days before. The meeting in question was convened by the current Sub-Secretary of Tourism, he wanted to know more about the ceremonial part of the mezcal. The secretary also invited Ulises Torrentera and Marcos Ochoa, both mezcaleria owners and traditional mezcal promoters. In his worlds, it was epic, it was the first time where there was room for dialogue. Chucho told me
We talked from our context, from our history… we talked about what we see and feel for the mezcal, making an analysis about how Oaxaca city sees and understands it. It was very deep. We were there […] talking about history, about traditions, about what we drink and how do we drink it, about the gusto histórico. I mean it was cool
Chucho’s starting point in the world of mezcal was in 2015, during the mezcal book, when he was studying his bachelor’s in Mexico City. Along with some friends they started a group called “Club Mezcal” he explained: "every Tuesday we meet each other, and we used to say 'the mezcal is the excuse to be together and to talk about the things we like'". The main purpose was to gather and enjoy drinking mezcal together. The indulgence was accompanied by discussions about the spirit and they start to learn and study mezcal. Since those times, together with some friends, he started to develop
61 some ideas for creating a methodology for tasting mezcal. Shortly afterwards, he began to give mezcal tastings in the capital.
Building up on the tastings idea, he said
... now, the mezcal is ready. I believe that as a consequence of the [mezcal] global demand, it is time to take a step forward for the conscious exclusivity. To open a market towards the auction of products of high quality; of strange origin, such as the Jabalí, or the Ticunchi
At that moment, it was difficult for me to understand what he was trying to say with 'conscious exclusivity'. It took me for surprise to imagine the mezcal being auctioned. The mezcal, was for me a product for the people. Right? He elaborated
What happened was that we [the mezcaleros] did not give ourselves “a desear”96 as category. What happened was that the market said: 'I want mezcal' and you [the mezcalero] would have said 'Yes'. And then, the mezcal businessmen got used to it. And would be outraged if you would reply 'I do not have'. Then, they would tell you 'How is it possible that you don’t have? If I'm paying for it!’ […] That’s a big mezcal problem. The brands, which is obviously understandable due to the size of the investment they made […], were carried away by the media boom, which wasn’t even an economic boom! Otherwise the maestros mezcaleros would be better [concerning their economic situation] […] It's the same thing happening with the mezcalerias. Everyone is thinking the same way [about mezcalerias] ‘a bunch of people go, it's always full’ and two months later they want to close it [the mezcaleria]. People do not drink mezcal. And the mezcalerias' owners [think] ‘everybody buys mezcal, everyone buys mezcal’ And yes, but: What mezcal are they buying? [...] Everybody talks about mezcal. Today, it is not tequila, it is mezcal. The celebrities, whoever they are, no longer talk about drinking tequila, [now is about] drinking mezcal. That is what has been driven by the media. And I think its hipster to a certain extent, which is a stupid consumption, an unconscious consumption... it’s a stupid, meaningless consumption. They only buy it [the mezcal] because it is fashionable, not because they know, or they like it, or because they seek to learn about it. That’s my point. The mezcal should have started as the wine culture, such as the one that we have right now…
When he finished talking, I thought about a phrase that Ulises Torrentera told me a couple of months ago during one of our talks “We didn’t think it would be so fast [referring to the boom of mezcal]. It caught us off guard. It's like the Pandora's box”; referring to an unexpected situation where they had very little control, a process that once begun generated many complicated problems.
During previous encounters, I knew that somehow, the promoters of the culture of mezcal, had some contradictions concerning the big mezcal enterprises and the rapid growth of mezcal popularity. It was clear that this boom benefited their economy; however, it seemed to me that the boom was not at all as they have intended. Maybe Chucho read my mind because he followed
I didn't do it that way ... I think none of us [the promoters of mezcal culture] has done it [selling mezcal] because it is what the market says. What we have done is because we like it and it is what we love, what is real for the people of Oaxaca. But the brands come with an idea to sell a product very similar to tequila. The best example is [name of a mezcal brand], they are a mezcal-tequila. Or [name of a mezcal brand]. It’s fucking crazy! And they advertise everything
96 “a desear” is literally translated in English as “to desire”. Meaning to be wanted, to be desired by someone else.
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we say. Culture, history, love for the maguey. And suddenly, they start using strategies very similar to other brands, but which haven't dedicated themselves to show off their entire value. For example, [name of a mezcal brand], with [name of a mezcal produced b that brand]; they have always worked selling the best product they can, but never bragged about it. They have strategies that they haven’t even used them as a marketing element, but rather to be able to sustain their production, like planting magueyes or whatever. And these dudes, plant one maguey and want to publish it on all the social media that they can
I was trying to be as fast as possible with all the information. I tried to be reflexive with my questioning. And I was a bit behind him. The mezcal-auction idea got stuck in the back of my head. I decided to express my concern regarding the high prices of mezcal. Of course, for me, being a middle-class student sustained by a government scholarship who enjoys mezcal, it is unaffordable to drink mezcal every weekend in a bar in Oaxaca or Mexico City, and the same was to think about buying a ‘good’ mezcal bottle time to time. I told him that recently I had the impression that mezcal was becoming an elitist spirit. Fast without hesitation, he answered
It must [become an elitist spirit]. We will not be able to maintain [mezcal production]. And not me, the hills, the countryside [by themselves]. They will not be able to support the production of a popular drink. There will always be mezcal in the villages, but we need to increase the price of mezcal in the market. I don’t sell cheap mezcal. I sell it quite expensive. And every time, I rise it more. I don’t want to say that mezcal must be elitist because of economic reasons, but also for the type of people [who drinks mezcal]
It was not the first time that I heard that idea. I thought about a conversation that I had with Dafne, an anthropology master’s student in Oaxaca who is doing her thesis research about mezcal. Dafne had been involved in the mezcal-world already for some years. One day we met up for drinking some mezcales and discuss about our thesis projects, the mezcal. I remembered that talking about a specific mezcal brand she told me “Mariana, they cannot sell the mezcal at that low price, they have to increase it”. Chucho made a comparison illustrate his idea about such mezcal-elitism
For me, people who go hunting with folks from a town and come back with a deer leg; that's a luxury. And it is not elitist, or expensive, or nothing. But truly, in the world: that's a luxury. Drinking a Jabalí, one hundred percent Jabalí, is a luxury. I think we must be aware of that. I don’t know. I think that many things in Oaxaca and Mexico should have another meaning. And if we continue to sell off and squander [mezcal], people will not be able to understand it [the other meaning of mezcal]. And, what happens, is that when you raise the price to something, that's when people wonder: 'And why?', 'Why is it so expensive?'. And we have a great advantage, that at present we do have depth, we do have substance...
I was not very convinced by his idea, but I could understand some of his points. For sure I was not the owner of a mezcaleria, nor a restaurant, nor a brand. And even if I had the feeling that I was doing a good job trying to understand the complexity of the mezcal-world, I was also quite new on it. Actually, one of my thoughts was, that I will never be able to understand the complexity of the mezcal-world simply because I am not part of that world, I am an outsider. My position as an anthropologist, in this instance, came to hinder my exploration. The terrible dualism that has haunted many of my predecessors, Self-versus Other, Subject and Object appeared to be subverting my ability to gain a true understanding of the world in front of me, that is, if this understanding existed at all...
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Chucho followed the conversation
What happens to me, with my Ticunchi, is the mezcal that I sell the least; obviously because it is the most expensive one on the menu, it costs $ 250 pesos [around 11.5 euros] per shot. But is the one I share the most. And my friends tell me: ‘Why if it is the most expensive, is the one that you share the most? [and I answer] 'Dude, because I prefer to share it. Really, give it to you! Because dude, there is the Espadín, there is the Madre Cuishe that are going to keep me afloat'. I do not know why people do not understand that mezcal is very valuable, very valuable, exaggeratedly a valuable beverage. And if we compare it with wine [...] mezcal is a very complex drink. I'm not saying it's better. [But] if you are using arguments to add value to a wine: Why we cannot also use them for mezcal? [...] Then, mezcal should be more expensive, because we are viewing it in the same regard as wine
Chucho explained that in Archivo-Maguey they have been risking raising prices. He had hoped that by doing so they would attract a more inquisitive customer, someone who might ask why the prices were so great and, in turn, he could try and impart them with the ‘culture of mezcal’. They would be able to create room for dialogue, to interact with the consumer, to explain the reasons behind the high prices. A difficult task, which, according to him, was the most complicated thing to do. Moreover, he told me that there are still cases where people traveling through Oaxaca might find, next to the highways, the litre of mezcal sold at $10 pesos. This situation has created the common assumption that mezcal should be a low-price product. A cheap ‘mezcal ghost’, as he defined it, was haunting the mezcal prices. In this context, it became challenging to erase such mezcal price-barrier.
They [the consumers] already knew that mezcal was very cool. Perhaps they had already experienced such drunkenness, that sooner or later, no one will tell you, you realize that mezcal is fucking crazy. As it might happened to you. You hadn't tasted mezcales like the ones you have tried here [in Oaxaca]. It roots you, the mezcal roots you
Our conversation was interrupted by a waiter who asked Chucho:
Waiter: How is the Horno? [referring to a type of mezcal] Chucho, replied showing his unyielding knowledge: Is like an Arroqueño, an Agave Americana. Wait no, sorry. A Cachón. It’s an Agave Titanota, such as the Papalometl but with golden thorns. If not, search it in Google We spoke for a while about the history of Archivo. The first time that it opened its doors was in February 2015. It was a small room where they were only doing mezcal tastings. After four months, they closed. They opened again in a new location in mid-August of the same year, where they were open for eight months before for second time they had to close. Later they re-opened in their current location the 28th of September of 2017. In Chucho’s words "the project has never died". Archivo was aimed to be a place where mezcal is enjoyed and taught.
Chucho shared that at the early stages of the project, they started making a very strong criticism to other brands, the big ones, and even if they keep doing it, it is not as straightforward as before. When I asked why he replied
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Well, because … I personally feel lazy [....] Many brands have approached us, big brands […] and I got the opportunity to understand, even at a time when I was one of those who told them their truths in the media, in conferences or directly in their eyes. And I said no. At the end, those companies are the spearhead of this ship called ‘mezcal around the world’. They are the ones that had lead the way [meaning, reaching and creating markets], so behind those brands, there is where we all are [the medium or small mezcaleros]. I mean, they have at least made people know that the word mezcal exists
After spending an hour talking, Chucho proposed to continue with the tasting. I was eager. He stood up from where we were and went to the bar. I followed him. While we kept talking, he would take some bottles from beneath the bar or from the shelves in the back. He would shake them, open them and smell them. Others he would just select them by their name. That small difference, made me wonder why he did not to smell all of them? Why just some of the bottles? What was behind those decisions? Could he be able to memorize and recognize the smell and flavours of some mezcales while from others not? Or was he doing it just for pleasure? Or as a routine? A habit? Chucho continued
... I realized that it works [the tasting]. That mezcal needs an instructor to be drank at the beginning [...] after you take a tasting like this one, the rest is simpler. Understanding the mezcal from other parts of Oaxaca, from other producers, becomes more nutritious. Because sometimes mezcal, is a tarnished glass, as I describe it. Where there is a beautiful landscape behind but alcohol tarnishes that, but at the same time [alcohol] is the most important basis for its complexity
The day before, Archivo Maguey hosted a tasting-dinner for twenty French bartenders. They were traveling for some days travelling along the diverse mezcal producers’ regions in Oaxaca as reward of reaching the highest mezcal sales during the year in France of the brand in question. When I heard about it, I was impressed about it. But when I gave it a second though, I found out that it was not the first time that I knew about that kind of incentives from bigger mezcal brands. A couple of months ago, when I first visited the palenque of Lalo Ángeles, in Santa Catarina Minas, there was a group about fifteen bartenders from Sweden to whom I translated to English the speech that Lalo was giving in Spanish.
Thus, as part of their reward, Chucho gave a tasting for the French bartenders. I assume that the tastings objective is that those bartenders learn about the mezcal. I hope so. Chucho told me that usually when he was asked to give a tasting to bartenders, entrepreneurs or other people who for some reason might give a tasting in the future, he advices them: “Do it this way [the tasting], which is the conscious way. It will help people to have love for drinking mezcal”. Chucho elaborated saying that what Archivo Maguey seeks through its tastings is that while drinking mezcal people always have a positive experience. He repeated “what we want is for them [the consumers] to fall in love with mezcal”.
Finally, we started with the mezcal tasting. I was expectant. We were about making an “ecosystems tasting”. A recent innovation in his methodology. On the bar, there were six bottles of mezcal along with the small typical glass cup, with the cross at the bottom, were mezcal is drunk. Waiting. He indicated that the first thing that we would do, were exercises which would help us to open our senses. We did a breath exercise to relax ourselves. He mentioned that it was important to constantly drink water for bring oxygen to my brain. He followed "The most beautiful thing that mezcal has, as you said
65 it a while ago, is its complexity. Its diversity, I say. Which go hand by hand, its complexity is due to its diversity". Joyful, he told me that for the occasion of the First National Meeting of Maestros Mezcaleros, he designed a t-shirt which said, “The diversity of mezcal is due to the diversity of the peoples of Mexico". And he continued
there is nothing cooler than trying different things all the time. And mezcal, allows you to do that. They [the mezcales] are windows to the villages, because mezcal and maguey themselves are sponges that synthesize the flavours of the land where they grow
Chucho was proud of the mezcal tasting methodology that he had been developing for a long time. He decided to make a tasting based on ecosystems because he thinks that other tastings in the city are useless to make people fall in love with mezcal. He illustrated
Imagine that you come to Oaxaca and do not know anything about mezcal. And I tell you: 'this is a Mexicano from San Vicente Coatlán’. Right? Or, ‘this is a Madre Cuishe from Miahuatlán’, or a ‘this is a Tobalá from Sola de Vega and it was produced in this way’. And that's all. But you [the person giving the tasting] are not telling anything. They [the people giving tastings] complement the tasting by saying ‘it has an earthy, herbal, or citrus profile’. Or whatever. What you end up doing, is suggesting people; but you do not make them to explore mezcal. What we are going to do here: we are going to imagine
The tasting continued as follows. First Chucho explained that he would tell me different types of ecosystems, as an example: a jungle. He asked me not to imagine something specific such as a palm tree, wet soil, or a jaguar. By the contrary, he told me to think about the flavours, smells and colours that came up to my mind. It had to be fast and instinctive. The less rational, the better. We started
Chucho: what colour do you think the smell of the desert is? Mariana: red Chucho: and which is the taste of that red? Mariana: gritty Chucho: and how does it smell? Mariana: dry We repeat the exercise three times having a desert, a valley and a forest as ecosystems representatives from Oaxaca. The idea of doing the tasting in that way was to imagine the flavours and aromas existing in the given ecosystem. Then to taste the mezcales, trying to decipher their aromatic profile for later see if they could match with the flavours and aromas from its ecosystem of origin. Therefore, it was about create matching aromatic profiles between mezcal and ecosystem. Incredible! Following Chucho: "when you describe a mezcal, you describe the place where it was born".
He continued telling me that a more advanced tasting would be to try to discover the town where a mezcal is produced. This can be done on guessing the production techniques behind a mezcal. Some mezcal enthusiast and defenders of its traditional form, affirm that the technique and technology used to produce the spirit provide specific flavours and aromas. For instance, the mezcal minero, produced in Santa Catarina Minas, is traditionally distilled in clay pots. Allegedly, those clay pots give certain flavour to the mezcales. Then, if the production technique is unveiled, it become possible to trace the
66 town of production. I envisioned the mission quite challenging. I had been in Oaxaca for three months already and I was always surprised about the quirky flavours of mezcal almost every day.
Finally, Chucho said “Let’s start”. While he was serving water, he asked me if I knew what was a “Mezcalero Rally”, as he received a negative response, he first explained what was a mezcalero
Mezcaleros are friends […] they do not have to own, or work in a mezcaleria, but they are caught up in the mezcal. Like you, for instance. You do not have a mezcaleria, but you are here. Bartenders, mixologists, etcetera. People who are involved in mezcal and who have knowledge about it
The entry quota to participate was one or two bottles of mezcal. The rally happens as follow: one mezcal is served and everyone taste it. And the game starts. The participants must guess the maguey from which the mezcal is made, the process of production and the place of origin. For each correct answer, a point is scored. The mezcalero who achieve the higher score is the winner. Chucho build up "Therefore a mezcal flow map is made” the same way as the tasting that was about to start.
I interrupted him there and asked him something that I had seen in some of the palenques that I visited:
Mariana: And, what happens if the agave to produce mezcal comes from another region?
Chucho: It's something we have not agreed on. And some [people] say they I'm a radical […] the thing is that for me, it is forbidden to buy mezcal from magueyes that did not grow in your ecosystem [the producer ecosystem], or in your region [the producer region] […] I don’t buy it. We must do something. If we don't raise it [the question] right now, in fifty years it is going to finish [referring to the agaves and to the mezcal]
After my query, from under the table, Chucho took out some sheets where two graphics were printed. They instantly reminded me the cobweb diagrams used for wine sensory analysis, that were familiar to me since I used them during my bachelor’s in an attempt to describe the flavours and aromas of wines.
There were parts of the methodology that he had been developing for some time. One of the tables was "the Organoleptic Table", which was alike Archivo-Maguey’s logo, the aromas and flavours of mezcal were supposed to be measured on it. The second one, he named it "The Sensory Table", having a pyramid shape, it was supposed to assess mezcal's sensations such as spicy, unctuous and harsh.
Figure 21. Organoleptic (left) and Sensory (right) tables from Archivo-Maguey tasting methodology Source: Archivo Maguey
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He followed mentioning the complexity and the changing nature of mezcal. Elaborating on that, he explained that temperature and time influenced the aromas and flavours of the spirit which changed over time. Chucho highlighted the differences between aromatic power and aromas; while the aromas may appear or disappear, the aromatic potency, the strength of the mezcal, may increase or decrease.
For him it was important to smell the mezcal with both nostrils, to create memories, concepts with different elements. He told me that mezcal does not have strict flavours, contrariwise profiles should be elaborated “it is dangerous during tasting to mention concepts, it is better to discuss profiles" he pointed out.
We proceeded with the tasting which was based on five steps. Chucho guided me, giving the instructions that he after executed while I followed him. It was divided in two parts, the olfactory phase and the tasting phase. The olfactory phase was divided in two steps; first to give it a good smell, and second to give it a smell while breathing through the mouth. The tasting phase was as following: first to put some saliva in the mouth, maintaining it there and give a small and fast mezcal sip. The second step was to give a sip just as fast as the first one but this time without saliva. Next, having a sip and swish the mezcal all around the mouth, palate and tongue. Like mouth washing. The fourth step was to create a "controlled aftertaste", a sip like the previous, but after swallowing the mezcal, once it is in the stomach, to take a breath throughout the mouth, keeping the air and taking it out. Finally, the last step was aimed to play with the temperature of the drink. Chucho explained that it was like the swirling phase in coffee tasting.
When we finished tasting the first mezcal, I felt quite overwhelmed by trying to follow the technique and to identify the characteristics of mezcal. A chef from of one of the most renowned restaurants in Oaxaca, accompanied by his mother joined us. Chucho began to explain the tasting technique when two other men arrived, one of them just wanted to learn about mezcal and the other was there out of curiosity.
Then, the strategy changed. Chucho began to do with each other the exercise related to ecosystems. Then he chose some bottles and put them carefully on the bar. Some of the mezcales that they were going to try, were different to those chosen for my tasting. The tasting continued. We tried to follow the steps of the technique. Step by step. With those mezcales that were the same for all of us, we compared our sensations and flavours discovered in the mezcal.
A challenging and different experience. It was difficult for me to retain the aromas, flavours, colours, feelings, sensations. I helped myself with my note book, making some notes. We, the participants, were in suspense, expectant, and I was hopeful on guessing some of the ecosystems, but I knew that was a hard task.
At the end, we tasted six mezcales, from the desert I had a Cacheton and a Papalometl from la Mixteca. The forest mezcales were an Espadín and a Barril from Miahuatlán, and from the valley mezcales I tasted a Mexicano and an Arroqueño from Ejutla.
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CHAPTER VI DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In this chapter, leading on from the vast complexity and intricacies of my experiences in Oaxaca outlined in the chapters above, I will move to the discussion. Then, I will make some conclusions and reflections as to the fruitfulness of this endeavour and, finally, some recommendations for future research.
6.2 Rethinking the mezcal-world through assemblages Bearing in mind the findings espoused above, using a new materialist approach based on assemblage thinking helped me to theoretically ground the observations and experiences in the mezcal-world in multiple new and interesting ways. It has allowed me to theorise the complex back and forth processes and interactions of the entities that give form to this world. I was able to acknowledge the existence of non-human entities that undertake a vital part of the composition of the increasingly ‘wide and intense’ (Deleuze, 1988, p126) mezcal-world. As described in the previous chapters, within this world there are non-human entities such as institutions, rules, technology, knowledge, microorganisms and agave plants that actively contribute to its contingency.
On pages 12 to 14, I refer to the variety of processes and factors that must be listed beneath each bottle of mezcal, agave species, maestros, length of distillation, diversity of regions, among others. This is a prime example of how physical factors equal human agency; the endless influence from climate, weather, topography and more that go into the production of a single bottle of mezcal. These attributes, I will later show, are instrumental in the existing conceptualisation of a ‘traditional’ mezcal.
The approach allowed me to avoid pre-determined hierarchies where agency was only tied to human action. All entities which formed the mezcal-world – both humans and non-humans - had the same ontological status (McFarlane & Anderson, 2011; Müller, 2015). To illustrate: a particular yeast that contributes to the fermentation process has a substantial impact in the mezcal produced. Diverse yeasts will produce diverse mezcales which will be appreciated by the characteristics provided by those yeasts. The same happens with the magueyes, the knowledge of the producer, the certification process - just to mention some. In this sense, entities are not inert, nor attending to be used, nor brought into existence, or used and recognized by humans. Entities have their own capacities to act, to affect, to relate, to produce, to be active parts in the creation of the mezcal assemblage.
Following De Landa (2006), through an assemblage thinking I can reflect about the mezcal-world as
“formed by bodies, but also possessing other material components, from food [mezcal] and physical labour [harvesting, distillation, sales and consumption], to simple tools [as the machetes or jícaras] and complex machines [alembic], to the buildings or neighbourhoods [palenques and producing regions] serving as physical locales” (ibid., p.12).
As such, along with humans, ‘things’ constitute a vital part of the mezcal-world, on an equal and distributed ontological platform. In light of this, phenomena like globalization become less marked, considering that this is largely a humanly conceived mechanism. In response, I can emphasise the shared experience of mezcal, whether that be in Oaxaca or Wageningen. In this way, even though this
69 thesis is restricted to Oaxaca, mezcal can be simultaneously local and global, embedded in the rhizomic web rather than any structure.
I conceive the mezcal-world as a territory. Murray Li (2007, p.266) usefully defines an assemblage as a ‘gathering of heterogeneous elements consistently drawn together as an identifiable terrain of action and debate’. The mezcal assemblage cannot be exclusively perceived and understood as local, regional or global nor following the division as micro, macro and meso levels of analysis. The relationships embedded in this assemblage go beyond these restricted categorizations. The mezcal is a local spirit rooted in the Oaxacan countryside, while at the same time, it is a commodity served in the most exclusive bars around the world. The mezcal assemblage is formed by local knowledge and promoted by foreign investments. Therefore, the actants and their relations are stretched across and beyond given geographical boundaries, where the mezcal assemblage by no means has a territorial fix (Allen & Cochrane, 2007). Following Blanco et al (2015), assemblage thinking allowed me to understand the contingency between the global and the local.
Mezcal as a territory, however, reveals and includes many of those attributes widely attributed to globalization. The grounding of mezcal in Oaxaca as an established industry has facilitated its standardization and the concurrent deterritorialization movement, as will be explored later in this section.
Through assemblage thinking, I could overcome the widely perceived social dichotomies such as global-local, subject-object, human-non-human, reason-emotion, micro-macro and agency-structure. In the mezcal-world everything seemed to matter at the same level. I found out that humans were not central and uniquely powerful entity in the mezcal-world.
I could overcome my first dualist thought in which I anticipated two types of mezcal; the traditional and the industrial. The good and the bad. In this sense, such as Garcia (2018) pointed out in one of his interviews, through my observations in Oaxaca I also realized that the movement which promoted the traditional form of mezcal did not ‘fight’ against its industrial form; it somehow challenged the hegemonic culture reproduced by the industry of mezcal, but it did not clash against it: they coexisted. The lines drawn from a superficial, top-down perspective appeared to be liquid: a given producer could be both an industrialist and a traditionalist. The mezcal-world, then, is rhizomic rather than linear. Each mezcal had its diverse entities and diverse alliances; this resulted in a multiplicity of mezcales within the mezcal-world. In this regard, the mezcal-world is not homogeneous, or made of straight lines or fixed forms. As explained by De Landa (2006), assemblages are a theoretical alternative to totalities.
I argue, then, that the mezcal-world should be called the mezcales-worlds (in plural); there is no one mezcal, there are mezcales- each one in constant change, temporal, with its own entities and affects forming an alternative line of flight.
Having established that the mezcal-world can be read as an assemblage, to begin an analysis one must discuss its ‘relations and capacities’ - what holds it together and what are their results. Whilst, as stated above, relations are found in affect and quite often rooted in the non-conscious realm, it is far more accessible to begin by addressing that which can be easily read in the more tangible world. As such, I will start by purveying and critiquing the very actual action aimed to challenge the globalizing mechanisms acting upon mezcal: that of the movement attempting to conceptualise the ‘traditional’ mezcal.
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Rather than using new materialist conceptualisations in the following paragraphs, I will read those ‘relations and capacities’ in their typical from, through the language and ideology of globalization processes. Following this, I will show how using assemblage terminology gives greater merit to the actions of those promoting traditional mezcal and provides a sounder basis for furthering for the sustainable future of mezcal. In addition, I will show that agency is far more complex and ‘human’ then theories of globalization might imply, and this is often heavily influenced if not indelible from ‘things’.
As I elaborated in Chapter I, within the mezcal-world there is a movement of people who aim to preserve and promote what is conceived as ‘traditional mezcal’ (see pages 15-18). Although it is not constructed as an opposition of ‘industrial mezcal’, as mentioned above they may co-exist in certain entities. Industrialisation has given way to the forces of globalization, homogenization and it has come to threaten market access to small-scale producers of mezcal (i.e. those without certification). As a result, those producers representing the old, artisanal ways of producing mezcal are being shut out by more efficient means of mass production.
In the same vein, as I explained in Chapter I, local producers and distributors of mezcal, as well as for mezcalería owners, were attempting to defend what they perceived to be the ‘tradition’ of mezcal. In their vocabulary, as a ‘biocultural good’97; roughly meaning that it possesses an important, biodiverse background that matches the knowledge and culture of the people who produce it. Therefore, for them culture and natural biodiversity should be preserved and recognized.
In this vein, these defenders performed several actions seeking to preserve and promote the diversity of mezcal rather than standardization by seeking to elevate the value of the maestros’ labour, the particular organoleptic characteristics of each mezcal and artisanal production. They were doing this through multiple tasks and practices.
For instance, this group of people were the pioneer innovators in the rigorous labelling of mezcal bottles; they were intent on giving a recognition to the mezcal producers and achieve mezcal traceability, displaying what was considered vital information such as the production processes, the name of the producer, the batch code and the place of production – thus highlighting the artisanal production of the spirit.
Another clear example is Felix (see Chapter II), who boosted for the government recognition of mezcalerias as places where mezcal would be learnt Figure 22. Mezcaloteca label It lists the characteristics of the mezcal about aside from simply consumption. He is Source: Mezcaloteca FB involved as one of the main leaders of the association Maestros del Mezcal encouraging the
97 In Spanish, bien biocultural
71 social organization, recognition and collaboration among producers. Moreover, through CUISH he publishes educational materials, such as the poster that shows the diversity of agaves, which help to promote ‘the culture of mezcal’ among consumers.
Furthermore, mezcal traditional advocates, are in constant discontent with the regulations that legalize the spirit. Some had been part of campaigns against certain bills concerning mezcal and a few, namely Sosima Olivera, vigorously opposed to the certification processes, claiming that the mezcal certified is not a ‘real mezcal’, and decided to find other means of selling her mezcal. Moreover, a couple of the traditional mezcal advocates, Graciela Ángeles for instance, invested time in creating alliances with researchers, for bring attention and scientific knowledge that might contribute to solve the challenges endured by the mezcal-world.
These multiple attempts to preserve and promote the traditional mezcal, are certainly best exemplified by tastings. In this sense, tastings in Oaxaca, were experiences in which the pleasure of drinking mezcal merged with the ‘education’ of consumers about the mezcal culture. The main objective of tastings is to create an effect echoed in the consumer where he would appreciate the complexity and diversity of mezcal through its flavours, aromas and the given event while to reflect in this diversity creating a connection with certain producer or certain mezcal (see Chapter IV). In addition, that experience will travel with the consumer, embodied in memory going where mezcal and the maestro may not.
According to the countermovement of ‘industrial mezcal’, it was claimed that the promotion and vindication of the small artisanal way to produce the spirit was needed for several reasons. First, industrial mezcal is not ‘real’ mezcal because it was detached from its origins, its authentic way of production, and from the culture that had preserved this beverage since earlier times. Those, who see themselves as true connoisseurs of mezcal and those deemed worthy of the title of ‘maestro’, believe that industrialization displaces the intrinsic value of the final product. As I have referenced many times, it lacks la mano del productor98; the visceral touch of he who created it is displaced and regulated by machines.
Second, mezcal was being marketed as part of the culture of the people. It thrived due to its branding as a typically Mexican product, made by the hands of peasants however, ironically, those promoters were in fact excluding small-scale producers, who did not gain any of the economic advantages. Traditional mezcal was emerging akin to certification such as fair trade or organic agriculture, attempting to ensure that those who are the face of the product gain a fair wage from their labour.
Third, the proprietors of mezcal had no place, nor recognition in the industry of mezcal. Extending the exploitation of the previous paragraph, not only were they shorthanded many were being totally excluded and losing their means of production. Those who aimed to sell their product in their ‘legal market’ had to modify their means of production to accommodate to the enforcement of certification.
Finally, industrial mezcal together with an expanding international market, had a negative impact in the natural resources used to produce it. The increasing demand met with the ever-growing corporate supply was increasing without consideration for biodiversity or abundance of resources. Sustainable systems had to be promoted to prevent ecological crises. Many had already been evident, as I described before there are several ecological damages such as poor soil quality or deforestation.
98 In English, literally translated as ‘the hand of producer’, meaning that each producer gives its particular touch to the mezcal.
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In contrast, advocates claimed that the vindication of the traditional mezcal was urgent. It would bring recognition to producers along with the betterment in their life conditions and it would take care of the biodiversity. The differences and intentions between the industrial and the traditional mezcal seemed clear. Both shared numerous things in common, however, neither was a linear and simple, nor independent of the other. I posit that they are part of the same world. Trade exists in between them, traditionalist and industrialist producers attend the same conferences and aim for the same certification, mezcales paths cross due to the vast elements that go into their production in either system. Therefore, returning to new materialist language, rather than being opposing assemblages, I believe ‘traditional’ mezcal is a form of deterritorialization.
As according to Deleuze (1987) it can be considered a new ‘line of flight’; it produces divergence and new possibilities for promotion and consumption. It acts as a movement to change the assemblage from within and reverse the effects of standardization. ‘Traditional’ mezcal has long pre-existed what is now considered conventional, yet it manifests as something revolutionary within the contemporary assemblage and brings with it multiple new ideas concerning sustainability and quality. This relatively new trend of mezcales that celebrate diversity which are filling the shelves of Oaxacan markets and drawing in tourists from around the globe are sold alongside the industrial mezcales, as a luxury alternative rather an opposing political action. They do not promote boycotting of industrial mezcal, but a whole elevation of the product to a prestigious and esteemed commodity such as champagne.
Given the evidence of this in practice, the movement can also be conceived as another form of territorialization, attempting to pin down a definitive notion of ‘Traditional’. By grounding this concept as a known and valued phenomenon within the mezcal-world, promoters both create and expand greater markets for mezcal in general and leads to a ‘greener’, more luxurious image. Therefore, it is in the best interest of those industrialists to support, encourage and foster this movement into the ‘mainstream’ of the assemblage.
It can be seen here how certain entities can become a significant influence on the entire assemblage yet, I wish to argue that in this instance it can become vulnerable to undermine its goal and lead to even greater, more complex modes of commodification. The continuous and simultaneous movements of de and re-territorialization in the constantly shifty temporality that is the mezcal assemblage, from these evidences suggest little capacity for revolutionary change. As such, I wish to argue that rather than preserving an ‘authentic’ mezcal, this is indulging in the same efforts to market the mezcal-world. In the words of Chucho, “it can be dangerous to conceptualise mezcales, one must only enjoy their profiles”.
Advocates of ‘traditionalism’, pay a ‘fair’ price to the producers in exchange of their mezcales, educate consumers, but in the end, I believe this is insufficient to create a sustainable future for the culture that is threatened by globalization. Their efforts to keep studying and trying to divide and categorize the mezcales in such specific ways, like their flavours or their ways of production, might be not helpful for the mezcal itself nor for the small-scale producers of traditional mezcal (Chapter IV). It is not the same to try to discover and preserve mezcal than to procure the betterment and the sustained recognition of producers. For instance, the tasting methods that had been developed by defenders of traditional mezcal, such as Chucho, have been taken by bigger companies and are being used for their own benefit. The liquid nature of ‘tradition’ has shown to be exploitable and applied to disguise even that which is industrial.
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Their good intentions can cause further tensions and challenges in the mezcal-world. For instance, in the past, the most common mezcal was made from the maguey Espadín, or mezcales were produced from diverse types of agaves because it was what was readily available; in recent years the novelty and trend to differentiate the mezcales by the type of agave form which are produced surged as an idea to renown those ‘unknown’ mezcales, to recognize the diversity of mezcal. Today, this trend has been adopted by big enterprises. With bigger markets asking for more specific mezcales, the bigger the extraction and exploitation of those agaves. The search for the most exotic and exquisite mezcal does not mean that it will have a good impact on the producers. On the contrary, it leads to a widespread corruption of the concept, taking what is perceived as a delicacy and transforming it into a ‘model T’ agave, and accompanying it all the degrading practices drawn from intensive production of agave, enhancing the risk of disease outbreak, finally leading to the undercutting of those small-scale producers who first developed and domesticated those breeds.
Finally, of the various producers that I visited who were open to tourists, they had to fulfil a certain expected series of processes to satisfy their visitors, to entertain them and make their monies worth. Maestros followed a series of prompts; smelling the fire, having a turn at macerating, tasting the half- fermented agave and finally a tasting of the finished product, as though the entire performance was an effort to market and entice those visitors into buying more bottles. While in many ways this does promote the visceral aspects of mezcal which I appreciate and believe is the source of mezcal’s allure, it has produced a standardised vision of what is traditional and despite its best efforts to do the very opposite, excludes those who do not appeal to the norms of how a traditional palenque ‘should’ be.
As such, those capacities I have addressed above to dispute the stability of the assemblage have, to a degree, challenged the forces of globalisation, however, I do not agree that their efforts are sufficient to create a sustained future for Oaxacan small producers by creating a fixed image of a ‘traditional’ mezcal. While I agree their attempts are born out of the assemblage, and make some gains in preserving certain entities, the overall result risk to be a referral to the same capital focused goals as the industrial mezcal. I propose looking at the root of these capacities in the relations that bore them. The authentic mezcal, seemingly, resists substantiation, however, it lives on in actions, practices and embodiments of those who enact and perform within the mezcal-world.
Perceiving the ‘traditional’ mezcal as opposed to the industrial within this assemblage is insufficient in explaining the true significance of embodied practices and relations in upholding the mezcal-world. Here I introduce the concept of affect; how it is far more productive to access the mezcal-world through its relationships than through attempts to conceive its mystique in the conscious realm.
I have shown here that the assemblage challenges globalization in terms of theory but not in practice. Theoretically, the notion of traditional mezcal, born from within the assemblage seeking greater substantiation, is an insufficient means to achieve the goals it promotes. In the remaining paragraphs I will show the deep-set relations that exist in terms of affect that have not only driven traditionalists to use these tools of tasting seeing and feeling the mezcal-world, but also how the allusive mezcal- world exists and is maintained independent of these conscious actions to preserve it. How the everyday embodied movements of mezcal continue to bond this assemblage despite its ever-present complexity and any top-down efforts to either divide or singularise it.
I will attempt to go back to my ethnographic chapters to describe part of the complex flows of affects that I observed and perceived during my time in Oaxaca. The objective, following a new materialist
74 ontology, is to challenge the common anthropocenic understanding where humans are the only entities capable of steer the world.
The mezcal-world is shaped by reason of the associations created by those entities. The mezcal-world is a relational realm; it is an assemblage where animate and inanimate entities have the capacity of affect and be affected (Fox and Alldred, 2015). In this sense the everyday mezcal-world is produced by the mishmash of relations emerging among humans-humans, humans-non-humans and non-humans - non-humans. For instance, the CRM, as an institution, frame the characteristics that a mezcal must have to be sold and certified, but without mezcal such regulations and institutions would not exist. Mezcal cannot be produced without maestros’ knowledge and this does not exist without mezcal. Another example are the agave plants from whom humans depend on to produce mezcal; while at the same time the plants need humans to be transformed in mezcal.
Entities come into being through their entanglement with other entities. Therefore, entities in the mezcal-world cannot be conceived one without the other and between them lies that which manifests the assemblage and the belief in an authentic mezcal.
Affects in the mezcal-world can be appreciated in the everyday mezcal-world as
“the continual motion of relations, scenes, contingencies and emergences. They are things that happen. They happen in impulses, sensations, expectations, daydreams, encounters and habits of relating, in forms of persuasion, contagion, and compulsion, in modes of attention, attachment, and agency, and in publics of social words of all kinds that catch people up in something that feels like something” (Stewart, 2007, p.1-2).
In Chapter III, I described my encounters with six small-scale producers of mezcal. I realized that affects, their relationship with the agave plant and with the mezcal were present in the simplest way. I could see how mezcal was part of their basic routine in the palenques and in the agave fields. For instance, the relation with mezcal could be appreciated in the knowledge and know-how acquired by producers along their years of experience. I found this relationship revealed when producers where proud of their agaves or their mezcales; for instance, Maestra Berta, when she made us go and visit her land and when with pride she showed us her agaves like a mother being proud of her kids. I noticed the same pride when Lalo told me that he was famed by his cutting maguey skills or when Moni told me that she was learning how to distil mezcal for a couple of years. The relation of mezcal producers with agave-mezcal is such that it is not even expressed in words, but it can be easily observed in the day to day activities in the palenque and embedded in their knowledge. The evidence of their humanity and emotion is found in the ‘fruits of their labour’. In return for their investment, their agaves yield well. The transition of affect between being and things here cannot be articulated by the maestro or the agave, but is manifested within their capacity, in such instances, a good mezcal.
In the mezcal-world relations and flows of affects with the agave plant can be perceived. I observed that people created a relation with specific magueyes or mezcales. One of the best examples portrayed along this thesis is Felix with the Tepextate maguey-mezcal. In Chapter II part of our conversation was focused on this maguey, he showed me the poster and even a picture of it on a wall in Oaxaca. In addition to that, when he offered me a mezcal, and I let him choose it, he gave me a Tepextate, and when he smelled it he expressed his love for that maguey-mezcal. The expression of this affection reappear time after when, while visiting Maestro’s Rufino palenque Chapter III. p.38), Felix made me stop to show me a Tepextate maguey by appreciating its texture, colour and size. Finally, when I left
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Oaxaca, Felix offered me a bottle of mezcal, that even before opening it I knew it was a Tepextate, which I received with honour after knowing Felix’ connection with that maguey-mezcal.
Another example of this connection is Maestro José Santiago who is famous for producing mezcales from the Cuish agave. As he explained, mezcal is his favourite due the skills and expertise needed for its production. Through the preference of this mezcal among others, he recognized his own skillset. Finally, I could recognize myself being affected by the agaves. For instance, during one of my visits in Maestra´s Bertas (Chapter III), I felt the need of having one of those agaves with me. In the same way, I felt some remorse for those agaves that were used for industrial mezcal, those agaves that would not be able in be transformed in a mezcal that would reveal their longevity in the countryside.
From this I gather that those within the mezcal assemblage have a direct connection, via the spirit, to plants and nature. It professes a certain vitality and life through innumerable rhizomatic connections manifesting in labour, touch, sight, flavours, that cannot be truly substantiated but is seen in the affinity actors have with the drink. It appears that the closer one is to the process of production and to the beverage, the more apparent this connection is which, I posit, is what draws traditionalists to ‘sensing’ mezcal as a means of sharing that connection. Whilst I have shown that these attempts are not necessarily received in the desired way, it does reveal the strength these bonds have, how they captivate the defenders of the mezcal in its traditional form to act in certain ways and willingly to share their adoration.
As I pointed out in Chapter I, I became intrigued by the way mezcal was talked about, discussed, addressed, wrote about, and even depicted through art. For instance, the cover of this work, the lyrics of the song in the first pages of the thesis or the craft art hanging in the walls of Maestro’s José Santiago palenque. Mezcal was talked about with reverence, with admiration, as if it was not of earthly origins. The embodied mysteriousness of mezcal seems just out of reach.
During my time in Oaxaca, I realized that mezcal was attributed magical powers, such as Maestro Rufino told me: “with mezcal, the disease doesn’t fuck me”. Mezcal and maguey were taken seriously, with care, as one of the producers told me “I put compost in the maguey, so it grows nicely”, or as it was common to hear in Oaxaca, that mezcal should be drank slowly, by kisses. Or, it was referred to as ‘medicine’. Each with a value far stronger than simply a strong liquor.
In the same way, I was surprised to learn that a traditional mezcal promoter, Ulises Torrentera, even created the Mezcabulario, which means the vocabulary of mezcal (see Annex 03). This vocabulary was widely used to describe the attributes of people implicated in the mezcal-world. For instance, Ulises called me a mezcologist, a person who knows about the history, rights, production, procedures and properties of mezcal and who enjoys drinking and tasting mezcal.
Moreover, I heard from one Oaxacan mezcal consumer “You are born, you live, and you die with mezcal”. It appears that to some, mezcal is like a life partner, equated to a husband or wife. The magnitude of mezcal seems to have affected other researchers beside me. Garcia (2018) in the last page of his book writes:
My trip to the country of mezcal ends. At Mexico City Airport, I take a last glass of legítimo. During the last few minutes on the floor where I was born, I’m aware of the last mezcal pearl in my glass. It encloses the spirit of Mexican culture, my roots and my identity. The explosion of this little bubble in my palate makes me feel a particular nostalgia undoubtedly related to
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the taste of the earth. According to Lala Noguera, "the mezcal does not get drunk, it makes you magical". I like to think that if the magic exists, it probably has the taste of the mezcal and the magicians, the faces of the mezcaleros maestros (2018, p.276)
Garcia inadvertently, expresses his affects with mezcal. The last mezcal pearl provokes within him a nostalgia akin to his culture, his roots and his identity. He recognizes the magic attributed to mezcal. Throughout the previous examples of language expressions, flows and manifestations of affects, it was clear to me that humans embraced the vitality of mezcal rather than reducing it to the passivity of a simple object.
In Chapter IV the tasting experience depicts a set of different affects brought into existence within mezcal. The tasting was an example of the visceral connection with mezcal, in the sense of being deeply related to feelings and sensations rather than to the intellect.
Chucho told me about an official governmental meeting where he was able to talk about what he sees and feel about mezcal. The meeting was different from other meetings, he had not been invited to discuss about the political or economic current context of mezcal. According to him that time was about expressing feelings about mezcal, and that made him content.
During tastings it can be read as an attempt to decipher the complexity of mezcal, Chucho is not the only one doing this, however it was the encounter that better represents this pursuit. Along the tasting he talks about the substance of mezcal, about its complexity. He spoke about the drunkenness of mezcal, which is professed to be different from other type of spirits drunkenness, in the sense that is enchanted, mythical.
Chucho, along with many other people who trusted in tastings, was certain that though the experience of tasting mezcal, through the engagement of human senses, through practice and understanding people would ‘fall in love with mezcal’. Or as he also expressed ‘the mezcal roots you’ meaning that mezcal has the potential of influence you, of attaching you to it. And, in my case, this might be true.
Throughout this thesis I chronicle how I was hooked in by mezcal. I reflect about my constant amazement of the knowledge lived in the palenques and my corporal engagement with the spirit. In fact, my intention was to manifest how the flow of mezcal affects shaped this research. At some point in time, I was almost unable to resist mezcal. I was becoming slightly like the amateurs of mezcal. In search of more. More knowledge, more flavours, more whimsy. My body got used to mezcal. From not having a remote idea about the diversity, little by little, I learnt and developed my palate, instrument to decode mezcal. I was even able to identify certain mezcales that I had bought with certain moments or certain feelings. For instance, a Tobaziche produced by Maestra Berta, became my companion while writing the first stages of this thesis. Another example when Felix, Maestro José Santiago and I envisioned the quality and flavours from the magnificent piñas of maguey Pulquero that Maestro José Santiago planned to promptly produce.
Leaving my experience behind, I observed how other people such as consumers, became attached to mezcal. One of them, was Anäis, she is Dutch, and she was spending some time in Oaxaca while I was doing my fieldwork there. In her free time, she used to come with me to the mezcalerias to drink mezcal and to observe. Without a doubt, with the pass of the time, she was being affected by mezcal. I was very surprised when after tasting a mezcal while visiting one palenque, contempt she expressed: ‘this is not a real mezcal’.
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This corporeal engagement makes mezcal lovers always try to wonder for more mezcal, to seek the ethereal; as Ulises Torrentera during one of my visits to the mezcaleria In Situ revealed "I'm looking for something that surprises me, like the philosopher's stone". Here, I posit, is the desire for an authentic, traditional mezcal. The affect that mediates human actors and mezcal, the maguey and all other material aspects of production, in its wonderful and expansive complexity, creates an allure and a mystery, essentially emphasizing the infinite temporality of the assemblage. It is in this mystery that ‘traditional’ capacities are born, the affective relation inspires action to explore and consume mezcal.
In some instances, I have shown that this corporeal engagement can have very dire and material results, for example alcohol addiction and all the sadness and danger than accompanies it. In terms of tradition, however, I believe, despite the criticisms I have made earlier, it is the best and most effective and ‘affective’ means of highlighting the true essence of mezcal in the material realm to those not directly engaged or invested within the assemblage.
Returning to the relational assemblage approach, the thesis is concerned with what the relations between other entities can do, how the flow of affects produce capacities. Such as Fox explains “as affect flows between an assemblage, it alters (territorializes) their capacities into one direction or another” (2015, p.307). My stand is that people, mostly defenders of traditional mezcal, through their affects with mezcal, are influenced to action for the preservation of given spirit. Affects open possibilities for action. Traditional mezcal defenders, through actions such as tastings and to spread the ‘culture of mezcal’, they aim to educate consumers hoping that they will be able to differentiate;
"If we spread the culture, if we educate the consumer, then they can distinguish between a bad mezcal and a good mezcal, or rather between what is a mezcal and what is not mezcal" Felix Monterrosa (Centro de Investigación y Registro Documental, 2014)
While I do not agree in total, as I have shown earlier, this will often lead to the same destructive practices that preceded the traditional movement, I do believe it is a fine example of how affect is embodied and that this should provide a starting point for moving forward. Affects in the mezcal-world are an active engine of the defence and promotion of mezcal and, crucially, emphasizing the importance of experience and human relationships within. In hope, this thesis, whilst identifying the faults of the current ‘traditional movement’ will provide those mezcal advocates with the tools to pursue and recognise their successes, leading toward a more empowered and equal mezcal-world.
6.2 Final thoughts about the mezcal-world
One might be surprised by the exhaustive amount of information given in the chapters preceding this one; the design of this thesis however is aimed to instil the complexity of the mezcal-world and the power of becoming viscerally connected and embodying it. I wanted to emphasise the ‘affect’ this experience has had on me and that it is rooted in menial everyday life, therefore, best described, I believe, through in-depth description. My field work has greatly impacted the way I think and approach my life. This period will stay with me forever. I do not think I will ever lose this connection to mezcal. To conclude, in the first three chapters of the thesis I have described different everyday situations to reveal the elements that constitute the mezcal assemblage, and the practices and affects that have shaped the mezcal-world. I have established that the world of mezcal is extremely complex; throughout my endeavour to explore it, I was only able to scratch the surface of this world. (Social)
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Reality and research are far more complex than frameworks such as that of livelihoods or globalization can account for; certain intricacies cannot be overlooked. When considering affects I was able to pursue my ethnography unhindered by the traditional dualities of social research. I was seeking out relational trends and the embodiments they manifested, overstepping many concerns regarding objectivity and sample size, simply purveying what I experienced in terms of experience: not trying to narrow my findings into something fixed but indulging complexity.
As such, the mezcal-world can be conceived as an assemblage; a whole of entities coalescing to support the common subject of mezcal. This, accordingly, creates multiple complex social, material, political and economic bonds that resist the forces of globalization; not in any top-down or bottom-up form but rather through the interaction of the various groups, from traditionalists to industrialists, consumers to producers, inadvertently stalling its mechanism.
While this is most obviously evident in the movement for establishing a ‘Traditional’ mezcal, I have shown that these efforts have widely fallen short or worked to support the global mechanisms it originally sought to hinder. However, I do perceive this pursuit for an authentic mezcal to be born of the true visceral connection between mezcal and its defenders that is maintaining and promoting the assemblage and its humble origins.
Furthermore, this world cannot be ‘pinned-down’ or conceptualised under typical framing theories, instead, through acknowledging this assemblage, mezcal can be perceived as multiple ‘worlds’, taking making forms and embodiments, rooted in unconscious affective relations.
As a result, the most powerful and resonating force preserving the authenticity of mezcal is, in my opinion, not necessarily the processes of traditional marketers, or other effects by the outsiders to conserve what they perceive as worthy to preserve (or market); rather, it are the efforts of mezcal’s historic defenders and their attempts to impart the embodied intrinsic value of mezcal through tasting and publicizing the way it is made. The connection these people have with the drink and each other is the root of the mezcal-world and all the mystery and elusiveness that accompany it.
In sum, the relations between people, agaves and mezcal form the intrinsic affective force, fuelling the traditional movement. To an extent this challenges the processes of homogenization and industrialization through promotion of diversity, however, within the context of increasing globalization this has been seen to fall victim to the same problems of industrialized mezcal; a standardized view of an authentic mezcal should be. In response, I have shown that the initial mechanism that led to this traditional movement, does have greater potential outside of its current conception.
Future research should be concerned with more insightful use of theories and the political position of ‘tradition’ in such instances. Affect here has proven a fruitful means to address the underlying reasons for both the current efforts to sustain the mezcal-world and a productive means to reassert this for future measures. I believe that this methodology can be both extrapolated and applied to other situations and extended by other academics to create more fundamental change in the system of preserving the ‘authentic’ mezcal assemblage.
More urgently, I believe it is necessary for those involved in the mezcal-world to not only work towards preserving the diversity in agave, but also of the people that create it. To recognise the salience of
79 human involvement in the process of creating the mezcal-world, that it is a culmination of both human and non-human aspects, not simply pursuing that which creates an income or can be exported. I have shown, by overcoming human-material dualities, that human creativity and experience are just as much a part of the mezcal allure as the drink itself; in order to create a sustainable future for mezcal’s authenticity, this must become a shared political position. I hope this can promote genuine capacities for elevating the status of the maestros from more than simply a title.
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ANNEXES
ANNEX 01. ABBREVIATIONS
Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca APPO (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca) Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social CIESAS (Centre for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology) Consejo Mexicano Regulador de la Calidad del Mezcal COMERCAM (Mexican Regulatory Council for the Quality of Mezcal) Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad CONABIO (National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity) Consejo Nacional de Evaluación de la Política de Desarrollo Social CONEVAL (National Council for the Evaluation of the Social Development Policy) Consejo Regulador del Mezcal CRM (Regulatory Council of Mezcal)
DFID Department for International Development of the United Kingdom Dirección General de Normas DGN (General Directorate of Standards) Denominación de Origen DO (Denomination of Origin) Impuesto Especial sobre Producción y Servicios IEPS (Special Tax on Production and Services) Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía INEGI (National Institute of Statistics and Geography) Impuesto Sobre el Valor Agregado IVA (Value Added Tax) Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM (Official Mexican Standard) Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor PROFECO (Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer) Secretaria de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación SAGARPA (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food) Servicio de Administración Tributaria SAT (Tax Administration Service) Secretaria De Economía SE (Ministry of Economy) Secretaria De Turismo SECTUR (Ministry of Tourism) Swedish International Development Agency SIDA Sociedad de Producción Rural SPR (Rural Production Society) United Nations Development Program UNDP Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación la Ciencia y la Cultura UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
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ANNEX 02. MEZCABULARIO
Taken directly from the book Mezcalaria authored by Ulises Torrentera (2012)
English Spanish Meaning
Mezcologist Mezcólogo A person who studies mezcal; everything from history to production Mazcalomaniac Mezcalómano A mezcal enthusiast; person inclined to drink mezcal A bearer of mezcal; a person who carries mezcal in the blood; also Mezcophore Mezcóforo the name given to a barman or waiter A person who knows about the history, rites, production, Mezcolatrist Mezcólatra procedures and properties of mezcal and who enjoys drinking and tasting mezcal. Mezcalier Mezcalier A mezcal taster, a combination of the words mezcal and sommelier Literally, a person who loves mezcal, who prefers mezcal to other Mezolaphile Mezcófilo beverages, but whose knowledge of taste is limited A person who does not drink but literally guzzles mezcal; a person Mezcophagus Mezcófago who drinks for the sake of drinking ie. to excess. Mezcalaria Mezcalaria All festivals in which mezcal is the principal beverage consumed. A person who presides over the mezcaleria; the Mexican version Mezcasiarch Mezcasiarca of the symposiarch or Greek ´head of the banquet´ A person who takes a trip on mezcal (whatever this means) and Mezcanaut Mezcanauta manages to return.
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ANNEX 03. MEZCAL VOCABULARY
WORD MEANING Agave Is a genus of monocots, used as the raw material to produce mezcal and tequila Agaveros Name given to agave growers Process used after mezcal distillation to achieve a desirable alcoholic level, flavour and Ajuste taste Pressure vessels used to carry out industrial processes requiring elevated temperature Autoclave and pressure. Autoclaves, are used in the mezcal industry for cooking the maguey instead of using earthen pit ovens Bagazo Solid waste resulting from mezcal distillation. Most of it is the remaining maguey fibre. Cabezas de mezcal In English 'heads' of mezcal. Are the first litres resulting from mezcal distillation A typical celebratory Oaxacan procession accompanied by traditional brass-band music, dances, Calenda firecrackers, giant puppets and mezcal Toasted grasshoppers usually with garlic, salt and lime which are typical of Oaxacan Chapulines gastronomy Colas de mezcal In English 'tails' of the mezcal. Are the last litres resulting from mezcal distillation Cremas de mezcal Cream-based mezcal liqueur. Their flavours and colours vary widely. In English 'body' of mezcal. Are the best litres resulting from mezcal distillation, between Cuerpo de mezcal the tips and the tails Containers used for store or transport mezcal. They are usually made by glass with a spherical shape. Usually, they have a wicker or other vegetables fibre cover, and its Damajuanas function is not only to protect said container, but also to give stability to its base, and facilitate its handling Ensemble Mezcal made from two or more types of agaves Expendio places where mezcal is sold and sometimes consumed Gabacho Mexican slang meaning the United States Gringo is a word used in Mexico for United States citizens. In this sense it is non- Gringo derogatory. Folklore says that when the US invaded Mexico, US soldiers were wearing green uniforms and Mexicans shouted at them ‘green go’. Guelaguetza or Collective work guetza Jícara(s) Dry calabash gourds, which are traditionally used as cups for drinking mezcal Professional wrestling from Mexico. The contestants wear masks and costumes. It is Lucha libre characterized by rapid holds and acrobatic techniques Maestra mezcalera Name given to female mezcal producer Maestro Name given to male mezcal producer mezcalero Common name for agave. One type of agave can have different names depending of the Maguey region. Therefore, the name is given by the producers of mezcal. Magueyeros Maguey growers Catholic stewardship of the saints or virgins in a town. It is a areligious community Mayordomía festival honouring the patron saint or a virgin of a village Mayordomo person appointed to oversee a mayordomía Medida Translated as 'measure'. It is the equivalent to five litres of mezcal Mezcal Alcoholic distilled beverage made out from the cooked and fermented agave hearts Mezcal to which has been added one or more natural products, flavours or colorants Mezcal abocado allowed in the corresponding legal and health provisions. This category includes all mezcales that have an insect, fruit or herb inside the bottle.
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This type of mezcal is usually infused with herbs, plants, fruits, insects or animals. The Mezcal abocado intention of such is to modify its flavour and in some communities these types of mezcal are used as home remedies. In English means aged mezcal. According to the NOM-070, this type of mezcal is aged in Mezcal añejo wooden barrels for more than one year. Mezcal blanco In English means 'white mezcal' it is the same as mezcal joven In English means ´mezcal with worm´. A ‘gusano de maguey’ (maguey worm) or a gusano rojo (red worm), insects’ larva, is added to this type of mezcal. It was as a marketing Mezcal con gusano strategy to differentiate mezcal from tequila. The worm alters the original flavour of the mezcal. In English means 'breast mezcal'. Is the name given to the mezcal distilled with chicken Mezcal de pechuga breast and other ingredients such as almonds, bananas, apples, raisins, guava etc... In English means 'young mezcal'. According to the NOM-070, this type of mezcal is Mezcal joven unaged. Therefore, it is transparent, and the flavours and aromas are those from the agave and from the its making process. In English means 'mine mezcal'. Is the name given to the mezcal produced in Santa Mezcal minero Catarina Minas In English means 'rested mezcal'. According to the NOM-070, this type of mezcal is aged Mezcal reposado in wooden barrels for two months to one year. Mezcal type I : According to the NOM is 100% agave Mezcal tradicional Mezcal type II : According to the NOM it can have 80% of agave alchol and up to 20% of other sugars Mezcal joven such as sugar cane alchol Mezcaleria Specialized mezcal bars Name given to a person who has some relation with mezcal through its production or Mezcaleros distribution It is a crop-growing system used since ancient times in Mexico. The most common crops Milpa are maize, beans, tomatoes, squash and chiles. In some mezcal communities the agave is planted within the milpa. Oaxaca term for a traditional mezcal distillery. Usually located in the backyard of the Palenque houses or nearby them. It is characterized by the use of family labour and traditional technology and local materials. Palenquero Name given to male mezcal producer In its plural perlas, meaning in English pearl(s). It refers to the bubbles formed when Perla mezcal is shaken Piñas Name given to the heart of the maguey. Is the part used for mezcal production. Puntas de mezcal In English 'tips' of mezcal. Are the first litres resulting from mezcal distillation Quiote Maguey's stalk flower Process used after mezcal distillation for achieve a desirable alcoholic level, flavour and Rectificación taste Process used after mezcal distillation for achieve a desirable alcoholic level, flavour and Refinado taste Large stone wheel used to crush the roasted hearts of agave known into a fermentable Tahona mash. It is pulled by a donkey or a mule. Name given to a person who has some relation with tequila through its production or Tequileros distribution Tequio Collective work Empirical method used by the maestros mezcaleros to check the quality and alcohol Venenciado degree of the spirits. The droplets appear in the moment when a sample of mezcal is poured into a jícara Liquid waste resulting from the production of mezcal. It is an acidic liquid very aggressive Vinnasess to the environment. Usually there is no treatment for this type of residuals Is the common name given in Mexico for Opuntia cacti, usually called in English as Nopales prickly pear. In Mexico is used as a common ingredient in numerous cuisine dishes.
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Huizache Specie of shrub or small tree wide common in Mexico Petate Artisanal carpet made by palm natural fibres Tasajo Oaxacan beef cut which is usually smoked Café de olla Coffee brewed with cinnamon and sugar Enfrijoladas Mexicna tradictional dish made with tortilla and beans sauce Zacate Maize forage used as animal feed Also called guajes. Its scientific name is Leucaena, is a plant from the legume family. Huajes Native from the Americas. Widely consumed in the state of Oaxaca
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