The story begins in a small village outside of San Felipe, Guanajuato located in the heart of Mexico, called El Varal, where I was raised by my grandparents, Mama Emilia and Papa Reyes. The village was made up of five adobe brick houses, two of which were abandoned and in ruin. The absence of electricity and running water gave the village a raw sense of magic. The stars and moon were our street lamps, and waxed candles lit our entry into slumber. The land was dry but cacti, huisaches, and agave grew abundantly covering the vast desert like space. As a child I remember running through these giant forests with my bare feet, my imagination running wild, naive to what was outside of El Varal. At the end of the day, I would go home with my feet covered in glochidia and prickles. Hospitals or clinics did not exist in my village, my grandparents resorted to curing and treating ailments with traditional Mexican medicine. From using arnica to sabilla, my Mama Emilia had the cure when I fell ill, santería - healing. My Papa Reyes was known around the village and neighboring towns as the 'Chief of Pulque' because he concocted the best pulque base in his claypot. Pulque is the most ancient Mexican alcoholic beverage made of fermented aguamiel (honey water), its consistency is thin and foamy, resembling the color of milk. Back in the day, this was the drink of choice, especially in rural Mexico. I wanted to honor my childhood in El Varal with the perfect unity of Mama Emilia's healing through plants and prayer and Papa Reyes' gift in captivating the true essence of the agave, something tequila, mezcal or sotol will never do. Here in Santería, we have started our quest in reverse, into the beginning of this incredible story of maguey by adding an intentional element of healing and tradition into every dish and cocktail.
Lalo
