And like a sea wave to the misty Sun, under the blue space it rolls in foam: Oh magical, oh magical love!
(José Marti)
One mezcalera afternoon, we were conspiring with Santiago and Tisa in the Casa del Árbol, enjoying us boys Mezcal and them girls Wine, when suddenly my appreciation of Mezcal changed forever.
Although I knew that Mezcal is special, I did not know why, since -as you know- there are things that one knows and then discovers or remembers, or as they say -learns- and others that one simply invents or imagines.
In any case, I never imagined how special Mezcal is, until Santiago reminded me of it, or made me discover it or taught me, and believe me, what I am telling you is neither an invention nor a product of my imagination.
We Mexicans are the children of the corn and the agave (also called maguey, pita, cabuya, fique or mezcal) and as such, the drink called Mezcal, a product of maguey, not only identifies us as Mexicans, but it also allows anyone, to drink it and feel, even know what it feels like to be Mexican, just as it happens when you drink other distillates from the maguey, such as comiteco, bacanora, pulque, raicilla, tequila or sotol.
It is not by chance that Mezcal has the popularity it has among all those who seek to awaken their Mexican origins by drinking it, that Mexican we all have within ourselves, it does not matter where we were born, since Mexican culture is not only ancestral, but also universal.
Mezcal has been produced in Mexico for more than four centuries, with ancestral processes that today we must care for, protect and above all, respect; hence, the importance that when you drink Mezcal, you do so with the honour and respect that it deserves.
To produce Mezcal, one that is produced respecting traditions, one must wait between ten and fifteen years, which is the time it takes for the heart of the Maguey to receive enough Sun and Mist to be able to deliver and create the celestial elixir. Hence, the importance of preserving traditional artisan distillation methods, since those produced industrially are not, nor will they ever be, nor will they ever produce, the same thing that produces a genuine artisanal Mezcal.
After those more than ten years, the maguey sacrifices himself to give us his heart and with it, allow us to receive the years of Sun and Serene accumulated in his heart.
The Sun, the one that rises every day to illuminate us and fill us with life and the Mist, the one who takes turns with the Sun, to make room for the night, flood us with freshness, wrap us in its humidity; those two, without whom life would not exist.
The heart of the maguey, full of that duality that is represented by the Sun and the Mist, gives life to Mezcal, which, as the sacred ancient medicine that it is, illuminates our hearts when drinking it, awakening in us the accumulated feeling of receiving day after day and night after night the Sun and the Mist, so that our hearts may open and once opened, they express themselves.
Mezcal is also the appropriate medicine to remove our masks, those that the Mexicans put on and that Octavio Paz so well described in his Laberinto de la Soledad (Labyrinth of Solitude). The masks that we put on to experience the affront and the forecasted long period of darkness that awaited us and that is no longer.
The properties of Mezcal have made it an indispensable element for decision-making in the communities of our beloved Mexico and we should well follow their example within our own "communities".
The community meets in roundtables to discuss topics of general interest or that affect or could affect the community as a whole, in those roundtables everyone freely expresses their opinions and points of view, to seek a consensus or let the elders decide what they consider to be the best for the community as a whole, after having listened to all the different points of view expressed by its members.
These assemblies begin with a Mezcal ceremony that consists in each person drinking their dose of Mezcal from a jícara, passing it among all the representatives until it is consumed. The foregoing is done to facilitate each one expressing their opinion and point of view, from the heart, devoid of any mask, until everyone has spoken and is heard, to allow their opinions be taken into account, until decisions are made and consensus are reached, in community, for the good of all, for the greater good.
We must duly thank and honour Mezcal, for allowing us all to open our hearts, remove our masks and become one with our fellow human beings, reconnect with the Mexican we have within ourselves and live in harmony with the universe, in blessed synchronicity, in community.
It is the responsibility of all of us to honor the sacrifice of the maguey and be conscious of that sacrifce when drinking Mezcal or any of its distillates, knowing that in doing so, we are being blessed by the Goddess Mayaguel and honoured by the sacrifice of the maguey that transformed years of Sun and Mist into a heavenly elixir to open and illuminate our hearts, take off our masks, allowing us to speak with and from the heart and assume our condition as human beings, brothers and sisters, united in synchrony with everyone and everything, the Sun, the Mist, the universe of the cosmic race to which we all belong;honour it, drinking respectfully the sacred Mezcal, the only drink that we drink kissing, not sipping.
We believe so, and so it is
Yo lo Creo
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