Mezcal culture

   For this blog I listened to Latino USA a "Mezcal: From Farms to Bars" episode,which aired on August 24,2021 and I listened to this episode on September 7,2021.This program was hosted by Maria Hinojosa and she was interviewing Juan Diego Ramirez and Arely Morales.In this episode the two guests  talk to us about what we should know about the drink Mezcal. Since many people are not familiar with its culture and production process.Decades ago the drink was ignored a lot due to the commercialization of Tequila.Including bureaucracy and high costs of authenticating it to the government standards.Due to this Mezcal became known as a drink for the poor.The host Maria tells a story about how back in 1981 she bought mezcal in a plastic jug because it was not sold at liquor stores.However now there is a mass commercialization of Mezcal and more well known.The only problem is that producers are trying to strike a balance between ethical farming of the crop and mass commercialization,they also want to share the culture of Mezcal. Which can be complicated in achieving a balance. 

  Juan Diego at the begging talks about how at the start of the pandemic he saw something very disturbing on Instagram. The LA Taco posted people protesting against ice and there were same comments that were very racist: which was expected but one comment really stood out to Juan and his friend Gilberto. Gilberto on his account clicked on the profile of a guy who said "It was not fair blame ice because they were just doing their job." And he saw the guy's posts which had many racial posts. This was concerning because that guy was also in the liquor business just like Gilberto and Juan. Especially of a mezcal brand he was a business partner. This ironic because he wants to profit from culture that he knows nothing about and is also racist towards. Juan was thought the same as Gilberto it made no sense. Which lead Juan to reach out to a journalist friend of his, that lives in Oaxaco(arely morales). He did this to learn about what was going on. In order to understand the mezcal business more. Now arely joins the conversation. Arely starts off by saying that "All tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal can be considered tequila." For example "just like champagne can only be produce "just like champagne France. Tequila can only be produced in the city of Tequila, Jalisco Mexico. Mezcal on the other hand can be produce in other Mexican states. Since Tequila has to be produced from puro agave and mezcal doesn't. Mezcal is more popular in Oaxaca. The nomination of origin is needdin order to sell and export. Mezcal obtained it in 1994 and currently only 9 states in mexico have it. The term mezcal comes form "cooked agrave." Oaxaca produces 90% of (state of all mezcal in the cuntroy and counts for 80% of exportation. The cooking process is called tapada the core of the crop gets thrown in an oven with rocks fired and agave leaves. The wholes process is very difficult and long. Using mezcal only for the money is against the culture. The people who really understand mezcal are the ones in the fields. About 5 percent of producers actually care about the process. One thing that worries producers at the moment is water since it needed for mezcal. Since there is a high demand for mezcal especially in the U.S. In the 2020 70% of mezcal exports went to the United states. 

  Arely talked to few farmers but they did not want to go on record of what brands they worked for. Due to them being in fear of potentially losing their job. Many of the farmers she interviewed said "That the companies that distance themselves from the ancenstry earth to bottle process are contributing to the degradation of not only the way of life but an entire ecosystem."Not only the rising costs of Mezcal are making it harder for locals in Oaxaca to consume the drink.In Oaxaca the minimum wage is 141 pesos a day which is bearly 7 U.S dollars.The price of mezcal is getting out of hand, twelve years ago a bottle of mezcal would cost on average 241 pesos or 12 usd. Now in present day a bottle sells for over 500 pesos on average.The problems that are rising are that farmers are struggling to keep up with production levels and home economies can't keep up with prices.Which is making more of a drink for outsiders instead of for locals.

  Smaller mezcal producers cant get authenticated by the government due to the costs.The norma mexicana (regulation certificate to export) the application alone costs 165 Usd or 3,285 pesos.There also many other costs that small producers can't afford which leaves them with no other choice than to get investors.Which aren't hard to find since there is a high demand for the production of mezcal.In the U.S it has had a big boom in the recent years.There many mezcal bars around the U.S especially in the most popular cities.There are many mezcal families in mexico that produce for other companies and those companies just rebrand the bottles and sell them as there own.This is bad for the culture of mezcal and for the families since they dont get regoconition.However it is good because it greats jobs and gets mezcal more well known around the world.To end it off the episode they give a wonderful message to the listeners consumers need to drink responsibly and become more informed about where the mezcal they drink comes from.Since Mezcal isn't just a drink it has a beautiful culture behind it that needs more recogonition.

https://youtu.be/nwFkX45jzps