BajaNomad
Not logged in [Login - Register]

Go To Bottom
Printable Version  
Author: Subject: Mexico's ancient drink under threat
Anonymous
Unregistered




Posts: N/A
Registered: N/A
Member Is Offline


[*] posted on 1-18-2005 at 10:47 PM
Mexico's ancient drink under threat


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4114553.stm

In Mexico, producers are warning that the so-called "nectar of the gods" is in danger of extinction.

By Claire Marshall
26 December, 2004

The popularity of the pre-Hispanic alcoholic drink, pulque, is fading in favour of more conventional beverages such as beer and rum.

Mario Grajedo wobbles slightly as he perches on a stool by the side of the road in Ixmiquilpan in Mexico's Hidalgo state.

This is pulque heartland. On the simple table in front of him is a large maize tortilla covered in hot sauce.

Beside it is a jug of the milky liquid.

Eating with one hand, he swigs deeply using the other.

'Very healthy'

His voice slightly slurred, he says: "Pulque is a very strong tradition in Hidalgo. The flavour is either bitter or sweet - depending on how you like it.

"If you like it strong then you drink it neat, and if not you put in a bit of honey. It's like tequila - it's very healthy."

Legend has it that pulque was being drunk in Mexico 10 centuries ago. It was certainly the preferred tipple of the Aztec elite.

Considered of divine origin, it was used by priests in rituals.

Common men only stole a sip on pain of death.

Pulque is the sap of the maguey cactus, which grows in dry desert plains.

It is extracted by workers who put a fat wooden tube in to the heart of the plant, and suck the liquid out. One litre costs less than half a dollar.

But the so-called "nectar of the gods" is in danger of dying out. Beer, rum and brandy are more popular with young people.

Clemente Gonzales is a pulque seller in Ixmiquilpan.

"The custom is being lost. The youth of today are leaving pulque. It's sad, because beforehand it was the base of everything around here," he says.

Felipa Peres Angeles, an indigenous H?a H?? Indian, has tended her field of maguey cactus all her life.

Liquid is sucked from the heart of the cactus and fermented
She says that she is now starting to use the maguey sap to make a type of honey, as it is more profitable than pulque.

"The maguey cactus is our only source of work. But pulque is sold too cheaply - it doesn't earn you enough to pay for schooling for the children. So now I have decided to produce honey instead.

"But it's not fair that pulque is dying out - it's very good to drink, even just a little glass."

In Mexico City just 20 years ago, there used to be well over 1,000 pulque bars. Now there are fewer than 100.

Unless new markets are found, this legendary pre-Hispanic beverage could be consigned to Mexico's museums.

  Go To Top

 






All Content Copyright 1997- Q87 International; All Rights Reserved.
Powered by XMB; XMB Forum Software © 2001-2014 The XMB Group






"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen. The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez

 

"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt

 

"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes

 

"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn

 

"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law







Thank you to Baja Bound Mexico Insurance Services for your long-term support of the BajaNomad.com Forums site.







Emergency Baja Contacts Include:

Desert Hawks; El Rosario-based ambulance transport; Emergency #: (616) 103-0262