Aguas, atole, aguardiente, cafe, chocolate, compuestos, destilados, pulque, tejate, tepache, and té, oh my! Those are only fraction of the 72 beverages (alcoholic and non) found in the eight regions of the state of Oaxaca and featured in the “hot off the press” book, Bebidas de Oaxaca. Authors, Salvador Cueva and Ricardo Bonilla spent a year traveling up and down and over and through the mountains, valleys, and coastal regions of this most diverse, both geographic and cultural, state.
Ricardo Bonilla and Salvador Cueva.
They met the indigenous men and women whose families have handed down through countless generations the recipes for everyday and ceremonial beverages. Most of all they got to know, learn from, and appreciate the people and their traditions. A poem, composed and recited by Emma Méndez García from Huatla de Jiménez, expressed the pride and strength of the rich cultures of those who contributed their time, histories, and knowledge to the project.
Emma Méndez García (Huautla de Jiménez) reciting the poem she wrote in honor of the occasion.
The relationship the authors developed with their subjects was obvious at Saturday afternoon’s book presentation at the gloriously dilapidated and magical Proyecto Murguia (site of the 2012 El Sueño de Elpis). They presented each of the cocineras and cocineros featured in the book with the book, a book bag, a mug, and much gratitude and appreciation.
Ricardo Bonilla, Jovita López Cruz (Unión Nacional Zafra), and Salvador Cueva.
Ricardo Bonilla, Carina Santiago (Teotitlán del Valle), and Salvador Cueva.
Ricardo Bonilla, Catalina Chávez Lucas (Tlacolula de Matamoros), and Salvador Cueva.
Ricardo Bonilla, Reyna Mendoza (Teotitlán del Valle), and Salvador Cueva.
Ricardo Bonilla, Celia Florian (La Ciénega, Zimatlán), and Salvador Cueva.
Following the formal presentations, 20 of the beverages were free to sample and purchase directly from their makers.
Mezcal from Graciela Ángeles Carreño (Santa Catarina Minas).
Pinole prepared by Elisa León Pérez (Santa Catarina Ixtepeji).
Estela serving Chocolateatole con cacao blanco by Carina Santiago (Teotitlán del Valle).
Tepache con rojo by María Díaz Cortés and Juana Gallardo Jiménez (Santa María Tlahuitoltepec).
Bebidas de Oaxaca is available in Spanish and English and in hard and softbound editions. For information regarding purchasing the book, go to their website. Or, if you are in Oaxaca city, attend the book talk at La Jícara (Porfirio Díaz 1105) on Thursday evening, March 5, 2020 at 7:00 PM. A percentage of the sales of the book will go to the Bebidas de Oaxaca foundation to support the people and families who participated in the book.
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