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October 25, 2018Ancient Mexican drink survives in Toluca
HIGHLIGHTS
Ancient Mexican drink survives in Toluca
September 27rd, 2018
Have you ever imagined what a drink provided by a goddess as a gift could taste like? That is the case of the most ancient alcoholic drink in Mexico: Pulque, A venerable beverage wrapped in mythology which is obtained from the fermentation of the aguamiel –the agave sap collected. You can taste this mythological drink in the traditional pulque bar (pulcata or pulquería) Los Magueyes in Toluca centre, right behind the famous Cosmovitral.
Manolo – a big tall man on his late fifties, owner of the pulque bar- tells `Managing a pulque bar has been being a beautiful tradition for me, since I see it as a way of preserving the millennial heritage, gift of goddess Mayahuel which identifies us as Mexicans.’ And this we can perceive by the way the bar is furnished and decorated with several murals that represent an idyllic world full of pulque. At the entrance, we find the bar holding several translucent containers that invite us to taste the different types of pulque available, a molcajete (stone bowl) full of salsa, tortillas and sometimes chicharron (fried pork skin) to prepare some tacos; exactly the way it used to be 40 years ago.
Cold weather areas are ideal for pulque production since from the over 200 species of maguey in Mexico, only 70 are suitable for such purpose and Toluca is known to be the coldest capital city in Mexico, which makes it perfect for its production and consumption. The State of Mexico currently is one of the largest producers of pulque `back in the 20´s the only people who would consume pulque in Toluca were farmers and people from the country visiting the city because of their affairs, but it became more popular among the population in the early 50’s’ Manolo remembers.
Since you first get in the pulque bar you notice that it is not a conventional bar. The average client is about 30 to 70 years old, very chatty, and aims to meet new people since the tradition dictates that everyone in the pulque bar must greet at the entrance and should get along with other customers. `The behavior of people is dramatically different in a pulque bar. When you walk into a conventional bar, everyone is quiet drinking and barely ever talk to others, but in a pulque bar everyone is talking to each other as if they were old friends. That´s the magic of pulque’ Manolo says.
The cheerful environment of the pulque bar is attributable perhaps to the way it used to be furnished. `Back in the good old times, every pulcata was furnished with large eight or ten meters tables, so it was easy to start a conversation with your neighbors. The big tables were also a reason for people to rent the whole establishment for the celebration of Marriages, anniversaries and birthday parties. This way, they could save some money and profit a great celebration with hundreds of pulque liters and delicious meals accompanied by family and friends’ Manolo recalls.
Manolo assures that `The pulque production was booming back from the 50´s to the 80´s. Almost everyone would drink pulque in Toluca, even kids, since it was seen as something more than the cheapest alcoholic drink you could get. People used to go to get some fresh pulque every morning, nearly 4 or 5 liters so the father and the whole family could have a nutritious breakfast. The same phenomenon was repeated in the afternoon when housewives would go and buy some extra liters of pulque for the supper. It was the most consumed drink before sodas and beer became popular’.
And it is true. Around 60 years ago there used to be around 11 pulque bars only around the Cosmovitral area in Toluca. Of course, the Cosmovitral building was still the biggest market in the area and the lifestyle in the city was much different from now. `I remember that my dad once got to manage 7 pulque bars in Toluca at the same time. It was a very profitable business. Everyone would consume it due to its nutritional value and its affordable price. But then Yolanda Sentíes de Ballesteros ruled the city in the 70’s and many bars had to close due to her political agenda’ Manolo blames.
The pulqueria is a place full of traditions based mostly on respect and camaraderie. Let´s take the antique division by example: ‘nearly 40 years ago, pulque bars were divided into women´s department and men’s department in order to keep them under control. Women were catered through a window in the middle of the place whilst men could buy pulque at the main bar. Thus men could access the women´s department only if they were in the company of a lady. Of course that the men´s department was a little more exciting and dangerous’.
Manolo recalls how much things have changed: ‘Another old tradition of the pulquería was the famous vale that consisted on allowing the frequent costumers –usually bricklayers- that went in groups of around fifteen headed by a leader- usually the master builder- to buy pulque on credit. They would come every day at lunchtime to eat while drinking pulque and at the end of the week when they got paid, the customers would pay in equal parts for the consumption and as a reward for their loyalty the owner of the bar could gift around 10% of the total pulque consumption. This was known as Burrada’
`Nowadays, antique traditions are completely lost’. Manolo claims outraged. ‘You simply can´t trust people now. I already have collected 7 IDs from clients that bought pulque on credit and promised to pay the next day first thing in the morning but never came back or came back claiming that they do n’t own me anything. Everything changed since the 80´s when this noble beverage started to be discredited. From then on, less and fewer people consumed pulque and the ones who kept their preference were seen as despicable. Sad but true.’
`Since the 80´s selling pulque stopped being a profitable business. Many people preferred beer over our ancestral beverage mainly due to mass media sabotage. Beer companies came out with the muñeca myth which tells that we need to add human excretions in order to ferment the aguamiel (agave sap) which is absolutely false. The issue is that we need to strain the pulque to remove impurities through a cheesecloth and it gets oxidized quickly. so people think it to be feces due to its dark brown coloration combined with the strong smell expelled by some over fermented pulque’.
From then on, pulque bars closed little by little. There used to be over 25 pulque bars in Toluca centre alone. nowadays we can only count nearly 2 or 3 left and they seem to be hidden from public sight for some reason. Every time more and more people prefers beer or distilled drinks over pulque. ‘I barely earn about 20% of what my father used to earn in this business. In the pulque boom we used to sell about seven to eight 120 litres pulque barrels a day due to its popularity; now we barely sell one or two in the good days.’ Manolo confess.
‘I’ve been in charge of Los Magueyes pulque bar since a long time ago when my father died and I was still studying at university. I only had to close it once for a four years period due to several issues with some local thugs that constantly disrupted good order in the bar. After this time I decided to renovate its image for a fresh start. This way, new costumers came in –especially young people- at the time that problems were reduced. Now the only problem I face up to are some tricky ladies that might seduce naïve clients to deprive them of their belongings. But nothing we haven’t seen before in regular bars’ according to Manolo’.
Besides the bad reputation of pulque bars around Mexico, it is definitively worth it to come around and have a taste of the mythological beverage. Not only for its particular flavour and multiple variations in preparation, such as curados (pulque combined with fruits and other sweet elements), but also because of the traditions that coexist peacefully but daring which attract golden hearted people from every social class in the city.
Pulquería Los Magueyes is the last of traditional pulque bars we have record of at least in the Toluca city downtown and remains standing as a token of resistance: the eternal fight between modernity and tradition. It doesn’t necessarily has to be this way. It depends on our attitude to keep it up by preserving the tradition from extinction. Drinking pulque is a form of not letting it die and rescuing it from total oblivion. If at any time you are in Toluca City, Come and have a magnificent pulque extracted directly from the rich land of Huixquilucan. Dare to discover why it is called the beverage of Mexican gods.
Translation: Fabian Peñaloza
Staff
Have you ever imagined what a drink provided by a goddess as a gift could taste like? That is the case of the most ancient alcoholic drink in Mexico: Pulque, A venerable beverage wrapped in mythology which is obtained from the fermentation of the aguamiel –the agave sap collected. You can taste this mythological drink in the traditional pulque bar (pulcata or pulquería) Los Magueyes in Toluca centre, right behind the famous Cosmovitral.
Manolo – a big tall man on his late fifties, owner of the pulque bar- tells `Managing a pulque bar has been being a beautiful tradition for me, since I see it as a way of preserving the millennial heritage, gift of goddess Mayahuel which identifies us as Mexicans.’ And this we can perceive by the way the bar is furnished and decorated with several murals that represent an idyllic world full of pulque. At the entrance, we find the bar holding several translucent containers that invite us to taste the different types of pulque available, a molcajete (stone bowl) full of salsa, tortillas and sometimes chicharron (fried pork skin) to prepare some tacos; exactly the way it used to be 40 years ago.
Cold weather areas are ideal for pulque production since from the over 200 species of maguey in Mexico, only 70 are suitable for such purpose and Toluca is known to be the coldest capital city in Mexico, which makes it perfect for its production and consumption. The State of Mexico currently is one of the largest producers of pulque `back in the 20´s the only people who would consume pulque in Toluca were farmers and people from the country visiting the city because of their affairs, but it became more popular among the population in the early 50’s’ Manolo remembers.
Since you first get in the pulque bar you notice that it is not a conventional bar. The average client is about 30 to 70 years old, very chatty, and aims to meet new people since the tradition dictates that everyone in the pulque bar must greet at the entrance and should get along with other customers. `The behavior of people is dramatically different in a pulque bar. When you walk into a conventional bar, everyone is quiet drinking and barely ever talk to others, but in a pulque bar everyone is talking to each other as if they were old friends. That´s the magic of pulque’ Manolo says.
The cheerful environment of the pulque bar is attributable perhaps to the way it used to be furnished. `Back in the good old times, every pulcata was furnished with large eight or ten meters tables, so it was easy to start a conversation with your neighbors. The big tables were also a reason for people to rent the whole establishment for the celebration of Marriages, anniversaries and birthday parties. This way, they could save some money and profit a great celebration with hundreds of pulque liters and delicious meals accompanied by family and friends’ Manolo recalls.
Manolo assures that `The pulque production was booming back from the 50´s to the 80´s. Almost everyone would drink pulque in Toluca, even kids, since it was seen as something more than the cheapest alcoholic drink you could get. People used to go to get some fresh pulque every morning, nearly 4 or 5 liters so the father and the whole family could have a nutritious breakfast. The same phenomenon was repeated in the afternoon when housewives would go and buy some extra liters of pulque for the supper. It was the most consumed drink before sodas and beer became popular’.
And it is true. Around 60 years ago there used to be around 11 pulque bars only around the Cosmovitral area in Toluca. Of course, the Cosmovitral building was still the biggest market in the area and the lifestyle in the city was much different from now. `I remember that my dad once got to manage 7 pulque bars in Toluca at the same time. It was a very profitable business. Everyone would consume it due to its nutritional value and its affordable price. But then Yolanda Sentíes de Ballesteros ruled the city in the 70’s and many bars had to close due to her political agenda’ Manolo blames.
The pulqueria is a place full of traditions based mostly on respect and camaraderie. Let´s take the antique division by example: ‘nearly 40 years ago, pulque bars were divided into women´s department and men’s department in order to keep them under control. Women were catered through a window in the middle of the place whilst men could buy pulque at the main bar. Thus men could access the women´s department only if they were in the company of a lady. Of course that the men´s department was a little more exciting and dangerous’.
Manolo recalls how much things have changed: ‘Another old tradition of the pulquería was the famous vale that consisted on allowing the frequent costumers –usually bricklayers- that went in groups of around fifteen headed by a leader- usually the master builder- to buy pulque on credit. They would come every day at lunchtime to eat while drinking pulque and at the end of the week when they got paid, the customers would pay in equal parts for the consumption and as a reward for their loyalty the owner of the bar could gift around 10% of the total pulque consumption. This was known as Burrada’
`Nowadays, antique traditions are completely lost’. Manolo claims outraged. ‘You simply can´t trust people now. I already have collected 7 IDs from clients that bought pulque on credit and promised to pay the next day first thing in the morning but never came back or came back claiming that they do n’t own me anything. Everything changed since the 80´s when this noble beverage started to be discredited. From then on, less and fewer people consumed pulque and the ones who kept their preference were seen as despicable. Sad but true.’
`Since the 80´s selling pulque stopped being a profitable business. Many people preferred beer over our ancestral beverage mainly due to mass media sabotage. Beer companies came out with the muñeca myth which tells that we need to add human excretions in order to ferment the aguamiel (agave sap) which is absolutely false. The issue is that we need to strain the pulque to remove impurities through a cheesecloth and it gets oxidized quickly. so people think it to be feces due to its dark brown coloration combined with the strong smell expelled by some over fermented pulque’.
From then on, pulque bars closed little by little. There used to be over 25 pulque bars in Toluca centre alone. nowadays we can only count nearly 2 or 3 left and they seem to be hidden from public sight for some reason. Every time more and more people prefers beer or distilled drinks over pulque. ‘I barely earn about 20% of what my father used to earn in this business. In the pulque boom we used to sell about seven to eight 120 litres pulque barrels a day due to its popularity; now we barely sell one or two in the good days.’ Manolo confess.
‘I’ve been in charge of Los Magueyes pulque bar since a long time ago when my father died and I was still studying at university. I only had to close it once for a four years period due to several issues with some local thugs that constantly disrupted good order in the bar. After this time I decided to renovate its image for a fresh start. This way, new costumers came in –especially young people- at the time that problems were reduced. Now the only problem I face up to are some tricky ladies that might seduce naïve clients to deprive them of their belongings. But nothing we haven’t seen before in regular bars’ according to Manolo’.
Besides the bad reputation of pulque bars around Mexico, it is definitively worth it to come around and have a taste of the mythological beverage. Not only for its particular flavour and multiple variations in preparation, such as curados (pulque combined with fruits and other sweet elements), but also because of the traditions that coexist peacefully but daring which attract golden hearted people from every social class in the city.
Pulquería Los Magueyes is the last of traditional pulque bars we have record of at least in the Toluca city downtown and remains standing as a token of resistance: the eternal fight between modernity and tradition. It doesn’t necessarily has to be this way. It depends on our attitude to keep it up by preserving the tradition from extinction. Drinking pulque is a form of not letting it die and rescuing it from total oblivion. If at any time you are in Toluca City, Come and have a magnificent pulque extracted directly from the rich land of Huixquilucan. Dare to discover why it is called the beverage of Mexican gods.
Translation: Fabian Peñaloza
Staff
