Agave distillates and the women who make them: Oaxacan mezcal and the female of the species

Despite the common belief among most mezcal fans, women are fully involved in the production of Mexican agave distillate, at least in the southern state of Oaxaca. Its distillation and the first stages of production depend on women in many respects. However, the participation of the female of our species, on the other hand, is determined and restricted to a great extent by the same criteria used to understand sexual roles in other vocations in rural Oaxaca; physical limitations, parenting and other needs of and for the family in general.

Traditional distillers (often referred to as mezcaleros, or here in and around Oaxaca as palenqueros) are taught by older family members, rather than reading about distillation online or in magazines or watching videos. Young women, like men, almost from birth begin to learn the trade. They can be called mezcaleras or palenqueras, but for the purposes of this article let’s say generically palenqueros.

Women routinely raise families, dating back to the hunter-gatherer division of labor in mankind. The mothers stayed close to home with the children, gathering fruits, nuts, berries, etc., and preparing meals, while their male companions went on long hunting expeditions; they often require them to be agile and sometimes require more physical strength than women can often muster. With mezcal production, the agave fields being grown are often far from home, and if looking for wild maguey, the palenquero is often required to walk a couple of hours into the hills before finding their bounty. The same applies to obtaining firewood to feed furnaces and stills. In addition, lifting the pineapples (the heart of the succulents used in production) often requires more force than is usually exhibited by women. Although sometimes, while the palenquero is still in the field, the pineapples are cut into smaller pieces for eventual baking, either whole or in half, they can weigh hundreds of pounds and must be loaded onto trucks, donkeys, or mules.

Once back at the palenque (artisanal distillery of mezcal), which often adjoins the farm, the women’s work in making mezcal begins in earnest, of course subject to their priority obligation to prepare meals and serve the kids. However, they are often an integral part of the baking, grinding, fermenting and distilling processes, working together and even leading men.

It is true that men are more often involved in cutting the agave into pieces of the appropriate size in the palenque in preparation for baking, again the reasons related to endurance and strength. Similarly, splitting logs and loading the kiln with large, heavy tree trunks is typically men’s work. But when it comes to filling the kiln with stones, wet bagasse (waste fiber from distillation), pineapples, tarps and earth, women participate on equal terms with men. Even in the face of whatever remains of the perceived Mexican male, once the stones in the kiln have been heated sufficiently, it is important to assign as many helpers, both male and female, to do the rest of the work as much as possible. quickly possible. and then seal the oven tightly.

Both women and men remove pineapples from the oven once the carbohydrates have been converted to sugars or caramelized. Later, in preparation for a subsequent baking, once again individuals of both sexes empty the chamber. Women are daughters, daughters-in-law, mothers, partners, nieces, and granddaughters. I see you all participating regularly. They are as much a part of the process as their male counterparts, including being entrusted with decision-making.

When the mashing of the cooked agave is done by hand, then yes, it is almost exclusively men who take care of this arduous task. But the rest are often equally shared tasks: working the horse; determine when the maguey pieces have been sufficiently pulverized; load the containers for fermentation, whether in wooden slat tanks, lined pits in the ground, bovine hides or others; and distillation. They decide the optimal ABV (alcohol by volume) and how to achieve the best possible flavor.

But suppose the palenquera also takes care of typical household chores, including preparing family meals and raising children, including taking care of their health, education, and general well-being. Of course, she cannot reasonably be expected to take care of all this, as well as to partner with her husband, for example, in terms of directing and attending to all the above tasks required in the production of spirit. However, hearing the scream or receiving the phone call from her male partner, cousin, son or father, she is there as needed. Also, she is the one staying home in charge of sales. In general, she also prepares food for the men, and in fact, when the house is not next to the palenque, it is customary for the women to bring food and drink for those (men) who are in some stage of production of the spirit.

Economic necessity sometimes dictates that a woman, to the almost total exclusion of men, becomes a palenquera. Plant, take care of, cut and harvest the maguey; split logs and shred by hand. In one case, a husband / palenquero died suddenly in a car accident, leaving his wife and four young children. She became a palenquera in the traditional sense, doing everything her late husband did before, in addition to raising the children. In another case, the two children of a single mother left home for the United States in their late teens, leaving her and her mother as heads of the household. He had learned mezcal production from his grandfather. It currently has the reputation of being one of the few palenqueras that does it all, producing one of the best mezcals in Oaxaca. He directs his subordinates, that is, male cousins ​​and neighbors, on how to produce mezcal based on his demanding recipe. The above are two exceptions to the tradition of men and women working together, in cooperation with members of their families and communities.

A paradigm shift is both justified and strongly suggested when it comes to our perception that the industry is primarily within the purview of men. Women deserve to have their important and important place recognized in the world of Oaxacan mezcal production.