In a letter dated July 2, 1748, the viceroy, Matías de Gálvez and Gallardo, describes more than 80 different alcoholic drinks typical of Nueva España: pulques, spirits, sugar cane wines, chiringuitos, pozoles, ponches, tepaches, mezquite wines, chichas, zendejos, y zambumbias, among many others. Mexican drinks create a vast universe, and demonstrate the ingenuity and ability to take advantage of the natural resources of the Mexican territory.
Mexican drinks have had various uses, beyond nutrition or drunkenness, their production and consumption can be linked to social practices as complex as religion, economy and recreation.
The different pre-Hispanic cultures in Mexico, granted a ritual character to the maguey plant and to agaves in general, which have been consumed for thousands of years to produce some of the most emblematic drinks of our culture: pulque and mezcal.
During the Colonization, due to the clash of cultures, ingredients, utensils and processes were mixed, manufacturing techniques were adapted, and new ones were created. In this period, techniques such as distillation were refined, and new ingredients were introduced, such as milk, sugar, aromatic spices and grapes. During the 19th century, beer and its industrial manufacturing process, defined the first Mexican modernity, that of the Porfiriato era, an industry that grew supported by railroads, oil, steel and glass.
Mexican drinks are the result of the mixture of cultures, and they have always accompanied celebrations and sorrows, banquets and famines, dances and wars, becoming an essential part of Mexican daily life. Always present in popular iconography, they are an important part of the identity of Mexicans.
The exhibition was presented from March 22 to August 20, 2017.
