The pre-Hispanic plant agave, father of tequila, mezcal, and pulque, has been an icon in Mexican culture, religion and cuisine.  The agave plant has provided shelter, food, and clothing for the Mexican population since ancient times thanks to the more than 136 common varieties, of which there are known 26 subspecies, 29 varieties and 7 forms, according to researcher Cristina Barros. 

She also stated that they grow in semi-arid climates in average temperatures of 22 ° C and generally at an altitude of 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level. A legend tells that the remains of a pre-hispanic goddess, Mayahuel, were buried by the Mesoamerican God Quetzalcoatl. From these remains emerged the first agave plant which provided humankind with products that gave them joy and pleasure.

The plant was adopted by the ancient cultures of Mexico to be used primarily in the manufacture of various traditional beverages such as pulque, obtained from the fermentation of agave juice, as well as tequila and mezcal, a result of the distillation of the juice from the agave.

Montserrat Sánchez Soler, Director of Casa Museo Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Studio, recounted that after the fall of México-Tenochtitlán to the hands of the Spanish Empire in 1521, the Spanish conquistadors admired the virtues of the agave to such an extent that the Governor and Capitan General of New Spain, Hernán Cortés, reported its existence to the Emperor Carlos V in his second report, the “Segunda Carta de Relación”.

In the report Cortes gave account, amongst other matters of import, of the land he had discovered and a description of the town squares and farmer markets in Tenochtitlán where many products were exchanged, particularly a honey extracted from "a plant referred to on other islands as agave" that was "much better than arrope".

According to the anthropologist Dora Sierra, the accounts on the distillation of vinegar from agave, as well as the construction of baskets and rope from its hemp, which were also benefits of the agave plant, prove that the ancient inhabitants of Mesoamerica had already known and capitalized on the uses of the plant for about 10,000 years prior to the first encounter with Spain.

Throughout time, agave has played significant economic and cultural roles in Mexico. Its population has enjoyed the agave plants’ native presence and has taken advantage of its benefits in key stages in history such as the Pre-hispanic era, the Colonial Era, the 19th century, the post revolutionary era as well as the present. After the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917) agave became a significant symbol of the nation when the country was looking for its identity.

This symbol (the agave), according to anthropologist Marta Turok "gave the shape and face of Mexico" and today, as a recurring element in art and gastronomy, "represents it as a nation".

* Source: EFE.