On March 22nd, we celebrated the World Water Day, and today, exactly one month later, it's International Earth Day. We chose these dates to mark the beginning of Dos Cuerpos Magazine, where we will feature two articles each month with political, social, or cultural content related to aspects of mezcal or Mexican wine. As you may know, Dos Cuerpos is mainly dedicated to artisanal mezcal and Mexican wine tastings, and this magazine will complement all the information provided in our tastings.
We aim to create a magazine in honor of cultural publications that shaped the concept of nationhood and reflected Western thoughts in the early 20th century. Thus, our magazine will pay homage to publications such as Ábside, El hijo Pródigo, Gracia, Tablero, Taller, and the post-issue 47 edition of the magazine América, where the first edition of "El llano en llamas" by Juan Rulfo was published. Also, we draw inspiration from magazines like Ultra, Renacimiento, Argos, El imparcial, and some Spanish ones like El mono azul or Revista de Occidente by Ortega y Gasset. Lastly, magazines like Horizonte, Pegaso, Cervantes, or Contemporáneos, where Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz's work was first printed, hold significant importance for us as they embody critical awareness. Although some, like Examen, were criticized for offending public morals, these magazines defended the freedom of thought and reactive consciousness. In Dos Cuerpos, we would like intellectuals and knowledgeable individuals, both Mexican and foreign, to participate and share their insights about the vast culture surrounding Mexican wine and artisanal mezcal. For now, we will share what we know, hoping to entertain you during moments of leisure and with the goal of building a community enriched with diverse worldviews.
Before we begin, I'd like to briefly refer to the god Tepeyollotl, the god of echoes and patron of jaguars. One of Dos Cuerpos' missions is to become a dissemination platform where you can learn and delve into the world of vines and maguey. Simultaneously, we want to honor the god Tepeyollotl by using jaguars as a symbol for this project. We seek to spread an echo of information to be as transparent as possible regarding the products we offer, with the humble intention of promoting responsible consumption of these beverages.
In this first article, we will explain the two main problems that cause us concern and that we aim to address with this project.
The first problem in the world of Mexican wine is the issue of water in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California Norte. The wine route in Ensenada starts from San Antonio de las Minas, covering the entire Valle de Guadalupe, a undoubtedly beautiful place. Anyone who has visited this valley will undoubtedly return, that's a fact. If you don't believe it, we invite you to try the experiment. However, the problem is that water has been depleting for decades, and as a result, water extraction is now restricted. This is a sentence for the largest wine region in Mexico, and everyone knows it. Since water was put under restriction, a license is required to extract it, and CONAGUA (Mexico's National Water Commission) no longer issues permits. Consequently, those who possess these licenses begin to sell them, saying, "I have 22 cubic liters for extraction, but I only need 10, so I can sell a part of my water license to you." However, this becomes a separate business and leads to inaccessible prices, like 4 dollars per cubic meter, not to mention the additional cost of the infrastructure. Some people use alternatives such as Keyline and permaculture, which involve creating trenches that collect wasted water throughout the land. We must leverage resources and technologies that allow us to be ecologically responsible to address the corruption surrounding water in the Valle, which adversely affects family vineyards.
Now, let's talk about the land where our emblematic maguey grows and is overexploited. There are 159 species of maguey, 119 of which are endemic, and half of them are endangered. This is due to industrial production disguised as 399 plus a rabbit. These industries disrespect our agaves, which take between 12 and 50 years to grow, and they ruthlessly kill these agaves before they can reproduce. These industrial giants irresponsibly demand a certain amount of mezcal from master mezcaleros, regardless of the environmental impact. Hence, we want to raise awareness about consuming quality, organic, and sustainable products. This is not a technique to sell you anything; we invite you to go to Oaxaca and seek out a master mezcalero yourself. Practicing responsible self-consumption means supporting this beautiful culture that remains alive. Do not drink mezcal from Malcolm's father or tequila from the Kardashians, or however it's spelled.
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