Despite the common belief among most mezcal aficionados, women are integrally involved in the production of the Mexican agave distillate, at least in the southern state of Oaxaca. Its distillation and the first phases of production depend on women in many aspects. However, the participation of women of our species, on the other hand, is largely determined and restricted 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 as a whole.
Older family members teach traditional distillers (often referred to as mezcaleros, or here in and around Oaxaca as palenqueros), rather than reading about distilling online or in magazines or watching videos. Young women, like young 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 typically 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 were out on long hunting expeditions; they often require them to be fleet of feet and sometimes require more physical strength than the women can muster. With mezcal production, the agave fields under cultivation are often far from home, and if wild maguey is sought, the palenquero must often walk a couple of hours into the hills before finding his bounty. The same applies to the supply of firewood for ovens and stills. Also, lifting the pineapples (the heart of the succulent used in production) often requires more strength than is usually exhibited by women. Although sometimes, while the palenquero is still in the field, the piñas are cut into smaller pieces for later cooking, either whole or in halves, they can weigh hundreds of pounds and must be loaded onto trucks, donkeys, or mules.
Once back at the palenque (artisanal mezcal distillery), which is usually adjacent to the village, the women’s work in the elaboration of mezcal begins in earnest, subject of course to their priority obligation to prepare the food and attend to the kids. However, they are often an integral part of the cooking, grinding, fermentation and distillation processes, working alongside and even directing the men.
It is true that men are more often engaged in cutting the agave into appropriately sized pieces at the palenque to prepare it for baking, again for reasons related to endurance and strength. Similarly, splitting logs and loading the kiln with large, heavy tree trunks is usually a man’s job. But when it comes to filling the oven with stones, wet bagasse (fiber residue from distillation), pine cones, tarps, and earth, women participate on an equal footing with men. Even in the face of any remaining remnants of the perceived Mexican macho, once the rocks in the oven have been sufficiently heated, it is important to second as many helpers, both male and female, so that the rest of the work is done as smoothly as possible. fast possible. and then hermetically seal the oven.
Both women and men take pineapples out of the oven once the carbohydrates have been converted to sugars or caramelized. Later, in preparation for subsequent baking, again individuals of both sexes empty the chamber. Women are daughters, daughters-in-law, mothers, companions, nieces and granddaughters. I regularly see them all participating. They are as much a part of the process as their male counterparts, they are even in charge of making decisions.
When the baked agave is ground by hand, then yes, it is almost exclusively the men who attend to this arduous task. But the rest are usually shared tasks in equal parts: work the horse; determine when the maguey pieces have been sufficiently pulverized; loading vessels for fermentation, whether in wooden slat tanks, lined buried pits, bovine hides or otherwise; and distillation. They decide on the optimal ABV (alcohol by volume) and how to achieve the best possible taste.
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 deal with all of this, as well as associate with her husband, for example, in terms of directing and attending to all the above tasks required in the production of the spirit. However, hearing the cry or receiving the phone call from her partner, cousin, son or father, she is there, as needed. Also, she is the one who stays at home in charge of sales. She usually prepares food for the men as well, 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 producing the spirit. .
Economic necessity sometimes dictates that a woman, to the almost total exclusion of men, become a palenquera. She sows, cares for, cuts and harvests maguey; she splits logs and shreds 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 that her late husband used to do, in addition to raising the children. In another case, a single mother’s two children left home for the US in their late teens, leaving her and her mother as heads of household. She had learned the production of mezcal from her grandfather. She currently has the reputation of being one of the few palenqueras that does it all, producing some of Oaxaca’s finest mezcal. She instructs her subordinates, that is, male cousins and neighbors, on how to produce mezcal based on her exacting recipe. The above are two exceptions to the tradition of both men and women working together, in cooperation with members of their families and communities.
A paradigm shift is warranted and strongly suggested when it comes to our perception that the industry is primarily in the realm of men. Women deserve to be recognized for their own important place in the world of Oaxacan mezcal production.