En quoi la téquila est-elle un patrimoine ?

Abstract

The tequila is a Mexican emblematic beverage. It began to be famous outside national borders in the middle of the last century. However, the cultivation of agave, the plant from which tequila is extracted, dates back to pre-Hispanic Mexico. This article aims to provide timely data on the historical process that gives origin to the tequila. It describes the paradoxes of its production and patrimonialization, ambiguities in the law that protects its production and international monopolization, the depletion and margination of small producers of agave, the loss of biological diversity, as well as of the traditional knowledge that exists on the agave and distilled beverages. Finally, it attempts to sketch an alternative to overcome this situation.

Keywords

• tequila
• patrimony
• globalization
• Mexico