Meet the mezcalero of November 2021, José Erubíel Mota Martínez Born in 1960, this Mixteca maestro witnessed his town’s palenques go from 10 to only 1 as the local government cracked down on illegal spirit production throughout the 70’s and 80’s until it became legal around 1985. Don José learned from his grandfather who distilled aguardiente, panella alcohol, and mezcal, as well as from his mother, who used to ferment in cowhide. Their Guerrero pechuga recipe has remained the same for over 100 years over 3 generations. Zapotitlán Lagunas’ nearly 100-200 year old mezcal tradition remains intact solely through Don José who must travel 3 hours from his Huayapam home to make a batch once a year with wild cow-capon’d Papalometle. We worked closely with José’s son, also José Erubiel Mota, who participates in the production, but focuses more on the business development when he’s not busy being a computer engineer. When we asked him to describe his father, he said that he’s very responsible, passionate about mezcal, works very hard and long – 3 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon, and that his face looks serious, although he’s actually really happy and friendly. He cares a lot about people, the community, his family, his work, and his life is full of purpose.
