Honoring our Ancestors

October 10, 2024

I recently did an interview and was asked about my title. Instinctively, I said, “I’m dad,” because I spend the majority of my time planning for, caring for, and thinking about my kids. In fact, I spent a good part of my morning preparing a presentation that I’ll be making at my daughter’s school on Monday about Día de Los Muertos. The school made a request for volunteers interested in sharing their cultural celebrations, and I took the opportunity to model for my four-year old daughter how proud I am to be Mexican. 

As I thought about Día de Los Muertos, I was reminded of my deceased grandfathers, both maternal and paternal, who worked the land with their hands. My abuelo in Puebla taught me to harvest guayabas, macadamias, and avocados that grew in la huerta. I remember how we let the macadamias dry so that we could peel them, then crack the hard shell with a custom nutcracker that he made. My other grandpa showed me how to cultivate tomatoes, potatoes, and chilies. We ate potatoes right out of the dirt and roasted green chilies in the back yard. In their own way, each of them instilled tremendous appreciation for mother Earth. 

In my search for a second brand of mezcal, I knew it had to be from Puebla, but more importantly, it had to align with our values of respect for the land and the people of Mexico. Enter Yuku Savi, a leader in the transition of the agave spirits industry towards environmental sustainability and fair trade practices. With proceeds from sales, Yuku Savi finances ecological restoration projects in the Mixteca region of Puebla and Oaxaca.

Yuku Savi’s sustainability program focuses on cultivating agave and native trees, designing agroforestry systems that integrate food production, and restoring degraded forests using nature-based solutions. They’re uniting rural communities dependent on agave with food producers and supporting innovation in sustainable forest products. Here is a summary of their impact in 2023 alone:

• 5 new families joined our community project.

• 31% of net mezcal sales funded ecological restoration.

• 2 new forest nurseries were built, expanding our reach.

• 50,000 plants are now being propagated.

• 9,500 plants were strategically planted to improve soil conservation and ecosystem health.

For the first releases of Yuku Savi in the US, we selected four exceptional batches by Maestro Félix Macedas and Maestra Antonia Pacheco. Each represents a different aspect of the region, its biodiversity of agave, as well as ambient yeasts, its hotter, drier microclimate, and Félix’s versatility as a producer. The through line is simply Puebla. These mezcales are the best the land has to offer, and with less than 200 bottles of each produced, they are not for everybody. They are not for every day:

• Espadilla Ancestral (A. Rhodacantha, 48%)

• Jabalí Cachetón (A. Oteroi, 49%)

• Mexicanito Silvestre (A. Macrocantha, 48%)

• Pitzometl (A. Marmorata, 50%)

As parents, we strive to instill gratitude in Charlita for the abundance the Earth provides, from the fruits and vegetables at our table to the vibrant mercados we visit in Puebla. It’s a joy to watch her discover new flavors, but it also reminds me of the deeper responsibility we have to protect these gifts for future generations.

While the impacts of climate change are a constant concern, I find hope in partnerships like the one with Yuku Savi. Their commitment to sustainable practices and respect for the land reflects a vision that another world is possible—one where mezcal production supports ecosystems and empowers communities.

As we honor our ancestors this Día de Los Muertos, let’s reflect not only on those who came before us but also on the legacy we’ll leave behind. How will we be remembered? By the way we nurtured the land, cared for our communities, and passed down traditions rooted in respect and gratitude. Together, we can build a future that honors both our heritage and the Earth that sustains us.