For Mexican people, tequila is synonymous with celebration. Weddings, quinceañeras, winter festivities are all unthinkable without this drink. Its characteristics, however, are not limited or end when these festivities are over. Tequila also works as a remedy for the body's ailments. It heals wounds and helps to forget.

Foreigners, without a doubt, must go through the rite of passage of a tequila shot. Otherwise, one could say they were never in Mexico.

Tequila, more than a drink, is an essence. Among all of its aspects, its character stands out. Derived from its flavor, in popular culture, it became the ideal drink of charros and gunslingers and it has been associated with Mexican masculinity.

This idea has prevailed all the way to our current days. But it has survived as a superstition. Tequila's character has been forged by men, but in the last few years, women have taken a fundamental role when creating this drink.

Mujeres del Tequila

Kenya Martínez is an example of the leadership and professionalism that women have take in the production of tequila. She is the director of Casa Pochteca and a member of the Mujeres del Tequila association, and she comes from a traditional agave caretaker family with more than 30 years of experience. Her father, engineer Jorge Martínez, president of the International School of Tequila Technicians and Masters (CITEMATEQ) and the general president of Casa Pochteca and her mother, Mrs. Silvia Pérez, head of "Las Divinas" distiller, are a family where everyone has become a tequila master through the years and together they have worked culturally in order to create new experts in this area.

Mujeres del Tequila is born due to two conflicting situations. The first one is the little acknowledgment that women have had in this industry, despite the contributions they've made in several areas of tequila's production, from crews of agave caretakers to packaging and bottling. The production of tequila was a business of men and big companies monopolized everything about it. As Kenya has told San Diego Red, women had to make themselves known with a name in order to be taken into account by the Regulator Council of Tequila.

The second one is that tequila makers were forced to take an important role regarding their companies' direction, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when family members, especially men, were absent due to this disease.

Mrs. Silvia Martínez Pérez played a fundamental role in order to add more women to this industry. Alongside other tequila representatives, owners of businesses such as Tapatío or Tequileña noticed the need to professionalize this feminine side and created the "Mujeres del Tequila" Association. CITEMATEQ would be their study center, as it offers the necessary knowledge so they could become technicians and masters of tequila. This initiative discovered a society of tequila making women who had been hidden in the shadows.

That is how they began to specialize women on sensorial analysis so they could correctly taste tequila and leave behind "shots" (as one cannot appreciate the fragrance, body, and quality of this drink and only helps to make a person get drunk quicker). They had to learn all about the fields, the plants, plagues, the moon calendar, the profiling process, sustainable management of agave, the business and administration of tequila, and even the appropriate glasses to sample it.

Kenya's contribution, in the professionalization of this industry, was the logistics and administrative knowledge that she acquired during college and her first phase as a logistics engineer.

Once she came back to making tequila, and with a greater vision, she provided a different direction to the production and commercialization of Casa Pochteca products. She implemented a Business Administration of Tequila class in CITEMATEQ and, as such, her role as a council member of the association became fundamental.

The growth that Mujeres del Tequila has had in just 3 years of its creation has been amazing. Through forums in several different sectors, including the business sector and events such as Expo Tequila, they have had the opportunity of promoting the culture and experience behind a bottle of tequila. The voices behind Mujeres del Tequila have become more and more important in the market. At the end of September, a committee of this association's representatives traveled to France to share their experiences in this area and establish work relations with the European Union, as part of the ADELANTE Triangular Cooperation Window European Union - Latin America.

The best of tequila will arrive in October

Among the great variety of exhibitors of Expo Tequila that will come to Tijuana in October, Kenya Martínez, representative of Casa Pochteca and Mujeres del Tequila, will be undoubtedly one of the main exhibitors. In this edition, they will offer their traditional liquors, blackberry wine, and their premium Tequila Pochteca product.

Casa Pochteca and more than 40 producers will offer visitors the opportunity to learn and appreciate a true tequila tasting guided by the masters of tequila who will teach how to taste and distinguish authentic liquors and the safest ways to choose the best products in the market.

Don't miss this awaited event by Tijuana residents and tourists! Expo Tequila Tijuana will take place from October 12 to October 15 in Downtown Tijuana in Avenida Revolución between 8th and 9th Streets. This is the 22nd Edition of Expo Tequila which is coming to the city offering the best brands of this antique drink, great gastronomic variety, and artistic activities that represent Mexican culture and folklore.

This event will take place from 1 PM to 12 AM. The price of admission is $10 dollars or $150 pesos and you'll be able to purchase your ticket on the day of the event. This exhibition is family friendly. Admission for children is free but they must be accompanied by an adult.

To learn more about this event, explore its social media pages:

Website: www.expotequilatijuana.com
Facebook: /expo.tequilatijuana
Instagram: @expo.tequilatijuana

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