THE last thing I was expecting to be offered a few minutes before lunch was a shot of tequila. The cup of coffee beside me had grown cold, and I was ready to treat myself to a fabulous lunch. But somehow, tequila, if it is served at the office of the Mexican ambassador, must be the real deal. So, how could I say no?
Ambassador Julio Camarena is proud of tequila, one of Mexico’s biggest exports to the world. The Mexican envoy explained that, for tequila to be called tequila, it must be made in only five states in Mexico. Tequila that isn’t made in these places cannot be called tequila.
He contemplated on which bottle to open; he took out of a cabinet behind his desk. He chose an añejo, which means that it is aged. It doesn’t have the extra years of maturation like an extra añejo, but it is of high quality.
“Tequila is made only with blue agave. The worm tequila that they call isn’t tequila. It is actually mezcal,” he said.
He asked for tall glasses from the office staff.
“Tequila has to be drunk from a wine glass or a champagne flute,” he explained. “You do not drink it from a shot glass. Before you take a sip of it, you swirl it around the glass, just like wine. You first take a sniff of its aroma, before take a little sip. Swirl it around your mouth for 15 seconds before swallowing it. As you swallow it, take a deep breath and inhale the floral scent of tequila,” he instructed us.
And, surprise. Real tequila isn’t the tipple you often see people down in a shot with a chaser of salt and a bite of lime or lemon. It is actually much finer than that. The liquor’s bouquet suffuses your palate with a field of flowers and the hint of a variety of citrus.
That was my introduction to real tequila.
So many things in common
CAMARENA cannot emphasize more that Filipinos and Mexicans have more in common than we know.
He pointed of the Spanish-derived words in Filipino, 5 percent of them are actually derived from Nahuati, the native language of the Aztecs. Words that end in either –ate or –ote are actually from Mexico. Many of these words describe food: chayote, camote, pasote and chocolate. Palengke and tiangge are also Aztec-derived, as well as champorado and avocado.
In fact, there are a number of food exchanges between the Philippines and Mexico that have added to the global food stock. The galleon trade brought mangoes and coconuts to Mexico and the rest of Latin America; on the other hand, we received pineapples and tomatoes from Mexico.
The similarities between our countries aren’t just food related. Much of our customs and traditions were also heavily influenced by Mexican practices.
“As you are aware, Mexico and the Philippines were connected at that time because the Philippines was part of the Kingdom of Spain. Everybody knows that the Philippines was part of Spain for 350 years,” he said.
“But very few people know that of those 350 years, for 250 years the Philippines was actually connected to the Vice Kingdom of New Spain, which was Mexico. The Spaniards found it hard to administer the Philippines directly from Spain. That is why they used the Vice Kingdom of New Spain to administer the Philippines. It was no surprise that the first governor general of the Philippines, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, was former mayor of Mexico City. His grandson Juan de Salcedo was born in Mexico. There was that link between our people,” he added.
A little bit of Mexico in every Filipino
IN fact, Camarena said there is actually so much more of Mexico in Filipinos. Although Filipinos are genetically Malay in stock, with intermarriages with the Chinese, Indian and other Asian nationals contributing to our genetic makeup, there is also a drop of Mexican blood in all of us.
The envoy pointed out that when the conquistadores came to the Philippines, they brought with them indigenous Mexicans totaling 250,000 to serve in the army and other positions. Many of these Mexicans intermarried with Filipinos.
“If you go to Mexico and bring a Filipino there, he might look different from most Mexicans,” he said. “But there are some places where if you bring a Filipino, he will blend in with the people. He would look like everybody else.”
Christmas and other special occasions
THE ambassador has been in the Philippines for about 15 months now, and he has had an easy time adapting to the ways of Filipinos. Although he admitted that we do not speak Spanish, it was easy for him to adapt to the culture because it resembles his own culture.
“We are the only two countries in the world that have piñatas during fiestas. The banderitas that you see in fiestas are also Mexican in origin. The way you celebrate the Day of the Dead is also very much like ours. We go to the cemetery on that day, we bring food, we say prayers, and we sing a lot. It’s all the same,” he said.
The Christmas celebration is just as familiar, with the Misa de Gallo and the Noche Buena feast common to the peoples of both countries. Mexico also has its posada, which is a nine-day observance where images of the Holy Family is brought from house-to-house followed by singing and celebrations. It resembles the Filipino practice of panunuluyan, which is rarely followed in the city.
And one more. The barong as we know it is derived from the Mexican guayabera, a linen shirt that is commonly worn by men throughout Mexico and other Latin American countries.
“The difference between your barong and our guayabera is that our shirt has pockets,” he said. “We also have a guayabera without pockets, and do you know what it is called? Filipina.”
Modern-day galleon trade
WHILE the galleon trade ended close to 200 years ago, Camarena says Mexico maintains a dynamic trade relation with the Philippines. Three big Mexican multinational companies do business in the Philippines: Cementos Mexicano, Coca-Cola and Mabe, a subsidiary of General Electric. All in all, the three companies have invested around $6 billion in the country.
On the other hand, the Philippines is also a major supplier of Mexico in the form of automotive parts and accessories, for the aerospace industry and in the information-technology industry.
If ever all these details are rarely talked about, it is because of the work ethic of the Mexican people.
“Mexico is a hardworking country,” the Mexican envoy said. “We are very discreet about these things. Just look at our embassy. It is very nice and clean and minimal. But we work very hard and are very respectful. We are so much closer to the Philippines than most Filipinos know.”
He looks to the day when Filipino investors would consider Mexico to be its market because this would be beneficial for Filipino products. Since Mexico has more than 40 trade agreements with countries around the world, it would be an opportune way for Filipino products to be sold globally.
“We say that if you want to make sales, consider Mexico as your entry point, because we are your entry point into North America, Canada and the United States. We are also the entry point into many countries in Latin America where we have free trade agreements, such as Chile and Colombia. The products that you sell in Mexico, we can bring to North and South America,” he added.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano