No, this moment won’t solve racial inequality or erase a history of injustice. But it is a blossom of hope, a testament for future generations not to give up. The final chapters in the rulebook of race and power are undone with the image of a brown-skinned president.

Spanish Transcription:

En México hay muchos tipos de agave, y dependiendo del tipo de agave, se puede producir una bebida diferente. Y para producir tequila, el agave que se debe usar se llama “agave azul.” Es el único agave que se usa para producir el tequila.

Aquí valente es un jimador y esta es una planta de agave, así de ese tamaño es como se planta en el campo. Una vez plantado, hay que esperar aproximadamente de ocho a 10 años para que el agave crezca y llegue a su madurez, así como vemos a todos estos agaves. La madurez del agave se puede apreciar en todo lo que es esto, la penca. Esa penca seca ya está indicando que está madurando, que ya está maduro el agave. Entonces, el jimador es el que se encarga de precisamente de jimar el agave. “Jima” es una palabra Nahuatl que significa “cosechar.” Es la herramienta que se utiliza y se llama coa. Entonces con la coa el jimador, lo que hace es cortar la penca e ir descubriendo el corazón, el corazón que vamos a necesitar para continuar con el proceso.

El primer paso es el cocimiento. Tenemos los hornos, son hornos de piedra. Cada uno tiene una capacidad de 48 toneladas de agave. Entonces, hay que llenar los hornos con agave a mano. En seguida, vamos a cerrar los hornos con esas puertas de madera y hay que cocer este agave a puro vapor. Y lo vamos a cocer por más o menos 26 horas a una temperatura de 90 grados constantes. Después de 26 horas hay que abrir el horno para dejar que el agave ya cocido se enfríe. Vamos a dejar que se enfríe por 24 horas, así que lleva como dos días para cocer el agave.

Vamos a pasar a esta barrica para que prueben el agave cocido. -”Sabe rico? Dulce?” –”Como miel.”

Una vez que ya tenemos este agave cocido allí, y ya se enfrió, por este lado del horno vamos a sacarlo. Hay que sacarlo a mano. Allí podemos observar a los compañeros como van a sacar ese agave ya cocido a mano. Van a poner como pueden observar en esas bandas y van a subir … [no audible] … que empiezan a girar, empiezan a aplastar ese agave y extraerle el jugo. El jugo se va en esa dirección y la fibra, o el gabazo como le llamamos, se va al otro lado. Allí vamos a dejar para su fermentación natural por más o menos tres o cuatro días. Entonces en estos días, los millones y millones de microorganismos del medio ambiente, lo que hacen es tragar dulce y producir alcohol. O sea, no se agrega nada. Es una fermentación cien por ciento natural. Pero para entonces, ya nos convirtió ese dulce a más o menos siete grados de alcohol volumen.

Entonces una vez fermentado el jugo, hay que mandarlo por tubería a la siguiente etapa, a la destilación. Al jugo fermentado también se le puede llamar “mosto muerto.” Este es el jugo que se manda por tubería y vamos a llenar esos alambiques con ese jugo fermentado. Se cierra, y luego hay que ir calentando lentamente ese jugo con vapor, hay que irlo calentando. Cuando ya está muy caliente empieza a ebullir. Y cuando la temperatura del alambique nos marca más o menos 85 o 90 grados constantes, 90 grados, 75 a 90 grados Celcius, es cuando entonces lentamente van a empezar a evaporar los alcoholes que van a ir subiendo por ese tubo ondulado allá llamado “cuello de cisne” y van a ingresar a aquella flauta. Es un condensador de agua fría. Entonces allí el vapor gira, se enfría, y se convierte en liquido y pueden observarlo allí. Después de una primera destilación, podemos obtener un liquido llamado “ordinario.” Este liquido no es tequila porque cuando mucho tiene 25 grados de alcohol y para que sea tequila de menos necesita 35 grados de alcohol. Como no es de 35 grados es un producto ordinario. ¿Que vamos a hacer? Vamos a hacer una segunda destilación. Con este producto de 25 grados vamos a llenar otro alambique para ir con la segunda destilación que es igualita a la primera pero es más lenta. Entonces sí, después de la segunda destilación ya podemos obtener tequila blanco. Podemos obtener tequila blanco Jimador de 35 grados, podemos obtener tequila blanco Jimador de 38 grados, o blanco Herradura de 46 grados.

De ese tequila blanco podemos producir o laborar tequilas reposados y tequilas añejos. Y para ello, necesitamos barricas. Son barricas de roble blanco Americano y se compran siempre nuevas de Kentucky. Tiene cada una de ellas una capacidad de 200 litros y una barrica la podemos usar por más o menos 10 años. Lógicamente la barrica lo que cambia es el color, el olor, y el sabor del tequila blanco. Entre más tiempo se pone más oscuro y el olor va cambiando. Desde tonos herbales, vainilla, canela, el sabor a maderas, a frutas secas como nuez, avellana et cetera. Entre más tiempo más concentración de olores y de sabores. Entonces, si queremos producir tequilas reposados, el tequila blanco se debe dejar en la barrica mínimo dos meses y máximo 11 meses. Ese es un tequila reposado de dos a 11 meses, no más no menos. Si queremos producir añejos, como su palabra lo indica “añejo” significa “año.” Entonces el tequila blanco debe permanecer en la barrica de un año a tres años. Es un añejo. Pues en Marzo de este año [2006] se declara una nueva categoría de tequila y se llama “extra añejos.” Bien, un extra añejo permanece más de tres años en barrica. Pero aquí, desde hace poquito algo así entre 10 años, se produce el único extra añejo en México y se llama Selección Suprema de Casa Herradura. Tiene más de cuatro años en barricas.

Les damos la bienvenida al pasado. Estamos en la fábrica antigua, ya es un museo. El tequila Herradura se empezó a producir aquí por primera vez en 1870. Ya cocido ya frío, se sacaba el agave a mano y se cargaba aquí. Es el area de molienda, o sea el agave se ponía en el piso alrededor con los caballos que jalaban el tronco por fuera. Entonces esta piedrita pesa dos toneladas. Se llama “tahona.” La piedra empezaba a girar e iba aplastando el agave para ir extrayendo el jugo. Este lugar lleno de hoyos en el piso era el area de fermentación. Pero aquí, la temperatura es muy baja muy fría, aquí en vez de dejarlo tres cuatro días, lo dejaban más o menos de 12 a 15 días.

Aquí podemos observar el area de destilación. Nada más que hay alambiques de cobre y hay condensadores de piedra. Igual se traía el jugo para aca a mano, por aquí llenaban el alambique con jugo a mano, lo cerraban y por debajo le ponían leña para calentar ese jugo. Igual, ya muy caliente empezaba a ebullir ese jugo y luego empezaban a evaporar los alcoholes vienen por ese tubo, ingresando a esa piedra que era el condensador. Y ese se llama “serpentín.” Iba adentro de la piedra, conectado al tubo, y rodeado de agua fría. Allí giraba, atravez del serpentín el vapor se enfriaba, se convertió en liquido. Primera destilación, se acuerdan? Producto ordinario. Con ese liquido, llenaban el otro alambique para ir con su segunda destilación igual. Pero aquí, después de la segunda destilación, había un señor al que le llamaban “guardavinos.” Ese señor siempre traía un cuernito de vaca en su mano. Entonces, se la pasaba cachando producto o el tequila en la segunda destilación, se la pasaba echandose sus traguitos. Por eso se llamaba guardavinos porque lo guardaba en la panza, no? Poco a poco. Después ya de muchas probaditas, dice “Sabes que, este tequila ya está bueno y si no está yo ya estoy.” Y se ponía a llenar las botellas a mano. Pues, ese señor era como quien dice en el laboratorio, con su experiencia y su paladar sabía cuando el tequila blanco Herradura ya estaba bueno. Y llenaban las botellas a mano. Entonces, como pudimos observar, el proceso fuera de aquí es lo mismo. Lo que cambia es la experiencia, la fuerza y los materiales. Aquí se producía puro tequila blanco, puro blanco Herradura. Y esta fábrica la dejaron de usar más o menos en 1970. Lo cual quiere decir que trabajaron 100 años produciendo este tequila Herradura.

English Translation:

In Mexico there are a lot of kinds of agave, and depending on the type of agave you can make different drinks. And to make tequila, the agave that is used is called “blue agave.” It’s the only kind of agave you can use to make tequila.

Here we have a “jimador” and this is an agave plant, this is the size that’s planted in the field. Once planted you have to wait approximately eight to 10 years for the agave to grow to maturity, like all these agaves. The ripeness of the agave is determined by these, the stalks. This dry stalk is showing it’s ready, that the agave is ripe. So, the “jimador” is the one to “jimar” the agave. “Jima” is a Nahuatl word that means to harvest. This is the tool he uses called a “coa.” So with the “coa” the “jimador” cuts the stalks to uncover the heart, the heart that we need to continue with the process.

The first step is cooking. We have the ovens, they’re stone ovens. Each one holds a capacity of 48 tons of agave. So, the ovens are filled with agave by hand. Next, we close the ovens with those wooden gates and steam the agave. And we cook it for about 26 hours at a constant 90 degrees. After the 26 hours, the ovens are opened to let the cooked agave cool. We let it cool for 24 hours so the process takes about two days to cook the agave.

We’re going to go to this barrel and taste the cooked agave. -”Is it good? Sweet?” –”Like honey.”

Once we have the cooked agave there, cooled, on this side of the oven we take it out. It’s taken out by hand. There we can observe how the men take it out by hand. They put it as you can see on these belts and it is carried … [inaudible] … that begins to spin, starts to smash the agave and squeeze the juice. The juice goes over here and the fiber or “gabazo” as we call it goes in the other direction. Here we’re going to let it ferment naturally for more or less three to four days. During this time, millions and millions of microorganisms from the environment, what they do is eat the sugar and produce alcohol. That is, nothing is added. The fermentation is 100 percent natural. But after that, it’s converted the sugar to more or less seven percent alcohol by volume.

Once the juice is fermented, it’s sent by tubes to the next stop, distillation. The fermented juice is also called “mosto muerto.” This is the juice that’s sent through the pipes and we fill those stills with the fermented juice. It’s closed and then it gets heated slowly to steam. So we’re heating it. When it’s really hot it starts to boil. And when the temperature of the still shows more or less 85 to 90 degrees constantly, 90 degrees, 75 to 90 degrees Celcius, that’s when the alcohol is slowly evaporated and goes up through the curved tube there, called a “swan neck,” and it comes into that pipe. This is a cold water condenser. There the water spins, cools and converts to liquid and you can see it there. After the first distillation, we get a liquid called “ordinary.” This liquid isn’t tequila because it has 25 percent alcohol and to be tequila it needs at least 35 percent. As it isn’t 35 percent it’s an ordinary product. What are we going to do? We do another distillation. With this 25 percent product we fill another still to go through the second distillation that’s exactly the same as the first but slower. So yeah, after the second distillation we now have tequila blanco. We produce tequila Jimador blanco at 35 percent, tequila Jimador blanco at 38 percent, or tequila Herradura blanco at 46 percent.

From this tequila blanco we can produce or make tequilas “reposados” and tequilas “añejos.” For that we need barrels. These are barrels of American white oak and are always bought new from Kentucky. Each one has a capacity of 200 liters and we can use a barrel for around 10 years. Logically the barrel changes the color, the smell and the taste of the tequila blanco. The more time it’s inside, the darker the color and the smell changes. From herbal tones, vanilla, cinnamon, the flavor of woods, nuts like walnut, hazelnut, et cetera. The more time, the more concentrated the smell and taste. So, if we want to make tequila “reposado,” the tequila blanco is left in the barrel a minimum of two months, maximum 11 months. That’s a tequila reposado, between two and 11 months, no more, no less. If we want to make añejo, like the word indicates “añejo” means “año” [year]. So the tequila blanco stays in the barrel between one and three years. That’s añejo. Well, in March of this year (2006) a new category of tequila was declared and it’s called “extra añejo.” Well, an extra añejo stays more than three years in the barrel. But here, for a little less than 10 years, we’ve produced the only extra añejo in México and it’s called Selección Supreme de Casa Herradura. It stays more than four years in the barrel.

Welcome to the past. We’re in the old factory, now a museum. Tequila Herradura was first produced here in 1870. Once cooked and cooled, they took the agave out by hand and placed it here. This is the milling area, meaning the agave was put on the floor with horses around pulling the log by force. This stone weighs two tons. It’s called “tahona.” The stone rolled and smashed the agave to squeeeze the juice. This place full of holes in the ground is the fermentation area. But here, the temperature is really low and cold. Here, instead of leaving it three or four days they left it around 12 to 15 days.

Here we can observe the distillation area. Except there are stills of copper and condensors of stone. The same way they brought the juice by hand, here they filled the still with juice by hand, closed it and put firewood beneath to heat the juice. The same way, once heated it started to boil the juice and then started evaporating the alcohol through these tubes, coming into this stone which was the condensor. This is called “serpentín” [coil]. It went inside the stone, connected to the tube, and surrounded by cold water. The vapor spun through the coil, cooled and converted into liquid. First distillation, remember? “Ordinary” product. With this liquid, they filled another still to go through the second distillation. But here, after the second distillation, there was a man that was called “guardavinos” [wine keeper]. This guy always had a bull horn in his hand. He would take the tequila in the second distillation, he’d have his shots. That’s why they called him “guardavinos” [wine keeper] because he kept it in his stomach, right? Little by little. After a lot of sips, he’d say “You know, this tequila is done and if it isn’t then I’m drunk.” And they filled the bottles by hand. So this guy was like a walking lab, with his experience and palate, he knew when tequila Herradura blanco was ready. And they filled the bottles by hand. So, as we can see, the process outside is the same. What’s changed is the experience, the force and materials. Pure tequila blanco, pure Herradura blanco was produced here. And they stopped using this factory in about 1970, which means they made tequila Herradura for 100 years.

In typical tape sync fashion, Robert Siegel spoke to Race by phone. I stood next to Race, holding the mic six inches from his mouth — my recording of his voice would later be combined with the host’s voice by NPR editors, giving the conversation a higher quality, natural sound. Unfortunately, we had to stop the interview every few minutes because of the military flights going in and out of MCAS Miramar. We were also interrupted for trash collection. And again for recycling.

Race explained the process of pouring the powder in the tray, setting the percussion cap in place, pulling the trigger to ignite the cap, and the explosive flash that follows. The first flash lamp he demonstrated with wouldn’t fire. He was using toy paper caps, but the humidity or bad luck kept it from firing. He switched to another flash lamp that uses rare, original percussion caps. That definitely did the trick. The massive smoke cloud was pretty impressive.

Take a look at the final video, listen to the interview and hear the flash lamp sound. Race Gentry also has his own flash lamp videos on YouTube.

For a few days in November of 2006, we visited Guanajuato. In this video, Rosario reminisces about her first childhood trip to the state’s capital city.

On September 8, 2001, I was here at the World Trade Center wandering around much like the tourist I was on the day I shot the above image. I sat below the towers watching some free concerts between the Winter Garden and the water (off screen to the left of the image). I distinctly remember looking up at the towers and thinking I should take a picture. I remember being impressed by their height, but they’re otherwise pretty boring to look at, so I passed on the shot. After all, I had just passed 10 postcard vendors and knew the towers weren’t going anywhere.

Student Walkouts Hark Back to the Chicano Movement

Sal Castro, youth motivator and volunteer teacher. He mentored the students who staged walkouts in 1968. He joins us from his home in Los Angeles. Sal Castro will be at UCSD to lead a discussion following a public screening of the HBO film Walkout on Wednesday May 10 at 7 p.m. Walkout is directed by Edward James Olmos and is based on the true story of the 1968 walkouts.

Jorge Mariscal, director of the Chicano Studies Program at UC San Diego. His latest book is Brown-Eyed Children of the Sun: Lessons from the Chicano Movement.

Tomás Jiménez, Assistant Professor of Sociology at UCSD. His research focuses on immigration, race, ethnicity, inequality, assimilation, and the Mexican-origin population in the U.S.

By now, everyone knows that Japan won the first ever World Baseball Classic. What no one knows, is that the music that graced San Diego’s Petco Park sound system as the players entered the field was being played from a CD; the San Diego Symphony Orchestra was on the field performing, but the amplified audio was pre-recorded (and edited by yours truly).

The day before the final game, the orchestra was recording the national anthems for Cuba and Japan (not knowing who would win), the host country (USA) as well as the entrance music for the parade of flags. After recording several takes of each theme, classical music guru Doug Dillon brought the recordings to me and we started editing at about 9pm Sunday night. He layed out the music scores and worked off his notes from the recording session. Taking a few bars from one take, a section from another, we weaved together the best pieces to create the final versions. We finished six hours later, at 3am Monday morning. Only a few hours after that, the sold-out stadium was listening to the CD I burned that morning.

You can hear the Parade of Flags theme in this video montage from the World Baseball Classic website. I’ve worked on a lot of freelance projects in recent years, but this one had by far the widest circulation yet.

Ramón “Chunky” Sanchez is a musician who played an active role in the Barrio Logan protests that led to the creation of Chicano park. His parents were farm workers, and when he first started public school he spoke only Spanish. Here, Chunky Sanchez talks with his friend Jose “Pepe” Villarino about what it was like for Mexican-American students in the 1950s.

I parked by the Carls Jr. and walked down to join Rosario as she crossed on foot. I stopped by the Sentri office to pick up an application for her, and as I came out she had just crossed. She told me that there was an older woman in line in front of her who stepped into the line for bicycles to rest her leg (there is a dedicated lane for cyclists that goes much faster). An agent approached and asked loudly, “Qué haces aquí?” (what are you doing here) “Me duele mi pierna” (my leg hurts) she said showing him her leg. “Ese no es mi problema, vayase a la otra línea” (that’s not my problem, get back in line) he ordered pointing to the back of the line. The agent immediately walked over to a tall man who wasn’t in line but was watching the cars cross outside. “What are you looking at?” he asked this time in English. “Nada” replied the man. “You can’t be here, get back in line.” At that moment, Rosario looked up and saw a large border patrol banner that read “We are the face of our nation.”

Earlier that same morning, I heard a story on Weekend Edition about the Bath Riots.

For decades, U.S. health authorities used noxious, often toxic chemicals to delouse Mexicans seeking to cross the border into the United States . . . Before being allowed to cross, Mexicans had to bathe, strip nude for an inspection, undergo the lice treatment, and have their clothes treated in a steam dryer.

The treatment included gasoline baths and toxic fumigations (including DDT). The Bath Riots began when 17-year-old Carmelita Torres rallied 30 others in 1917 to refuse. This “ethnic cleansing” continued for decades. In Ringside Seat to a Revolution, author David Dorado Romo reveals some of his findings from the National Archives in Washington DC:

I discovered an article written in a German scientific journal written in 1938, which specifically praised the El Paso method of fumigating Mexican immigrants with Zyklon B. At the start of WWII, the Nazis adopted Zyklon B as a fumigation agent at German border crossings and concentration camps. Later, when the Final Solution was put into effect, the Germans found more sinister uses for this extremely lethal pesticide. They used Zyklon B pellets in their own gas chambers not just to kill lice but to exterminate millions of human beings.

The lice treatments in Texas are an extreme example, but still a hauntingly nostalgic picture of what many Mexicans still encounter today. Abuse stories by “la migra” (officially U.S. Customs and Border Protection or CBP) no doubt sparked this promotional video to improve public opinion. And even as you cross today, take note of the laminate signs stating the CBP Core Values:

• Vigilance is how we ensure the safety of all Americans. We are continuously watchful and alert to deter, detect and prevent threats to our Nation. We demonstrate courage and valor in the protection of our Nation.
• Service to Country is embodied in the work we do. We are dedicated to defending and upholding the Constitution of the United States. The American people have entrusted us to protect the homeland and defend liberty.
• Integrity is our cornerstone. We are guided by the highest ethical and moral principles. Our actions bring honor to ourselves and our agency.

“The year was 1637 . . . 700 men, women, and children of the Pequot Tribe gathered for their Annual Green Corn Dance in the area that is now known as Groton, Connecticut. While they were gathered in this place of meeting, they were surrounded and attacked by mercenaries of the English and Dutch. The Indians were ordered from the building as they came forth, they were shot down. The rest were burned alive in the building. The next day, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared: A day of Thanksgiving, thanking God they had eliminated over 700 men, women and children.” - From the Documents of Holland, 13 Volume Colonial Documentary History, letters and reports from colonial officials to their superiors and the King in England and the private papers of Sir William Johnson, British Indian Agent for the New York colony for 30 years.