All language subtitles for I.M.U.S01E03.Oaxaca.A.Cuisine.Celebrating.Its.Vast.Landscape.and.Native.Culture.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-iRMAS_track3_[eng]

[wind blowing]

[cheerful guitar music]

[Drew] I'm eating this food,
and it just, it just…

You just know that this is…

not only nourishment for the body,
but it's nourishment for the soul,

for the spirit.

There's so much
that's involved in these pots.

This isn't just a recipe.

Not-- for lack of a better word,
this is, is culture on my spoon.

INGREDIENT
MEXICO

[serene music]

[Drew]
I've lived and worked all over the world.

In 2012, we opened Deckman's en el Mogor
in Valle de Guadalupe,

on the grounds
of an organic farm and vineyard

with the goal to be as close

to a sustainable,
zero-kilometer restaurant as possible.

And I think I finally found my home.

[music increases]

I came here
because of the incredible ingredients

that come from both the Sea of Cortés
and the Pacific Ocean.

We have beautiful produce,
cheeses, meats, olive oils,

all within mere miles from the restaurant.

For me, it really is a chef's paradise.

After I became a Mexican citizen,

it was important for me
to travel the country

and meet like-minded chefs,

ranchers, producers, fishermen, artisans

who share my commitment to responsible
and sustainable farming and fishing.

Join me as we explore and deep dive
into the magical landscape of Mexico,

and discover its rich culinary tapestry.

[music continues]

[Drew] The city of Oaxaca is one
of Mexico's most visited destinations.

It's the capital of the state of Oaxaca

and has been named
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It's a city alive with vibrancy,
authenticity, and it oozes culture.

Walking its streets, one is flooded
with an ever-present Indigenous culture

that is celebrated and embraced.

Beautiful colonial architecture,
vibrant markets,

colorful and poignant murals,

mezcalerías serving
local and artisan mezcal,

and the most delicious array
of street food,

traditional food and local specialties.

It really is one of my favorite places
to visit and to eat.

The city is also home
to some very talented

traditional chefs cooking regional dishes

and local chefs who are
transforming traditional food

into a fine dining experience

by putting a modern twist
on Oaxacan ingredients,

adding yet another layer
to the complexities

of this rich
and culturally diverse cuisine.

[muted]

Oaxaca, especially the city,
really thrives and lives on tourism.

-And there you go.
-The tourism is not just…

-It's not a Disney World kind of tourism.
-No.

-It's food tourism, it's cultural tourism.
-Yes.

Obviously, mezcal tourism.

But… I come to Oaxaca to eat.

Friends of mine come to Oaxaca to eat.

And that's the whole--
The entire visit to Oaxaca

is based on where you're gonna
have breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And it's planned before you get here.

When you think about Mexico
normally you think about resort,

beach destinations, right?

Like spring break, going to Cancun.
And, like, you nailed it.

The cultural aspect,
to get to know, like, you know,

this other side of the Mexican culture.

[Drew]
And to see a rebirth and, and a recreation

of a place that really,
up until just-- not very long ago,

-was sort of… on the side.
-[Rocío] On the edge.

[Drew] On the edge.
And I feel that when I come to Oaxaca.

I feel that energy.

I feel that walking around the city,
it's such a young city.

There's so many young people,
and there's just… it's powerful,

and you can, you can feel it on your skin.

You can taste it,
you can smell it, you can see it.

[gentle music]

In terms of food, the city of Oaxaca
is a gastronomic combination

of authentic regional, traditional food
and a new modern take on those dishes.

The state is home
to 16 Indigenous communities,

each with their own traditions,
language, ingredients and culture.

Many of these communities
live in the sierras

and are isolated by the rugged terrain
and mountains that surround Oaxaca.

These communities have learned
to eat from what grows around them

on trees and shrubs, weeds,
herbs, flowers, insects and animals.

Today, three female chefs,

each from different
rural areas of the state,

are educating and preserving
the endemic ingredients

and traditional dishes that represent
their communities and Oaxacan traditions.

Eating at their restaurants
is a culinary experience

you can only have in Oaxaca.

Their commitment to their heritage
and culture is undeniable

in every dish they serve.

Thalía Barrios García
has burst onto the Oaxacan scene

with her ancestral Oaxacan kitchen

using ingredients from her hometown,
San Mateo Yucutindoo,

which is located in the Sierra Sur.

Her restaurant, Levadura de Olla,
received a Michelin Star in 2024,

and she also received
Michelin's Young Chef Award

for chefs under 30 years old.

I met Thalía when she was interning
at a fine-dining restaurant

in Guadalupe Valley a few years back,

and now, she has
two restaurants of her own,

which are on the forefront
of Oaxacan cuisine.

[Rocío in English]
Is this guachepil flower?

Guachepil, right.

Guachepil.
So this is a very special flower, right?

But this is…
She said it's a very short season.

[Rocío]
Uh-huh.

Uh, and it's teamwork to harvest it
because the trees are big

and you have to, like--
they, like, shake the trees.

It comes from a tree first, right?

It's not on the ground,
so it takes quite some effort.

-The kind of corn that they use…
-Mm-hmm!

…is different than what
you would traditionally see

-in a tamale.
-Mm-hmm.

So this is not near as cooked.
The calcium…

Breaks down.

…affects the corn,
but then it's not really cooked.

-Uh-huh. Yeah, I could tell--
-And then it's just sort of broken.

And so, by not having the, the,
the corn cooked all the way,

the flavor of the corn cook permeates.

This is unbelievable.
And it's like-- this has no animal at all.

There's no cheese,
there's no lard, there's no…

This is flowers and corn and chiles.

[in English] The construction
of flavor in traditional cuisines

comes from a very different logic.

Slightly bitter, slightly earthy,
acidic, pungent.

These are flavors we're not used to find
in our-- kind of homogenized dishes.

So the insects that we,
we have here in the menu,

you know, they,
they're very, very special.

It's not the classic way.

-Right.
-You might find them in, in Oaxaca,

like, next to your tequila shot, I mean…

There's, there's this such an ethos
and, and a way to do it seasonally.

-Sustainability is a key factor for her.
-[Drew in Spanish] This is interesting,

[gentle music]

[in English] I got so emotional when
we were finishing up cooking together,

just thinking about her wisdom

that she has at 26 years old.

My, my first feeling was,
"Somebody needs to take care of Thalía

and make sure that she's okay

and that she has everything she needs,

so she can concentrate on her work,"

and, and that somebody
really is protecting her.

She's the future.

And she has a, a responsibility that comes
with that that just… is enormous.

This connection and what she's doing
by bringing this ancestral knowledge

and being so young
and so passionate about this.

And there's a word here in Mexico
we use for women who are traditional cooks

that, you know, have reached
this stage of, of wisdom

that know these techniques
and know the uses of it.

And this word is "mayora."

But normally, that comes
when you're really older.

-Really older.
-And, and people refer her--

women from her hometown,
refer to her as "la mayora,"

'cause it's like, you know,
this, this token of respect, no?

And, and honoring
exactly what she's doing.

[serene music]

[Drew] Mezcal is distilled
from the heart of the maguey,

and its origins are deeply rooted
in Mexican culture.

The production of mezcal is generational.

The knowledge and skill
that goes into the process of making it

is deeply rooted
into the country's heritage.

My dear friend Graciela oversees
her family's fourth-generation palanquero

that produces their Real Minero brand
of artisanal mezcal

that is made the exact same way
that her great-grandfather made it.

This project is a true labor of love
for Graciela and her siblings.

The family runs one of the most ambitious
sustainability projects

in the mezcal world,
Proyecto Lorenzo Ángeles Mendoza.

In their agave nursery,
rare wild agaves are grown

alongside woody
and medicinal plants from the region.

This is a local and adapted response
to the increasing demand for mezcal,

which also makes the sustainable
production of firewood imperative.

The special feature is the regenerative
propagation of the agaves.

This avoids monocultures and preserves
the livelihood of pollinators,

namely bats.

The work is based on the operation
of botanical gardens

and is accompanied by a biologist.

[in English]
I've known Graciela for a long time,

and every time that I spend time with her,

something new comes
out of the conversation.

[gentle piano music]

Something new comes out of the battle.

The war, I guess, against
the commercialization of… of mezcal.

There's really just two sides.

And it's those who want
to protect, conserve,

and allow mezcal in Oaxaca to…

to continue and be what it is.

And there's another side that…

sees opportunity, opportunity--
financial opportunity

to get something really cheap
and sell it really expensive.

This beverage, it's not just a distillate.

There's centuries and generations.

The time that it takes
just to grow the plant

marks the rhythm
of how mezcal should be treated.

Some of these magueys are 20 years
or more to reach the maturity

that's needed to make a correct mezcal.

The people in the field,
the people in the palenque,

every hand that touches this,
it's not only just that person,

but it was their teacher
and their teacher's teacher.

I think mezcal is something
that needs to be respected,

not in the sense of how much you drink,

but respect in the sense of,
"Where it's from? Who makes it?"

The face of mezcal, the hands of mezcal,
the villages of mezcal.

And more importantly,
I think we as consumers

can help determine the future of mezcal.

And then to listen to some of the things
the government's doing

that just is…

It's-- it's greenwashing.
There's not another word for it.

It's, it's commodity market applied to…

an ancestral artisan project,

and it's… it makes it
non-- non-sustainable.

[in English] In a lot of places,

we're seeing that
there need to be stewards,

stewards who are guiding
the growth, who are guiding…

big… [sighs deeply]

…all-encompassing
decisions from government down,

people that need to be the voice
of the right way to do things.

Graciela Ángeles is one of those people.

And today, it was really clear
that Graciela needs

more voices… to accompany hers

and be part of the fight
that's helping to preserve…

the correct mezcal.

[slow emotive music]

[Drew in English] There are
many layers to the business

of producing and selling mezcal.

Most of the palenques are run by families

and produce small-batch artisan bottles,

which can be a challenge
to get their product to market.

Coca Zárate is owner of La Mezcalerita.

She works with many small-batch producers
to help them distribute their brands

and navigate the product chain.

[in English] It'd be easy
if the situation was just mezcal,

and then we could all get together and,

and jump on the mezcal bandwagon
and save mezcal,

but it's not, it's-- [inhales sharply]

Everywhere I travel,
it's a similar situation.

Corn growers, fishermen, winemakers,

giants against small producers,

the desire for…

what is seen as "commercial progression,"

getting in the way
of tradition and history,

sustainability and quality, really.

Whatever decisions are made
in the next… five,

ten, fifteen years are gonna determine

the long-time future
of, of not only cultivation in Oaxaca…

but the future of mezcal.

It's not just a drink.

There's so much more in the glass.

[emotive cheerful music]

[Drew] Chef José Manuel Baños,
to our friends, we call him El Pollo,

owner of Pitiona, Cocina de Autor
in Oaxaca City Center,

is known for his unique fusion

of contemporary cuisine
with Oaxacan roots.

His passion is experimenting
with ancestral and avant-garde techniques

while always respecting his Oaxacan roots.

[inspirational music]

[Drew in English] Celia Florián,
owner of Las Quince Letras since 1992,

is the president of an organization

focusing on the conservation
of traditional cuisine

through a network of traditional cooks
from all over the state,

who meet, share and learn from each other.

[in English]
What an honor to be in her kitchen.

You know, the theme for me,
talking to her is…

just really understanding the…

cocina de campo,
the eating from the landscape.

-[Rocío] Right.
-[Drew] You, know, something like this.

Foraged herbs, Oaxacan corn

and a little bit of onion.

And she said, "Well,
we did some sprinkled salt.

There's some sprinkled chiles in there.
It may or may not need more salt.

You know, I don't know how like--
how you like to, you know,

to eat spicy food."

-This is, this is vegan. This is vegan.
-Oh, man!

-No, no, the texture!
-It's like eating meat. It's unbelievable.

I mean, I have I had quintoniles before,
but I've never had them like this.

And I certainly never had,
had a-- like a crispy-not-fried taco.

-That's something that…
-Wow!

-Wow!
-…is new for me.

And I know it's not new
in the Oaxacan food world,

is to, okay, you've got your tortilla,
you've got your taco,

but then that taco went back into…

And so, now we're getting more smoke.

-We're toasting the corn. The, the--
-It's very complex.

The corn flavor is changing
in the tortilla because of the ashes.

A, a really key point to,
like, the, the cocina de campo,

the eating from the landscape

is it's never the same thing twice
because certain plants come into season.

They go out of season.
They have when they're the best.

And, and the process may be the same,

but the flavors and textures
are constantly doing something else.

And so, when you talk about, um,
quintonil and a lot of these other herbs,

they're herbs that grow in the milpa…

-Mm-hmm.
-…between the rows, underneath the plants.

They're naturally occurring.

They're endemic to Oaxaca,

and you eat what's there.

It's not, it's… you-- you know,
commercial industrial farming.

-"Oh, that's a weed."
-Right.

[Drew] And the reality is
it's what makes Oaxacan food Oaxacan

because those plants grow here
and maybe only here.

And you add that in their flavors
and textures and places you want to go.

And that's what makes
sort of the Oaxacan cuisine

so important and so special.

[inspirational music]

[muted]

[Drew] The marketplace is the original
gathering place of civilization.

The market changes. It's alive.
People doing a lot of different things.

Some are buying food for their homes.
Some are sitting here having lunch.

Some are just drinking a beer,
watching other people.

That's something I like to do.

I think tacos taste better
when you're standing up.

-[chuckling] In your record?
-Yeah, I mean,

standing in front of the,
the, the ta-- taquero.

And-- I think when you sit down,
you order a taco, it feels way different.

And everybody's sort of arm wrestling
for the same client.

And each one looks different.

Each one's done a little different.

If you look at the grills,
each of the grills is a little different.

Some of them are flat,
some of them are tilted.

There's variance and changes

and uniqueness

from… this two meters

to that two meters to that two meters.

Everybody wants your Mexican pesos.

If you live in the city
going to a marketplace,

it's a way to transport yourself
to where the farmers are growing food,

walking into the market
and seeing all the herbs

and the vegetables and the fruits.

Everything is being harvested
right now at this moment.

In Oaxaca, the food stuffs,
the quelites, the herbs,

the edible flowers, the vegetables,
all the different kinds of chiles.

It's so varied.

Coming to the marketplace
is an incredible opportunity

to get next to all of those things
in one place.

You know, for me, traveling,
um, not just in Mexico,

but I, I like to sort
of start in the market

because… [hesitates] the marketplace

is a way of sort of getting a photograph

of what's happening in a certain region,
especially here in Oaxaca.

Uh, the first place I go is
the market when I get here,

when I'm traveling,
when I'm visiting friends.

This is one of my favorite
Oaxacan ingredients, is the tepiche.

-It's in the family of, like, pápalo.
-[Rocío] Mm-hmm.

-But it-- just the smell and the flavor.
-Like… [inaudible]

I can eat it by a handful.

-So fresh!
-You-- yeah. You don't need toothpaste.

And this is something
that a lot of people don't think about.

These are, these are basically
squash runners.

-Like the shoots, no?
-Like the shoots, yes.

The leaves and--

A lot of people, they only see like…

the zucchini fruit or the flower,

but the leaves and the stems
are equally as…

-[inaudible]
-…flavorful and fun to eat.

And, you know, it's all
about sort of need to use

the whole thing and no waste, right?

[Rocío]
Just like in my hometown as well,

most of these things
actually grow together in the milpa.

So it's not just what you plant,
but also what grows naturally.

Right. And eat what you have.

Oh, and this is really important.

-Huaje.
-Huaje.

This is where Oaxaca gets its name.

And so huaje, Oaxaca.

[serene music]

HERE, WE COOK WITH THE HEART

MIXTECA CUISINE

[Drew] Olga Cabrera has owned and operated
Tierra de Sol for over 30 years.

Olga is from the Mixteca region
in the western part of Oaxaca.

When she first opened
in the city 30 years ago,

her restaurant and food was rejected

by the people of Oaxaca's capital
for being too cultural.

She was identifying the dishes
on her menu in her native language,

and it wasn't resonating with the locals.

So she changed
the native name of the dishes

to something more relatable.

And slowly, her restaurant
began gaining traction.

But it was a slow, arduous
and at times, a contentious start.

I'm meeting Rocío
and my good friend Jonathan Barbieri,

a well-known and respected painter

whose works are in public
and private collections

throughout Mexico,
Europe and the United States.

He's been living in Oaxaca since the 1980s

and is a loyal customer of Tierra de Sol.

[Drew in English]
For me, it was interesting…

I, I asked her, I said,

"If it doesn't change the flavor,
why do you put it in there?"

-Right?
-And she says, "Well,

'cause it grows in our backyard,
and we have it.

We're using our garden."

[Jonathan]
The idea of landscape forming cuisine,

the idea that you make your dishes

-out of what is available--
-Everything in its context.

Even though, even though some things,
as she mentioned,

were not originally available in Oaxaca,
like ajonjoli, uh, sesame seeds.

Sure. And that, and that was
one of the, sort of the last parts

that I talked to her about,
where we said--

The mole, if you look
at sort of the original,

the one made with huaje
and, and costeña chiles.

Two ingredients.

And then how, 500 years ago, we got--
started to get some new ingredients.

How important is respecting the tradition,

but at the same time,
taking that tradition

and putting it
into the context of the future?

Traditions are only worthwhile
if they're alive.

Tradition is not something
you dust off every so often.

This is not nostalgia.

This is not something that we're saving,
rescuing, or bringing back.

This is something
that exists and evolves in time,

concurrently with the societies

-as they change and more--
-It's constantly changing.

So tradition, when you define tradition,
what are you talking about?

Is it nostalgia? Because nostalgia means
that you're inflating something

-beyond what it really is.
-Sure. Totally.

So…

-Go ahead.
-Nostalgia is good stalgia.

[all laugh]

[in English] And, and then
there's another part of this.

And that is the individual contribution.

Each cook, traditional cook,
is adding something

every single generation,
every single year perhaps.

-Sure.
-You know?

-Just like-- yeah.
-And maybe every time they make the dish.

-[inaudible]
-So, like, you know, recipes change.

I hear what you're saying,
and I hear, you know, about…

how we need to have
a different relationship with the past.

What's her relationship with this,

with this tradition
that is n-- really not old?

It looks and sounds pretty modern to me.

[Drew] She's not trying
to rescue anything.

The-- she's a vehicle.

She's the internet. She…

-[Jonathan] The conduit.
-The conduit.

She feels a responsibility

-to propagate this information.
-That's, that's how tradition lives.

-Right.
-Exactly.

-That's how tradition lives, is by--
-Living and breathing.

Living, breathing people,
taking it and moving it to the next step.

-You take the bowl…
-Mm-hmm.

…and you pass it on.

This is a really special, beautiful place

that's celebrating
the food of her community.

[gentle music]

[muted]

[Drew] I'm headed to Jonathan's house
to cook a meal for the crew,

and talk about his newest project,
Maíz Nation,

his company that distills ancient grains.

He works with small-holding farms
from across the state of Oaxaca

who grow native corn
the way their forefathers have done

for the past 350 generations.

So it's 100% corn?

-It's 96%.
-96%, okay.

-Native corn.
-Nati-- okay.

Very, very important
because we're in, basically,

one of the three origin centers
of corn on Earth.

-Okay.
-Now, it's important to remember,

corn didn't exist in nature.

-It's not like wheat or rice…
-Right.

…that existed in nature,
and you could start harvesting it.

Corn was an invention
of Native American scientists

back between 6,500 and 10,000 years ago.

-Okay.
-So…

Uh, it's really important
to acknowledge that. Right?

Because there's so much cul--
cultural appropriation going on right now

that it's really important
to acknowledge that.

Now, a lot of people who have followed
in our footsteps… [inhales]

…are making, I guess, good whiskeys,

but some of them have taken native corn,
even to the States.

Even the-- I've got calls from people
that are making bourbon and they say,

"Oh, man, I want to get some Oaxacan corn
'cause I know it's the best."

I say, "Why don't you go
and look at your neighbors,

the Indigenous populations around you?

Why don't you try
to make a deal with them and,

you know, and use their corn?
Why do you come to us?" Right?

Right? They've been-- they've been
growing corn for 500 years.

-Yeah.
-Right? Even though they've been moved

from place to place to place.

And, um, and there are
people that, you know,

take the corn and plant it someplace else

and then hire people for minimum wage

to tend to the, you know,
crop and everything…

-Yeah.
-…to do weeding and things like that.

If you take the corn away,
then the native people who invented it,

whose intellectual property it is,
are out of the economic circuit.

So you've taken the native
out of native corn.

-Right.
-And you can't call it native corn,

in my opinion, unless you buy it directly
from small-holding farmers.

That's, that's our whole point,
and that's what we do.

Okay, so for you, just…

taking the seed of the native corn
and moving it someplace else

and growing it out of its context,

-it can no longer be called native corn.
-Native corn.

-Plus…
-Yeah.

…you have 60 varieties
of native corn in Mexico.

Thirty-five of those varieties
are from, uh, Oaxaca.

-Okay.
-But the National Institute

of Indigenous Languages

says that although there are
officially 16 different languages

-spoken here, Oaxaca, by native people…
-Mm-hmm.

-Sixteen?
-Yeah.

There are actually
171 dialects spoken. Right?

-Because every nook and cranny on this…
-Sure--

…this incredibly convoluted
top-- topography

creates a different ecosystem
and a different linguistic system.

So, those people are planting their corn

and evolving their corn
together with their corn over,

-you know, 350 generations.
-Right.

And the corn is very distinct
from place to place.

And if you took it to, say, Wisconsin

or to, say, upstate New York,

you might get
a very paltry harvest from it once

because it's in different soil

with different pH,
different, you know, everything.

But then after that,
it will start evolving…

-It changes. Exactly.
-…to that, to that new place.

It's the same thing that these--
the families, like, we saw that in Puebla,

I know it happens here in Oaxaca,
where each year,

the campesino is choosing
from his own corn that he planted--

-The best seeds.
-The best seeds.

Now, we're going to take that.
That's what's gonna be next season.

-Yeah.
-They eat the rest.

So next year's harvest is never
the same as last year's harvest.

-Yeah, but there's a reason behind it.
-And there's pollenization.

It's changing.

And there's a reason behind that process
of selection year after year,

generation after generation
for 350 generations.

-[Drew] Right.
-They are evolving the corn

to be able to adapt
to the challenges of the environment.

And that's what they're selecting for,
so that you could say that the corn,

the native corn, behind this whiskey,
is the most modern corn on Earth.

It's much more modern than Monsanto corn.

That, that was frozen in time.

And those-- I don't know
when they made it.

-The '60s or '50s, whenever it was--
-Yeah.

It's much more modern
than hybrid corn even, which--

And also native corn is the pool,
the gene pool,

from which hybrid corn
gets its characteristics.

-Right?
-Okay.

But native corn is always evolving.

This is the most amazing thing

because most people think
it's something nostalgic

and we have to rescue it.

We're not here to rescue it.

We are here to perpetrate it

-and to educate people about it.
-Propagate it.

Propagate it. You know?
But, um, we-- we're not here to rescue it.

It's been doing a good job
for, like, 10,000 years.

-Right. Jeez. [laughs]
-You know? So…

Is there enough corn out
there for this to be--

-how are you getting your corn?
-Good question.

Sell us only what's excess.

-Sure.
-Okay?

Because corn is a safety net
for every family.

With that corn for that year,

you're going to feed
your family with tortillas,

with tamales, with cegueza,

with all of these different platillos
that are always corn-based

because… [in Spanish]
"without corn there's no country," right?

[in English] But then you're gonna have
to feed your pigs, your goats,

-you know, all of this.
-Right, sure. It's not just--

And then you're gonna have
to have that reserve

that are the specific characteristics
that you're taming for…

-To replant next season. Sure.
-…you're gonna replant.

So I don't want to bother that.
I just want to take your surplus corn.

[inspirational piano music]

[Drew] We're leaving the city
and heading to the Oaxacan Pacific Coast,

known for its beautiful beaches,
great surfing spots and vibrant culture.

Chef Quetzal Zurita
and his wife Shal Macías

helmed a very successful restaurant,
AlmOraduz, in Puerto Escondido.

His menu is an avant-garde mix
of traditional and contemporary dishes

using organic ingredients
and fresh seafood

from local farmers and fishermen.

His concept was a hard sell
at first to the locals,

offering a fine dining experience
in a relaxed beach town,

and it took some time
for the restaurant to catch on.

But Quetzal was determined to make
his type of food, and he persevered.

Now AlmOraduz is one of the top
restaurants in Puerto Escondido,

and was recently recognized
by the Michelin Guide.

Quetzal grew up in this region,
and he wanted to take me a bit north

to a beautiful and serene lagoon

where there is a community
of fishermen and women

who harvest the endemic black clams

or mussels called tichindas.

They're a gastronomic delicacy
of the area,

and we are going to see how these
local conches are grown and harvested

in the mangroves by Julio Santos Aragón,

a fisherman who has been working
this lagoon for over 30 years.

[in English] Listening to Julio
talk about the tichinda…

[soft somber music]

…this constant fight that he has.

It's an issue that we've heard
in a lot of different places,

and it's the same…

[exhales] It's the same fight everywhere.

[Quetzalcóatl]
We are, uh, like, uh, obtaining products,

but we are not returning, no?
It's like the same. So--

[Drew] Yeah. It's an-- it's, it's almost
like a-- an agreement with the lagoon.

-[Quetzalcóatl] Yeah.
-"If you take care of me,

I'll give you abundance.
I'll give you the mussels.

I'll give you fish.
I'll give you a way of life.

-Yeah.
-But if you don't take care of me…

all of those things are gonna disappear."

Yeah, because there are many families
that live, uh, from the lagoon

and not just be tourists
and just for, uh, like, development.

Development, it's like-- I don't know.
We need to make conscience.

You think about all the surface area
that these mangrove roots provide

in all these habitats for crustaceans
and, and bivalves, uh, like the tichinda

and small crabs
and, and the little brine shrimp

that, that are living in there.

It's just-- it's a whole world
underneath that root.

Well, I'm excited about going to try some.

These are the tichinda that Don Julio…

Uh, he, he fished this morning, right?

Yes. These tamales is-- are very special.

You know, it's, like, made with tichinda.

It's very, like, well-known in the coast.

-Okay.
-It's like, uh, a very different,

very, uh, specific tamales.

[Drew] A tamale,
when you eat it, it's all just edible.

It's soft. It's-- you could eat
the whole thing.

This has the tichindas in their shells.

[Quetzalcóatl]
Yeah, they, they mix both.

No? They put the, uh, little meat

-and just the shells.
-[Drew] Okay.

[Quetzalcóatl] Yeah,
because you can, uh, eat it like that.

And if you want to peel
or if you want to obtain the tichinda,

-it's up to you. No?
-[Drew] Mm.

So interesting. So is it--
is it common in the coast here

that tamales would include
shrimp, fish, m-- mussels?

-You can put whatever you want.
-Whatever you want.

Whatever you want in the tamales.

If you come to the coast,
you need to try these tamales.

-Mm!
-They're very special.

It's like the, the mussels
are, uh, not everywhere.

Yeah. And that's-- so they're only in the,

in the, in the lagoons,
in the coastal areas.

This is wonderful.

[waves crashing]

[Quetzalcóatl] Okay, Drew,
we're going to make, uh, this robalo.

We're going to prepare with, uh,

the adobo of chipotle
costeño and guajillo.

-And only on the side of the skin, right?
-Yeah.

The, the scale side,
that's our protection from the fire.

And then we're gonna make another one
with butter, and oregano and garlic.

You know? Like, two different ways.

-This is huachinango, the red snapper.
-[Drew] Perfect.

[serene guitar music]

-[waves crashing]
-[seagull squawking]

[muted]

[Drew] All the changes that have
happened in Mexico up to today,

and the changes that continue,

it's, it's, it's a culture and a food

and a community that's constantly
reinventing itself, constantly morphing.

And there's so many influences, it--

that you can't, you can't stop it
and define it at any one moment.

Because ten minutes later,
it's something different.

And, and I think that's what makes
Mexico really a unique

and beautiful and unbelievable
place on this planet.

[serene music]

[music increases]

[music fading away]