All language subtitles for I.M.U.S01E04.Veracruz.A.Multi-Cultural.Cuisine.That.Is.as.Diverse.as.Its.People.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-iRMAS_track3_[eng]

[birds chirping]

[lively music]

[Andrea]
So, when you hold a jar of honey,

you have to start thinking
about the flowers, right?

What flowers went into the jar?

And then, what species
of bees collected it?

How many flights did the bees
have to make to produce

just one milliliter, two milliliters?

How much time has passed?

One whole year just to get one liter
in excellent conditions.

Who harvested it?

What had to happen for it to get to you?

Who put it in a jar?

Who made the tag?

Um, who's selling it to you?

All these processes
are part of the value chain.

And to create fair
and responsible value chains,

every single piece should be aligned.

Every single piece should strive to create

a fair and responsible value chain.

Sometimes, as consumers,
we don't understand how complex that is,

and we may think
a fair price means fair trade,

and it's not always like this.

Because if any one of those
is out of balance,

then it's a non-sustainable chain.

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 intensifies]

I came here
because of the incredible ingredients

that come from both the Sea of Cortez
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]

[intriguing music]

[Drew] Veracruz lies along the coast
of the Gulf of Mexico.

It's a mix of beautiful coastlines,
valleys, mountains and rainforests.

It's one of the most culturally
diverse states in Mexico.

With a mix of Indigenous, Spanish,
African and Caribbean influences,

its cuisine is a fusion of ingredients,
recipes and culinary traditions.

Veracruz is where
the Spanish conquest of Mexico began.

Its port became
the gateway into New Spain.

During this period, all people, goods
and ingredients coming into the country

had to enter through the Port of Veracruz
before moving elsewhere.

During the conquest, many native people
were either killed or died

from disease brought by the Europeans,

and their populations
drastically declined.

It was during this time

that the African slave trade
began in Mexico.

They were brought by the Spanish
to work on sugar plantations,

cattle ranches and as domestic servants.

It wasn't uncommon for Indigenous,
African and European worlds to intermix.

Cooking techniques, traditions
and ingredients were shared

in the fields, camps,
or household kitchens.

Cooking became a language,
a way to connect,

a way to learn and a way to bond.

This created the foundation
for the multicultural cuisine of Veracruz

in its lively music and dance culture.

[music continues]

Today, we are headed to Coatepec,

a cloud or mesophilic forest
that is known for its exceptional coffee

and referred to
as Mexico's coffee capital.

-[muted]
-We are here to meet Gibrán Cervantes,

founder of El Equimite,

a biodynamic agricultural company

focused on the production
of specialty coffee,

vegetables and medicinal plants.

Through its integrated
agroecological production model,

the project prevents the area
from further deforestation

and contributes
to the local ecosystem and economy.

So, Gibrán, where are we?
This is your plantation, right?

Yes, this is our plantation.

-It's a coffee under shade.
-[Drew] Okay.

[Gibrán] And it's into the rainforest
of Veracruz, Coatepec.

-So this is a rainforest here?
-Yes, it's a rainforest,

and our coffee plantation
is a real food forest.

-Okay.
-Because we can grow inside of the forest,

keeping all the native plants
from the region.

So we have three levels of canopy,

the shade one, the fruit and the coffee.

And of course, all the mushrooms

and a lot of weeds
that are under the coffee.

-Okay.
-So it's a real biodiversity,

uh, technique to recover the--

Is that technique with the three shades,

does that happen naturally
in the rainforest?

-Or is it something that you're creating?
-In the primary forest

and in the secondary forest,
you have these different straits.

-You have the different canopies?
-Yes.

And so the coffee
just fits into that plan,

and the coffee likes the shade.

The essence
and the structure of this plant

is not to be out of the shade.

We are now creating
deserts of coffee, of monoculture.

-Sure.
-So this is the opposite of that.

And this is what
an indigenous coffee plant…

At some point,
coffee had to have been just like corn.

-Yes.
-It was indigenous.

So its native habitat
is in a very biodiverse,

shaded place like this rainforest.

And… interesting.

So as we take
the coffee out of its context,

-we're creating coffee deserts. That's--
-Exactly.

-It's the same with the corn plantations.
-Sure, exactly.

[Gibrán] If you take the corn out
of the milpa, that is a huge concept

of a kind of permaculture,
from the Indigenous of Mexico…

-[Drew] Right.
-…you are taking out all the correlations

between minerals, microorganisms
and organic matter inside of the soil.

-The equation breaks.
-So it's the same.

We are doing here, like,
a milpa concept, but with coffee.

Okay.

[Gibrán]
So the milpa concept consists

in creating a relation

with about 15, 20 different crops
inside of the corn plantation.

Each one is mutually beneficial.

[Gibrán] And there's a lot of relation
between microorganisms

-and the roots inside of the soil.
-[Drew] Sure.

[Gibrán]
They are interconnected,

creating a synergy
between these different crops.

But really, that's how
nature grows normally anyway

before we took it out of,
once again, using the word,

-when we took it out of its context…
-Exactly.

-…you break the system.
-The balance.

-Yeah.
-It's the same with the coffee.

The coffee needs this forest to protect

-the essence of the nature of the coffee.
-Okay.

So if we are depleting these ecosystems,
we are creating an imbalance

of the climate change
with all the crops, not just coffee…

-Sure
-…and not only corn.

So we-- we are at El Equimite trying
to protect this biodiversity.

So the amazing thing
about biodynamics, Drew,

is that we are creating like an island

-of biodiversity at El Equimite.
-[Drew] Okay.

[Gibrán]
So imagine that we need to connect

the birds that have a place,
a safe place with food,

the bunch of insects that you are-- are
creating the house inside of El Equimite…

-Sure.
-…to develop these colonies of insects--

Even though it's your property line,
what's happening here

is different than what's happening
maybe in the coffee plantation there.

-Exactly.
-It brings diverse fauna and everything.

It's just…

…a sponge for biodiversity.

I was reading an article.

If every decorative garden
in the United States,

so everybody that just has
decorative plants that is only aesthetic,

-if all of that was changed to…
-[Gibrán] Agriculture.

-…to food plants…
-[Gibrán] Imagine that.

…it would solve world hunger.

We-- I'm not-- I'm going,
"Solve world hunger?"

But you would amplify
the production of food.

You take, like, the shrubbery
that has no purpose,

and you plant something you can eat.

Imagine all that energy, all that water,
all the biodiversity that we can create.

-Yeah.
-So the coffee, it's an opportunity

because it's a… I choose the coffee

because it's a mainstream commodity.

Sure.

So I want to-- to rewire--
to rewire this thinking

of the commodities and to see that

-as an opportunity to change our vision.
-Okay.

How we are creating food, how we are, um…

-What we are consuming, of course…
-Right.

…to reestablish
the information of the soil

and to start to create
a new awakening of life.

So we've taken
the information out of the soil

through commercial agriculture.

And through regenerative agriculture
and biodynamic practices,

-we're returning that information.
-Exactly.

So it's like bringing
the books back to the library

and allowing all of that knowledge,

all of the information
that's in the soil to be there.

And it only works when it's all there
and it's all interconnected.

Exactly.

[pensive music]

So this is our biodynamic house
for the preparations that we use.

It's like the heart of the farm.

So we have here the special preparations

that we made with some organs

of specific animals…

-[Drew] Okay.
-…and some specific plants.

The idea of this biodynamic preparation

is to put it in the compost
and create a being.

-The compost is a being by itself.
-Okay.

So we add this information
with these plant and these organs.

And by putting it into the ground
for six months,

you are humidifying these materials

as you are creating
a specific medicine to the soil.

So inside,

we have these specific medicines.

This is the heart of the farm.

The information
that you're adding back to the soil…

-Exactly.
-…to regenerate

what may have been lost and to maintain--

So the material is like…

You can see it's very interesting.

It's a very humidified…

And we use each of these to the compost.

-Okay.
-So we create a balance.

-Is it a catalyst for the compost?
-Exactly.

So this is then going
to be multiplied by itself,

-propagated inside the compost mix.
-Exactly.

-Okay.
-But in a homeopathic way.

-So we can put…
-This goes in here?

Yes.

As you can see,
this is the amount for one hectare.

-[Drew] For one hectare?
-[Gibrán] Yes.

This is very intense.
Very, very concentrated.

Again, we are just
talking about information.

Right. We're not applying matter,
we're applying information.

-It's just information. So the idea--
-Interesting.

-The idea--
-I think that's key to understanding

a lot of what biodynamics is. It's--

We're applying information to the being

of the soil, of the plant,
of the ecosystem,

as opposed to applying matter,
which is what you would do

-in the case of putting a fertilizer.
-Exactly.

So that's applying matter,
this is applying information.

The idea with the biodynamic preparation
is not necessarily directly at the plant,

-but to the soil…
-[Gibrán] Exactly.

…which gives the information to the plant.

[Gibrán] We're working with the soil,
not with the plant.

Not with the plant. It's not treating
the symptoms, it's treating the patient.

So the goal of biodynamics
is to try to see that being as a whole.

-As a whole being.
-Okay.

So you cannot spread--
you cannot separate these things

because life doesn't work like that.

We need to interconnect
the information again…

-Okay.
-…to let the being arise healthy.

Because we found a way
to disconnect that information,

and we're trying to reconnect it.

Okay.

This is amazing.

[inspirational music]

When the plant is giving harvest,

is giving production,
it's getting sensible.

It's more sensible because
all the energy is put into the seeds.

The energy it may have used for defense,
it's now using for its fruit.

-Their recreation.
-Right.

-To give a new plant, new babies.
-Sure.

[Gibrán] That's why we need to be
very careful about the nutrition.

What we assure
is the ripeness of the coffee,

and the type of the fermentation

depends of the Brix level
at the time when we are picking.

Okay, so the amount of Brix
when you harvest depend--

that determines how
you're going to ferment the coffee.

Exactly. Yes, because it depends
on where we are, if we are in 19 or 24.

[Drew]
I keep hearing grape's numbers.

Those are numbers
where we harvest fruit for wine.

-Really?
-Nineteen to twenty-four.

-Those are the magic numbers.
-It's the same with the coffee.

We have been fermenting this
for 120 hours.

Okay. All right.

So we will do a wash process.

So this is a very important point

because all the biodynamic work--

Wow! [chokes, laughs]

-You need to…
-[both laughing]

You need to leave it…

So if you don't properly
do the fermentation,

you can destroy all the work
that we just saw in the tour.

[Drew]
Okay. Now, the coffee has been washed.

Semi-washed.

[drops dripping]

[coffee beans rattling]

[Gibrán grunts softly]

[Gibrán]
This tool helps us move the coffee

when we want to put it
in the sun or leave it inside.

[Drew]
Okay.

[farmers chattering]

[coffee beans rattling]

Here we have the solar dryers.

This is the way we dry,
the natural process.

With the natural process,
we need to dry very fast.

-[Drew] Otherwise, it gets bad stuff.
-[Gibrán] Otherwise, we can over-ferment,

-and we don't want that. You know?
-[Drew] Yeah.

[Gibrán] This is very, very special
and high-quality coffee.

-This is…
-This is very handcraft coffee.

This is unbelievable.

I know that education
for you is really important.

Um, about the same time
that you started El Equimite, the farm,

you also started a Montessori school.

I really believe that we need
to start seedling these concepts

-to the first stages of the children.
-Sure.

Seed the concept of sustainability early.

[Gibrán] El Equimite is
very linked with the program

to try to sensitize
these children to all of this.

-[Drew] And the children come to the farm?
-[Gibrán] Yes, they come

every three weeks,
and they experiment all the biodynamics

and regenerative agriculture
as a part of the program

to understand
from the very simple aspects,

what is happening in the farm,
what is happening with the insects,

with the soil, with the production.

Coatepec has a real story about coffee.
And we are losing it.

It's a shame because all the real estate
is changing the destiny of the land

to establish houses,
and we are losing the coffee plantations.

And this is very important
for the children to understand the crops

that have been grown here for a long time.

-Sure.
-And all the value.

Not just in terms of the crop,

I mean, the value in nature,
in ecosystems, the culture.

So I really think
that we need to preserve that.

And I'm enjoying learning from you.

-This is--
-I am enjoying too.

This is changing me.

Um…

-Thank you for sharing.
-It's a pleasure. [chuckles lightly]

[serene music]

[muted]

[Drew] A small community in school
near Gibrán's plantation

is also providing education and resources.

Their initiative is focused
on protecting local bees

and providing hands-on education
to parents and children

on how to properly manage
and raise thriving bee communities.

We raise bees on our ranch
back in Valle de Guadalupe,

and I completely understand

the agricultural, economical
and medicinal importance

of their biodiversity and,
frankly, key to our survival.

Pauline and I are meeting up
with Alejandro Beltran Cordero,

a passionate environmentalist,
activist and storyteller,

to learn about the stingless Melipona bee

that was coveted by the Mayans
for its medicinal purposes.

This bee is also the pollinator
of the indigenous orchid

that produces vanilla in Veracruz.

[calm music]

[Drew in English] When I was in Yucatan,
I was introduced to Andrea Figueroa

and Rodrigo Navarro of Nativa Miel.

Like Alejandro, they both
are activists and teachers

dedicated to bee preservation efforts.

I met Rodrigo working
in the Yucatan Peninsula,

um, working with Indigenous groups

-and vulnerable communities.
-Okay.

So I'm from Mexico City,
came to the Yucatan,

went to this tiny community
in the middle of the jungle,

and there was this group of women
that had stingless bees.

And they started talking to me
about how these bees didn't sting.

They produce very little honey,
but this is a medicinal honey

the Mayas used to work with.

-And I was like, "Oh, my God!"
-It clicked, you know--

Yeah, like, how do we
not know this back home,

like, back in Mexico City?

And I started learning a little bit
more and more about these bees.

And the Mayas had
a very close relationship to these bees.

The bees that we usually think of,

the ones that are
yellow and black that sting us,

that produce very large
quantities of honey,

these are not native
to the American continent.

They were introduced.

But we do have other types of bees here
since many, many years ago.

And the Mayas had
a very close relationship to these bees.

First of all, if you want
to start talking about bees,

we need to start talking about
more than 20,000 species of bees.

-[Drew] Wow.
-[Andrea] And they all look,

behave and interact in different ways.

There's more than 450 species
of stingless bees around the world.

So is that a constant struggle
that this is what you need to educate,

-this is what we need to tell?
-It's a constant effort…

FROM MIEL NATIVA KABANDE

…to educate people
to learn every day about bees.

Many people work with bees,
but don't know much about them,

their life, their biology,

-or the strategies to preserve them.
-[Drew] Sounds like there's a lot

-that we still don't know about bees.
-[Rodrigo] Yeah.

How important the pollinator is

to the continued existence
of human beings.

-That's where it gets really complex.
-Yeah. It's really complex.

But a simple way is: plant native plants
from the region where you live.

That way you help bees,
but also ants and all the other insects

and animals that live
in the region that you are.

And there may not be just
one species of bee in that area.

-There may be three or four or five.
-Yeah.

And each one of them
is pollinating a different set of plants,

which allows for that micro area to exist.

If you break a leg or a part of that…

…well, now there's not…

There's a part that system
that's not going to survive.

-Exactly.
-What are some of the uses

of the Melipona honey, um…

-So--
-…in a modern setting?

[Andrea] So, Melipona honey
has traditionally been used

-for its medicinal properties.
-[Drew] Okay.

[Andrea]
So, as crazy as it sounds,

the Mayan communities
have been using Melipona honey

to treat eye diseases, such as cataracts,
glaucoma, retinal detachment,

and eye infections,
as well as skin diseases

like dermatitis, skin dryness
and to heal wounds.

Like, for diabetic people
who don't heal fast enough,

Melipona honey helps
to accelerate tissue regeneration.

-Wow!
-Some people consume it as a medicine

or as a superfood
to boost their immune system

because of all the properties it has.

For me, honey is a reflection
from the world we live in.

And how many species of flowers
do you think there are?

I… [stutters] Hundreds of thousands.

-Billions?
-Yeah.

Honey is a combination of the nectar
from the flowers and the bee saliva.

So how many different combinations
of nectars do you think we could have?

-[mumbles]
-Like, we can't even think of that number.

We live in a world
that tends to standardize everything.

-[Drew] Yeah.
-But if you look around you,

the world is not like that.

So, we believe we need
to relearn how to approach

the world we live in
and the food that we eat.

So, I like to compare honey with wine.

With wine, we've been taught
how to appreciate the differences, right?

But nobody told us
how to do that with honey,

or tomatoes, or lettuce,

or radish, or onions, or mangoes.

-Basically, anything that we consume.
-[Drew] Right.

So honey can be as diverse as wine,
or more, without human intervention.

[Drew]
Eliminating as many intermediaries,

so producer… how close
can I get to the producer?

-[Rodrigo] Producer, yes.
-[Andrea] Are we going to be able to have

this honey in ten years, in 15 years?

Are we managing the natural resources
in a responsible way?

Relating it to Baja California,
we understand

how important the pollinator is,

because without pollinators,
there's no agriculture.

-Exactly.
-Without agriculture, there's no food.

Without food,
the car stops running. Right?

We stop existing.

[tense pensive music]

[Drew]
Vanilla originated in Mexico.

It's one of the world's
most expensive spices

and most difficult to grow.

It grows naturally
in the jungles of Veracruz.

It's a member of the orchid family
and it was first cultivated

by the Totonacs thousands of years ago.

Veracruz is the main producer
of vanilla in Mexico.

But like every other commodity,
corn, coffee, cacao,

the larger companies are taking over
the land and resources

and pushing small producers out.

And as we see the decline
of the bee population,

we will naturally see the decline
of orchids and their vanilla pods.

[pensive music]

[Drew] Erik Guerrero is chef
and owner of Restaurant Namik,

located in the port town of Veracruz.

He is passionate about
supporting local fishermen,

promoting best practices,

and being an advocate for sustainability
within the fishing industry.

[muted]

How does the relationship
directly with the fishermen affect you?

[in English]
If I was a fisherman here in Veracruz,

I'd be wanting to work with you, Chef.

[pensive music]

This looks great, Victor. Wow.

RESTAURANT

All right, perfect.
What do we have here, Chef? This is…

So, taro came with
sort of the African diaspora, right?

The movement of the slaves.

And sort of the Gulf of Mexico
has very similar ingredients.

-[in Spanish] Exactly.
-[in English] And how and why they came.

Talk maybe a little bit more
about how some of the vegetables.

Uh, why is there taro here?

Well, Veracruz is one
of the first cities in America,

the Spanish cities in America.

It is a sister city of La Habana,

-Campeche and Cartagena.
-Okay.

-[man] In, in Colombia.
-Really early on-- colonial--

So the people, the slaves,

the traditions and the food

-from all these sister cities…
-Okay.

…are common. If you go to…

-[Drew] The origin.
-…Cartagena, you can find taro

just the same as here in Veracruz.

[woman] Veracruz was
the most important trading port.

In the 16th century, all this trading

was with the Atlantic countries

like those in Europe and some from Africa.

But in Acapulco,
in the Pacific coast of Mexico--

Right, because it's not very far.
So a land trade--

[woman]
The merchandise arrived in Acapulco

and was transported by mule to Veracruz,

where ships then carried it to Europe.

[inspirational music]

[Drew] I'm heading to Xalapa,
the capital of Veracruz,

to visit and cook with anthropologist
and chef Raquel Torres.

She's a person who intrinsically
understands the cultural, family,

and personal significance
of this region's cuisine.

She is a fierce advocate for local
Indigenous communities to have a voice,

but more importantly,
for their voice to be heard.

[muted]

[Drew in English] I was fascinated to hear
about the history of the Afro-descendants

and Indigenous peoples of Veracruz.

And Raquel recommended that we travel
to an area called Los Tuxtlas,

a rainforest mountainous region
in the southwestern part of the state

to meet Nidia Hernández,
a regional cook who is also committed

to rescuing and preserving
local recipes from the past.

This is an area where slaves
were brought to work on sugar plantations.

Their cultural influence is still
ever present through the ingredients

and dishes that mark the region's cuisine.

Ingredients such as malanga,

also known as taro, yucca,
sweet potato and cassava,

are all staples in Veracruz's cuisine.

COOK

[in English] So to learn--
as you get the diaspora happening,

you get the crossroads.

You get the same ingredient
that's been used on another continent.

-[Pauline] And the flavor and--
-[Drew] I can just imagine

somebody saying, "What? No!
Come here. Let me show you."

[in English]
So, yucca is really from Mesoamerica,

and it's the first plant that the Olmecs
were able to domesticate,

and basically, started agriculture
in Mesoamerica.

[in English] It's really interesting
that the same ingredient

is available in a lot of different places.

But one of the beautiful things
about Veracruz is

it's such a crossroads that…

Yes, yucca is eaten here
and eaten in other places.

Well, the African part
and the African cuisine part of it,

because of their presence, affects you,

changes your style, and it becomes
more diversified and more complex.

[Drew in English]
We've taken the yucca,

the pureed yucca that we put egg…

…and fresh cheese in…

…and we're putting it into hot oil.

Obviously, over the open flame,

which makes all the difference.

[in English] It's interesting.
They take a piece of the yucca,

put it back in the ground,
and it makes another yucca.

So…

That sounds pretty sustainable to me.

Uh… always have
the same plant producing more.

[muted]

[Drew in English]
So vibrant, so… simple, but so complex.

And the flavor is just…

And it's…

It's simple, but it's really…
[chuckling] really special.

Wow.

Wow. [in English] Sorry.

[pensive music]

[rain pattering]

So a big part of what global economics
and global commercialization has done

is it has eliminated traceability.

It's eliminated the ability
for us to understand really

the origin of what we're consuming.

We make sure all of our bottles
are traceable to the producer.

-Okay.
-Because traceability is a tool we have

as consumers to make sure

the food we're consuming comes
from a fair and responsible value chain.

We create very close relationships
between the coffee farmers

and our roaster's clients.

Okay.

So our goal is to change this mindset

and help to create

a better quality of life
in these communities.

Putting the face back
on the coffee farmer,

um, we're able to trace
where the coffee is from,

we're able to understand
what part of the world it's coming from.

We've stopped reflecting
on what had to happen

-for the food to get to us.
-[Drew] Yeah.

[Andrea]
We never ask ourselves these questions.

Um… I like to invite people,
like, once a month…

If you can once a week,
go to your kitchen,

grab something there,
and just ask yourself,

"Where does this come from?

What had to happen for this to get to me?"

Or, "What is this
that I'm putting in my mouth?"

And choosing to buy products from people

who are promoting fair
and responsible value chains

does make a difference.

[Rodrigo] Yes, and we want
to communicate to the last clients

that if they participate
in this value change,

-we can change together.
-[Drew] They're preserving it.

Three times a day, we have the opportunity

to break or make the world
that we live in.

If everyone made a series
of very small changes…

…that drip in the bucket

is now a stream, it's a fountain,

it-- we can change the direction
to make the world a better place.

[serene instrumental music]

[music fading away]