MARFA – Agave Festival Marfa, an annual festival celebrating the agave and its influence on culture through food, film, music and scientific programs, is set for June 6-10.
The Festival treats the agave as the indicator species for a region that is binational, multilingual, and deeply informed by indigenous history.
It proposes to bring communities together through outstanding free and affordable programs including talks by preeminent historians, botanists, artists, anthropologists and archaeologists.
Films, exhibitions, and tastings with agave spirit producers as well as delicious dining experiences are offered to everyone. A variety of performances by leading artists in contemporary and regional music ensures a lively 4-day event.
In its second year, the Agave Festival Marfa will explore the agave’s relation to migration and binational experience. Events will include a talk by Gary Paul Nabhan on the future of mescal; a talk by renowned conservationist Rodrigo Medellin on the lesser long-nosed bat, currently on the endangered species list, and its dependence on the agave and other desert plants; a talk by Wendy Hodgson and Andrew Salywon concerning the movement of the agave in the context of indigenous migration and cultivation; the creation of a new agave garden by botanists from the Jardin Chapultepec in Mexico; the launch of a book by Alfredo Corchado concerning issues of binational experience for those born in Mexico but currently living in the US; talks by the founders of three of the agave’s most influential spirit brands, Bertha Gonzalez Nieves (Casa Dragones), Ricardo Pico (Sotol Clande) and David Suro Piñera (Siembra Azul); many spirit tastings and meals; a performance by outstanding norteño musicians; cumbia nights featuring guest DJs; and much more.
Participants
Gary Paul Nabhan:
One of the foremost writers in the field of ecology, Nabhan is an Agricultural Ecologist, Ethnobotanist, Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, and author whose work has focused primarily on the interaction of biodiversity and cultural diversity of the arid binational Southwest. He is considered a pioneer in the local food movement and the heirloom seed saving movement. He is the author of several books considered classics in their fields, including, The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in O’odham Country; Enduring Seeds: Native American Agriculture and Wild Plant Conservation and Tequila: A Natural and Cultural History , which he co-authored with Ana Valenzuela.
Rodrigo Medellin:
Sometimes referred to as “Tequila’s Superman” for his conservation work concerning the lesser long-nosed bat, Medellin is known throughout the world for his conservation work with jaguar, ocelot and bighorn sheep. He has served as President of the Society for Conservation Biology (2013-2015) and is currently Senior Professor at the Institute of Ecology UNAM. Additionally, he has produced over 200 publications and oversees projects and students in sixteen countries on five continents.
Wendy Hodgson:
Hodgson is the Senior Research botanist and Curator of the Herbarium at the Desert Botanical Garden of Tucson and is considered one of the preeminent botanists of the US / Mexico border region. Her areas of interest include southwest U.S. and northern Mexico floristics, rare and endemic plants, and taxonomy and systematics of Agave and Yucca, including the study of pre-Columbian agave cultivars. Other current projects include the study and documentation of the flora of the Grand Canyon region, including the evolution and distribution of certain plant groups as affected by the unique factors characteristic of this area. She is the author of Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert, considered the definitive volume on the subject. Teobaldo Eguiluz Piedra Formerly chief geneticist for the Forest Genetics Institute of Guatemala and formerly director for the Mexican National School of Agriculture,
Equiluz Piedra:
Piedra is now the Managing Director of Genfor Landscaping, one of Mexico City’s foremost landscaping companies.
Joel Salcido:
Art and documentary photographer who grew up with one foot in Mexico and the other in the United States, straddling two languages and two cultures. His images appear in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the El Paso Museum of Art, the Harry Ransom Humanities Center at UT Austin, and the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.
Additional acquisitions have been made by the Federal Reserve Bank, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. The image Atotonilco El Alto , which appears in his most recent publication, The Spirit of Tequila, was recently inducted into Mexico’s National Art Heritage Series. Salcido lives in Austin, Texas.
Bertha Gonzalez Nieves:
Known as “The First Lady of Tequila,” Gonzalez Nieves is the co-founder and CEO of Casa Dragones, a small batch tequila producer. In her own words, “We are a small batch producer that’s trying to push the conversation of the industry into the future, using the most sustainable, modern processes available.”
Distinguishing Casa Dragones from many of the big names in the industry, she adds, “We’re in the business of taste, not in the business of volume.”
David Suro Piñera:
Suro Piñera is the owner of Tequilas Bar and Restaurant, one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in Philadelphia; the president of Siembra Azul Tequila; and president of Tequila Interchange Project an international advocacy group focused on the preservation of sustainable, traditional and quality practices in the industries of agave distilled spirits. Mr. Suro Piñera has also been described as, “one of the most knowledgeable people in the world” about the subject of tequila and is a highly sought after public speaker.
Ricardo Pico:
Pico is the founder of Sotol Clande, a cooperative based in the state of Chihuahua, which in a few short years has become one of the spirit’s most respected brands. In addition to its flavor, Sotol Clande is notable for its commitment to traditional methods of production and for supporting families who have persisted in the production of sotol for many generations, despite difficulties, legal and financial.
Alfredo Corchado:
Recently elected to the Texas Institute of Letters, Corchado is the author of the forthcoming book, “Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration,” which will be released at this year’s Agave Festival. His previous book, “Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through A Country’s Descent Into Darkness” has been translated into several languages and was praised by the Washington Post, Kirkus and other publications.
Andy Cloud:
Director of the Center for Big Bend Studies, an organization which supports and promotes archaeological and historical activities in the Trans-Pecos and Big Bend region of Texas and northern Mexico. Cloud is best known for his archaeological work at the Genevieve Lykes Duncan in West Texas, where he has discovered artifacts of Paleoindian culture that are as many as 11,000 years old.
Cloud also oversees publications for the CBBS and is jointly responsible, along with Jorge Carrera Robles, for the first ever bi-national archaeological collaboration, which is taking place at La Junta de los Rios along the US / Mexico border.
Jorge Carrera Robles:
Regional Director of INAH, the national archaeological institution of Mexico, Dr. Robles oversees all projects in the state of Chihuahua and has been instrumental in establishing a binational collaboration between INAH and the Center for Big Bend Studies. Dr. Robles has also written extensively about El Camino Real, the Spanish trade route connecting Mexico City with San Juan Pueblo in New Mexico.
Christina Kim:
Founder of the Dosa, one of the most innovative clothing and fashion brands of the past several decades, Kim will speak about her work with the Arhuaco people of Colombia, especially their agave and cotton based textiles. In addition to being a leading designer, Kim has demonstrated a profound commitment to protecting traditional handcrafts and is known for her stylish and resourceful use of recycling and waste reduction techniques.
Jim Martinez:
Agronomist and landscape designer, Jim Martinez has been creating water wise and environmentally friendly landscapes for over 30 years. He specializes in native plants of Texas and the Southwest and has designed and installed gardens throughout the U.S. and Mexico. A recent garden design and installation was issued one of the first LEED Platinum certifications in Dallas, Texas. Jim has a Bachelor’s of Science, Soil Science, New Mexico State University. Jim’s landscape designs have
been recognized by national publications including Garden Design Magazine, Pure Green Living, Wildflower, The Magazine of The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the Dallas Morning News among others.