Sinaloa's Own Telenovela: A World of Mezcal

In 1864, three Osuna brothers arrived from Spain into an area just a bit outside of Mazatlán. What followed was a tale that could be straight out of a telenovela—scandalous, disheartening, and possibly embellished. While it's always challenging to uncover the full truth behind historical events, it's reassuring to know that tensions aren't quite the same in 2020.

It took those three Osuna brothers 12 years from stepping onto Sinaloan soil to open a mezcal factory whose product was sold in Mexico and California. This commercialization of mezcal inspired many other agave farms, known as vinatas, to establish themselves. From La Noria to El Rosario, the agave plant was cultivated all over.

By the 1930s, Sinaloa rivaled its neighboring state Jalisco (the maker of what we know as tequila). According to the Los Osuna History website page, in 1933 Alfonso Tirado Osuna, of the Osuna family, campaigned and won the Mayoral seat in Mazatlán. As Mayor, he was the envy of the Governor of Sinaloa, who sent an army of men to seize his agave farms and redistribute the land to local peasants.

In an effort to protect their land, the vinata farmers hired mercenaries to fight the incoming army sent by the Governor. Many years after the bloody battle, and while things appeared to be calm, Alfonso Tirado Osuna attempted to run in the upcoming gubernatorial elections. Unfortunately, he met his end when the Chief of the State Police assassinated him at the Hotel Rosales in Culiacán. It was rumored that the Chief was ordered by Rodalfo T. Loaiza, a rival of Osuna, to kill him.

In 1944, six years after the death of Osuna, Rodolfo T. Loaiza himself was assassinated at the Hotel Belmar in Mazatlán. As retribution for Loiaza’s assassination, in 1949 it was decreed that tequila could only originate from a select few regions (excluding Sinaloa), which subsequently shuttered most of the vinatas of Sinaloa.

Today, the State of Sinaloa still cannot call itself a producer of tequila or mezcal. But there is hope as members of the government of Sinaloa are working tirelessly to expand the zone of protection of the appellation of origin of tequila and mezcal. This expansion would include the following municipalities: Rosario, Mazatlán, Concordia, and San Ignacio.

The perpetual current status quo should not be dictated by any wrongdoings that possibly happened in the past. Hopefully, the future will be bright for those of us in Sinaloa as we continue to strive for the appellation of origin stamp of approval.