Loma de Santa Anna is an agro-cultural project dedicated to preserve and promote the tradition of mezcal through art and the planting of agave shoots.
About the place
Fotografía: Daniel Molina
Tlacolula de Matamoros is a municipality recognized for its social and commercial dynamics; its ethnic and historical diversity matches with the variety of natural inhabitants. It is not boast that in the Nahuatl voice «Tlacolula» is understood as «place of abundance». However, the rocks that surround the plain of the municipality do not enjoy the fertility of the valleys, because they are the result of the volcanic activity of millenia.
That was the case of La Loma de Santa Anna, a rocky territory that until the Mexican Revolution had not been given any other use than to hide a treasure stolen from the army’s diligence. Just at that time Jorge Chagoya Llaguno, the main producer of the region and owner of the Loma de Santa Anna, was enlisted with a group of elevators and it was not known more about him. In 1920, Ernesto Chagoya Llaguno, son of Jorge Chagoya, recovered the scree of la Loma de Santa Anna, not
to bury a hidden treasure, but to work them with the el maguey. This task that seemed impossible paid off thanks to the curiosity of Ernesto who traveled to Puebla, Michoacán and Guerrero in order to find some cultivation technique that would allow, not only to reforest La Loma de Santa Anna but to implement a technology for the constant reproduction of the maguey.
PROJECTS

Mauricio Cervantes, Estudio Xaquixe and Tradición Chagoya come together to set up an installation inside La Loma de Santa Anna: Agave y las Ninfas.
This installation was thought of as an offering to the earth, reinterpreting the legend of Mayahuel, who breastfeeds the 400 rabbits, and represents the 400 voices of the agave. This deity embodies the fertility of the earth and its representative icon is the maguey.
On the other hand, the nenúfares, used by the Mayan priests to contact the beings of the underworld, were arranged in vessels, bathtubs and different species of agaves, respecting their location on earth.
On the other hand, the nenúfares, used by the Mayan priests to contact the beings of the underworld, were arranged in vessels, bathtubs and different species of agaves, respecting their location on earth.
Images for mosaic @ Expendio Tradición / Photo and design: Daniel Molina. Art insitu: Mauricio Cervantes and Estudio Xaquixe.
Video: Gerardo Audiffred
SPECIAL EDITION BOX
This project includes an engraving of 24×70 cm made by three hands by the artists Rubén Ojeda, Santiago Rojo and Marco Velasco, accompanied by a bottle of our Mezcal Donají line, a gift box, the certificate of the work, the description of the project and the portrayals of the participants.
