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Huapilla and the Business of Thirst in Tampico
TAMPICO, TM–Around the coastal city of Tampico, little store fronts offer a local drink called huapilla. They are sort of to-go counters for the slightly opaque orange-colored juice for which the Atlantic coast of Mexico is known. “Huapilla bien fria” (Nice cold Huapilla) is the unchanging slogan of these stores. The phrase is un-copyright-able–a cultural slogan more than a business one. Nevertheless, these stores face harsh competition in capturing the money of the thirsty. Around Tampico, huapilla makers compete with homemade products, wandering street vendors, brick and mortar stores, and at least one large scale huapilla bottler.
Abel Pulido, owner of a bottled brand of the Tampiqueño drink, describes the environment, “Nowadays there are a lot of people who make huapilla in different formats, but we like to use different ‘activations’ on social media for example to help people understand our product.” Indeed, his brand, Huapilla Tampico, is notable for its advertising, going so far as to have a car emblazoned with the mark.
The area around Tampico represents the largest concentration of huapilla drinkers in what is a fairly small stretch of land that knows the beverage intimately. Some people in Veracruz make a tepache from the plant, which is called cardon. Other reports suggest it exists on Mexico’s west coast as well, where Sinaloans know it as cahuama.
In these hot areas, huapilla is a much sought after refreshment. It tastes like a semi-dry cider of apple and pineapple. Other batches are reminiscent of champagne cut with honey thanks to a subtle effervescence. The light fermentation slakes the thirst from the very back of the throat. The alcohol content, though, is nearly negligible in common versions. The drink is is lightly yellow and somewhat cloudy. Of course, it is invariably sold cold
What is Huapilla?
Huapilla as a drink is entirely dependent on huapilla the plant, which is almost entirely wild. Also called guapilla, this relative of the pineapple is native to the expanse of Mexico and has been used by indigenous people for some time. The Pame people, for example, who live in the farthest western reaches of the Huasteca region in the Sierra Gorda, have a creation myth about the plant.
“Four Pame Texts” records the mythological origins of the huapilla plant which the Pame apparently also used as a food in times of scarcity. (Gibson) The story tells of a child-eating ogress who is chasing an escaped child and comes across some well-dressed ants. The ants convince her that if she jumps over a fire she will have nicer clothing like theirs. As she stands at the edge of the now blazing fire, the ants push her and she burns. According to the translation of Gibson, “Her brains burst open and went to the hills and became the chamal plant; her eyes burst open and became the guapilla.”
Today, the plant is primarily used to ferment into this light beverage. The plant, scientifically known as Bromelia pinguin, sprouts mature yellow fruits from August until December. As it is a relative of the pineapple (also of the Bromeliad family), the fruits grow in clusters on a central stalk. Almost entirely undomesticated, these fruits are collected by people who have the opportunity to come across them, mostly ranchers.
Pulido, whose business requires a reliable supply of these fruits, explains “Some people use huapilla as a fence to keep domestic animals in or wild animals out. It has a stem with flowers that give yellow fruits. They’re about the size of a lime or a bit bigger. We collect the fruit from ranchers who make their living from cattle, horses, chickens, and goats. The huapilla is in season from August until September. But, it is hard to find.”
He sees a future where a reliable supply of the fruit is a possibility. According to Pulido, “In the near future, it is possible to have an agreement with some agricultural folks to plant them. Also, we have found that in certain parts of Veracruz and Tamaulipas without the stain of human civilization, there are hundreds of populations of plants that have not been harvested up to today.”
To prepare the drink agua de huapilla, a concentrate of two to three months of fermentation of the fruit is cut with water and sugar to taste. Once mixed, the artisanal drink can last about a week before it begins to degrade into vinegar. Bottled versions, if refrigerated, last much longer.
For the brand Huapilla Tampico, the commercialized process is not so different. “We let it ferment in purified water with piloncillo (a kind of hard brown sugar) and sugar for two to three months.” Says Pulido, “This is a rather young fermentation. Once we have this concentrate. We mix it with sugar water. One liter of concentrate with four liters of water and sugar.” His brand not only sells prepared huapilla, but also versions with sugar substitutes and the concentrate for preparation at home.
Besides quenching thirst, Tampiqueños often attribute medicinal properties to huapilla. According to one taxi driver, many professional drivers, who work in a highly sedentary industry, take a liking to the drink because of its ability to cleanse the kidneys. Many stands around the city advertise the drinks kidney cleansing ability. Huapilla Paisano, which has been in business for over 20 years in downtown Tampico, also says that a more potent health kick can come from the daily consumption of the pure concentrate.
The Market Segmentation of Huapilla
Huapilla is a typical beverage of the Huasteca region of Mexico, sandwiched to the west by the Sierra Madre Oriental and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. The region is humid, sunny, and hot, so refreshment is in demand. Thanks to the heat, locals will start looking for a cup or bag of cold huapilla in the mid-morning. The shops are busy into the afternoon. In fact, in the area around Tampico, folks use a unique term for the word sweaty–that is huapilloso.
While some still make agua de huapilla at home during the autumnal season of the fruit, it is also a highly commercialized industry at several levels. Around the streets and markets of Tampico, wandering vendors sell huapilla from carts on wheels. These marchantes will holler the slogan “Huapilla bien fria” as they make their rounds. At least one older vendor was known only as Don Guapilla to his nieghbors.
More common are the brick-and-mortar installations which are equipped with refrigeration to keep the huapilla at a cool temperature. These counters offer quick service. After ordering, you hardly notice whence the liquid is conjured. Bags appear tied with straws in their openings at a moments notice. Even liters are presented in mere seconds. Some pour from old Carlo Rossi wine jugs, others from plastic jerry cans, and still others from large homemade kegerators fed by re-used water jugs. In most corners of Tampico, huapilla flows freely.
The drink comes from these stands in bags of varying sizes and prices–10,15,20 pesos–as well as larger quantities like liters and jugs of up to four liters. Visitors to the city might fill up gallons to bring back home. This is something that Pulido has picked up on with his bottled business. He comments, “People who come from other parts of the country or outside of the country come here and try huapilla. We feel we fit in with the emotion of the drink, the magic, the sentiment. I know examples of people who cry when they get to try huapilla after 20 years away. This experience doesn’t have a price.”
Finally, after counters that sell huapilla in cups and bags, Pulido’s branded and bottled version presents a modern take on the local beverage. Pulido explains why he got into the huapilla business 22 years ago, “We started it because we saw a need in the market where there wasn’t bottled huapilla. It is more typical to sell huapilla in cups and bags, but there wasn’t a bottle of huapilla to bring home and store so you can drink it whenever you want to refresh yourself.”
Now, 22 years later, his huapilla is in large stores and is well recongized in Tampico. “We went from small stores to larger super markets,” says Pulido, “now we are in national chains and at this level the government regulates it.”
Among the challenges of commercialization–few Mexicans outside of the Huasteca know the drink. With his brand and his social media messaging, Pulido and his team at Huapilla Tampico want to promote the coastal beverage. “It quenches thirst. It is a hangover cure.” Continues Pulido, “There are people who say its good for the health, for the kidneys, due to the kinds of acids that the drink has and there are some doctors who recommend it.”
But the drink is from Tampico. “It is very typical of this place in Tampico, Tamaulipas. We have brought this drink to other cities, but often they don’t have the taste for it or the culture of consumption.” To bolster its profile locally, nationally, and internationally, Pulido has dubbed the drink “the champagne of Mexico.”
The name is not undeserved. While it is not really an alcoholic beverage, the light fermentation gives it some of champagne’s qualities like effervescence, refreshment, and fruitiness. France may not like the use of the term, but for Tampico, huapilla is a daily fact of life and a point of great pride.
Sources Cited:
Gibson, Lorna F., et al. “Four Pame Texts.” Tlalocan, vol. 4, no. 2, 2016, pp. 125–43, https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.tlalocan.1963.316.
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