In Zapotec cultures of Oaxaca , in southern Mexico, a muxhe is a person who is assigned male or female at birth, but who dresses or behaves in ways otherwise associated with the other binary gender. Whether they decide to dress as women or not and whether they decide to live their sexual lives openly is their business.
Muxhes existed well before the sexual revolution period in the 1960s and before transgender identity was a subject of public discussion. The Zapotecs’ three gender system even predates Spanish colonization.
In an article published in 1995, anthropologist Beverly Chiñas explains that in the Zapotec culture, “the idea of choosing gender or sexual orientation is as ludicrous as suggesting that one can choose one’s skin color.”
Nashielly Aquino Luis, a muxhe from Oaxaca
, had been wanting to support the LGBTTTIQ community of which they are part. Thus, they decided to create their own brand of beer to spread a message of identity and unity.
“Muxhe” takes its name from the Zapotec third gender. It is a California Common beer with a touch of basil. Nashielly first came up with the idea in 2017. However, it wasn’t until 2018 that they presented their idea at Mexico’s Expo Cerveza .
Master brewer Felipe López and Viridiana Manzano, executive manager of Teufel
, the new Oaxaca brewery, played a key role in the creation of this new copper-colored drink. Its flavor is fresh, with hints of fruit and herbs.
It has an alcohol content of 5.5% and takes 18 days to ferment . Brewers used German malts and American hops and yeasts. The recipe was created by Felipe and Nashielly, who participated throughout the process, adding the special herb that characterizes it.
However, Nashielly’s project has a social end. In the long term, they wish to build a retirement home for senior citizens with HIV. In order to do so, they have been working with the Alavez Foundation, an NGO that provides health services, helping children and adults who are in poor health conditions.
To achieve their goal, Nashelly will donate five pesos (USD$0.26) per every beer bottle they sell so that they can organize events to gather basic necessities such as food and clothes. Thanks to Nashelly’s initiative, the Teufel brewery has already helped the Libertad Elementary School in San Antonio Nduayaco and the Cruz del Sur Psychiatric Hospital, in San Bartolo Coyotepec .
The beer’s label design is also worth noting, since it shows Fabián Chairez, a plastic artist and drag , posing in a muxhe dress. It was designed by Ricardo Ángeles, from the Jacobo y María Ángeles workshop, and Omar Inzunza, also known as Gran OM.
If you want a taste of this new beer, you may find it at the In Situ mezcal bar in Oaxaca, as well as in local restaurants such as La Olla, El Tendajón, and Sirilo Ceviche & Taco, to name a few. The company is in talks to start selling in Puebla and Mexico City.
“I am part of the LGBTTTIQ community and I know that there are still many challenges to overcome. We need to educate people to be respectful and tolerant of diversity. In the region of Juchitán, for example, the community has gained social visibility and we are respected more than ever before. But there are still cases where people are attacked and even murdered and it’s all because of homophobia, which is something we should work to eradicate at its source, not just in Oaxaca, but in Mexico as a whole. We must form, educate, and create human beings that are respectful of our nature. Love is love ,” Nashielly concluded.
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