21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
The First Distillation

Placido wheels out the agave pulp during the first Mezcal distillation in a new palenque. The love and connection to the earth in this ancestral process is beautiful. I get it now...it's more than just a drink. It's a medicine of life.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 01.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Santa Catarina Minas, Mexico
Copyright: © Ryan Kost