At dawn, the tuberos are already at work.
These brave men who nimbly clamber up the narrow trunks of Colima City's famed palm trees are living tributes of the city's many cultural traditions.
Visitors to the Mexican Pacific who seek more than surf, sand and sun di
scover a region rich in history and art that seems frozen in time.
Colima is famed all over Mexico for its food and drink. To keep a juicy tradition flowing, tuberos will climb to the highest point of the trees to tap into the sweet nectar of the palm flower, from which they concoct tuba.
This local drink is actually a traditional beverage that originated in the Philippines and arrived in Mexico (along with the coconut trees that line the highway to Colima) with the Manilla Galleon in the 16th century.
By this time, the Philippines had also been conquered by the Spanish and workers who arrived to cultivate sugar cane and rice in Colima's fertile volcanic region exchanged customs with Mexican locals. The sweet coconut wine is also known as tuba in the Philippines.
This drink is sold along the streets and in markets of Colima state and Manzanillo by men clad in white linen clothes calling out the trademark, "tuuuuuuba!" and swinging huge wooden jugs tied to poles which are carried slung across their shoulders. For just pesos a glass, they will prepare you a fresh cup of tuba, often served with beet juice, tiny bits of tropical fruit and crushed peanuts.
Tuba is collected in the early morning from all palm trees in the state that are not used for coconut production and maintains its color and distinctive taste for two hours after being collected. Just five hours later, it begins to ferment.
If left still for eight days, it transforms into excellent vinegar for cooking and for pickling vegetables that appear in famous bread soup served at weddings and baptisms.
