San Antonio performance artist Wayne Holtz has written a love ballad titled La Botanica Love. The melody and chorus are so catchy that even after one listen you will be repeating the words and singing along. Check it out on Youtube. La Botanica Love begins at minute 7:40.
https://youtu.be/FM8QQ49gMD8
At the beginning of La Botanica, we told ourselves, “If La B can make it to five years, I know we’ll be okay.” And in a bittersweet twist of fate, we find ourselves here at five years and 3 months with all the blood, sweat, tears, and joy poured into creating an inclusive safer space in SATX. We have reached the end of our building lease and have been denied a new contract. This means that La Botanica’s doors will permanently close at the N. St. Mary’s location on October 20, 2020.
As if this year hasn’t given us all enough loss and grief, here we are delivering news that will likely shock and sadden our community.
We are not alone. Hundreds of small business owners and even higher percentages of BIPOC, womxn and queer business have been heavily impacted most recently by the global pandemic. It would be easy to say that it was all due to Covid-19, but the reality is, it’s the lack of access, resources, and equity that have led us and many others down this path. The odds have always been stacked against entrepreneurs like us, and they always will be until there is true equity.
We created La B to build community, foster creativity, and challenge the status quo. We are constantly hearing stories of how La Botanica has helped weave friendships, love, families, art, activism, and countless other bridges in communities both locally and beyond these city limits. From the beginning of this venture, we have fought every single step of the way to reclaim and demand space as a queer Latinx/Tejanx womxn and we are proud that La Botanica will go down in San Anto and Tejanx history for the impact it has made.
Some of you might be reading this with a heavy heart, and we see you. As we’ve had to break the news to our team, we have all grieved this loss and will continue to mourn. However, we want to remind every single person who has ever passed through La B, that the essence and spirit of what we created there every day & night was not because of a physical building; WE were the magic. We, the people, and community gave this building life night after night. And so, we are now pushed forward into a new and unfamiliar future. Remember that La Botanica doesn’t die when the doors close, we carry that in our hearts and mind every single day. So we challenge you: create micro La Botanica spaces for the people in your life who need community the most. Receive all people with empathy and compassion. Advocate and defend those who are marginalized and underserved. Reclaim space and shine unapologetically so that others may see your light and be inspired to do the same. And most importantly, do it all with love and understanding that we are all just humans on this earth in search of our own joy. That’s how you keep La Botanica alive.
Many of you will have questions about what’s next. And to be honest, we are not quite sure yet. What we do know is we are keeping strong faith in the journey the ancestors are guiding us on and that every time we touch the ground, we are reminded by mother earth that we exist. We don’t want to close off the possibility of La B 2.0 reopening in the future so we will keep our eyes and hearts open.
Please email us your stories, pics & videos to labotanciasa@gmail.com, visit with us while you still can, and buy merch!
Con mucho mucho amor,
Rebel & Andrea
Featured image by Mari Hernandez
When it comes to summertime fruit, let’s agree that pineapple is king. Sweet, juicy and tropical, it’s perfect for all kinds of sun-drenched snacking — whether in a smoothie, a fruit salad, a cocktail or … fermented?
Yep, you read that right. Fermented. In which case, it would be tepache, a mildly alcoholic beverage made from the peel and the rind of pineapples and sweetened either with piloncillo — a dark, unrefined sugar widely used in Mexico — or brown sugar.
Traditionally seasoned with powdered cinnamon and served cold, tepache is allowed to mellow and ferment in a dark, cool place for several days. The result is a slightly carbonated drink with a tiny bit of alcohol, awesome diuretic and probiotic properties and plenty of vitamin C and antioxidants.
Tepache recently appeared on our radar when we asked chef Rebel Mariposa, owner of vegan haven La Botanica on the St. Mary’s strip, what she and her partner had been sipping while quarantined. She told us she’d been taking advantage of local, seasonal produce.
“[My girlfriend Amanda and I] had a lot of produce the other day, so I made us some apple and carrot juice,” Mariposa said. “I made tepache and we set up date nights and sip on shots of mezcal or tequila with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.”
While cool tepache served straight up is one of Mexico’s most loved street drinks, the drink’s bright and tropical earthiness tastes just as amazing when mixed with similarly earthy spirits such as mezcal or gin.
Mariposa shared her tepache recipe, which made its menu debut circa 2015 in a cocktail called La Morena. Made with St. Germain elderflower liqueur, Hendrick’s Gin, citrus, tepache and basil leaves, La Morena is a refreshing and subtly sweet way to use tepache as a summertime libation.
When strained and stored in a sealed container, this tepache can be kept refrigerated for up to two weeks. Just remember to shake well before serving. Mariposa recommends drinking a small glass every day for optimal probiotic action.
Ingredients:
Skin from one pineapple
3-5 cloves
1 cone of piloncillo
1 cup of cinnamon sticks
1 orange (optional)
Preparation:
Add all the ingredients to a glass jar and fill to the rim with water.
Cover the jar with breathable cloth and let it sit for three days in a dark corner of your kitchen.
After three days, skim any foam off the top, strain and drink. Provecho!
We will be opening our doors for take out & patio seating every Saturday and Sunday 4-8 pm. Please read the guidelines below as we will be strictly enforcing these measures to be in compliance and provide a safe environment for both our staff and guests.
Lastly, we know the chances of you seeing a comadre, buddy, fellow activist, etc. when at La B are likely and the desire to catch up will be high. We ask that folks respect each other’s space and level of comfort. Ask for consent and keep a safe distance.
We will also continue to offer to-go orders for curbside pickup here or Uber Eats delivery here.
Since COVID-19 made its way to Texas and governments enacted stay at home orders and special laws for business, we haven’t closed our doors. We took special care and extra precautions to keep our staff and customers safe.
On Monday, April 27, 2020, Governor Abbott decided to initiate the reopening of Texas starting May 1st. We don’t agree with this decision and believe he is actually unconcerned with the health and well being of the majority of the citizens and folks who currently reside in Texas.
We understand the current political climate, and given the direct ties between Governor Abbott and Donald Trump, we cannot trust the governor’s judgment at this time. Because of this, we have come to the difficult decision to halt our service temporarily. We feel that at this time, we should take a two-week break to allow our staff to rest and do our part to help lessen the curve. Our team will continue to be paid throughout this time.
The last month and a half has felt like a full sprint from the moment our community went into lockdown. We adapted to the fast-changing laws that would change almost daily and prepared our small staff to continue working as safely as possible under these new circumstances. However, the decision to step back is based on an ethical dilemma: Do we continue to comply and open at 25% and potentially expose our staff to a higher risk of exposure? What if one of our customers contracts COVID-19? Do we continue to use products that medical facilities are more in need of than us? Are we willing to be the guinea pigs for corporate America?
Our mission has always been to provide nutritious, sustainable food, and hold an inclusive, safe space for our community. However, in these decisive times, we are simply not willing to pick money over lives. We hope our community understands our decision and we encourage you to continue supporting La B during our hiatus.
You can continue to support us through making donations at our Cash App or Paypal. You can also purchase a virtual gift card.
We hope that y’all remain safe and vigilant out there, and we will see y’all soon again.
Sana Sana Vibes,
-Rebel and the La Botanica Team
“I cook because of memories and connectivity with people. I love to eat as well as to feed other people. To me, gathering around the table is a magical experience.
The ingredient I can’t get enough of is sea salt.
The most underappreciated vegetable is hearts of palm.
My favorite dish on my menu right now is……read article here
Photo by Arlene Mejorado
