UNM professor to present new book at inaugural Indigenous Foodways Festival in Santa Fe

Professor Ronda Brulotte, Ph.D., in the Department of Geography & Environmental Sciences at The University of New Mexico, will present and sign her new book, Mezcal in Oaxaca: A Craft Spirit for the Global Marketplace, during the inaugural Indigenous Foodways Festival on June 20 at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe.

The Indigenous Foodways Festival celebrates the culinary traditions, ancestral knowledge and living food cultures of Indigenous communities across the Southwest through storytelling, demonstrations, art, shared meals and educational experiences. According to festival organizers, the event aims to create "a space where tradition and innovation come together to showcase how Indigenous foodways sustain culture, identity, land stewardship, and future generations."

Brulotte's book signing will take place from noon to 1 p.m. inside the museum.

Later in the afternoon, from 1:45 to 2:30 p.m., Brulotte will participate in "Mezcal Matters: Indigenous Knowledge, Global Markets, and a Tasting with Tosba Mezcal," a conversation exploring the cultural, social, and economic forces shaping mezcal production today. The discussion will feature Brulotte alongside mezcal producer Elisandro Gonzalez Molina of Tosba Mezcal and will be moderated by Giovanni Martinez of Copper Lounge and Los Conejos in Albuquerque. The session will include a tasting of spirits from Tosba's portfolio and will be held in the Meem Auditorium. A $30 fee is required to attend.

"I am excited to participate in this event that showcases Indigenous food traditions from both the U.S. and Mexico," Brulotte said. "I am especially thrilled that one of the Oaxacan mezcal producers featured in my book, Elisandro Gonzalez Molina from Tosba Mezcal, will be joining me for the presentation."

Brulotte is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work focuses on craft economies, cultural heritage, and food cultures in Mexico. She serves as Associate Director of the International Studies Institute at UNM and has a background in sociocultural anthropology and Latin American studies.

Her newest book examines mezcal's rapid rise within global artisanal markets and the impacts that growth has had on Indigenous communities and rural economies in Oaxaca. Published by the University of Texas Press in 2025, the book explores the intersection of cultural heritage, globalization and sustainability within the mezcal industry.

Brulotte is also the author of Between Art and Artifact: Archaeological Replicas & Cultural Production in Oaxaca, Mexico and co-editor of Edible Identities: Food as Cultural Heritage.

More information about the Indigenous Foodways Festival is available here.

Additional information about Brulotte's book can be found here.

UNM previously highlighted the release of Mezcal in Oaxaca.