That's My Story

PHOTO 1: It all started with an idea, a lime and some good tequila!

INSPIRED BY A WOMAN!

Originally Published the Week of February 3, 2010 in Western Outdoor News

Over the past month, we’ve been travelling around the western U.S. for our annual fishing/hunting shows. First Denver, then San Mateo (near San Francisco), then Sacramento and now I’m writing this from Puyallup, Washington near Tacoma. Through it all, I think we’ve been in some of the craziest, coldest, wettest weather I’ve ever seen!

Often, we stand shivering in our booth in front of huge pictures of the fish caught in our tropical Baja waters of La Paz. Pictures of guys in shorts and t-shirts holding huge dorado. Ladies in bikinis fighting marlin and tuna. Sunshine. Sunshine. Sunshine.

And the folks we chat with, we see them bundled up in layers of flannel, down, polyfil and fleece, anxious as get-out after, in some cases almost 2 months of cold and wet, to jet as far away to sunny climes as they can.

My comment to one person, “Come to Baja because the only snow you see will be in your margarita glass!” prompted some comments about margaritas among a few Baja old-timers. One gent claimed to have been around in Tijuana where the first margarita was supposedly invented. Another said they were an American concoction from Los Angeles. The guy in the booth next to us (from Alaska) was eavesdropping and said margaritas were first stirred up in Galveston, Texas.

The lively debate about the enduringly frosty beverage, made of a combination of tequila, triple sec and fresh lime juice, has become a Mexican icon. But, no doubt in many respects, it has become synonymous with Baja, fishing, and Baja fishermen.

Here then, is what I found when I checked out Wikipedia and a few other sources:

1. In 1934 Rio Grande Valley in Mexico, a senorita named Margherite Hemery was a friend of the owner of the “Dos Republicas” Restaurant in Metamoros Barman “Willie” invented the drink for the owners.

2. In 1936, Danny and David Negrete owned a bar in the Garci Crispo Hotel, Mexico. As a wedding gift, Danny gave David a drink of equal parts lime juice, triple sec and tequila with hand-crushed ice. Rumor has it that the infamous “chicken dance” was co-incidentally also started at the wedding after the 3rd round of wedding drinks.

3. In 1938, famous Ensenada bartender Danny Herrera worked at the Riviera del Pacifico Hotel and Casino. Infatuated with American actress Marjorie King, the canintero wanted to woo her. Marjorie was strange. She enjoyed drinking, but the ONLY alcohol her body could tolerate was tequila, but she hated drinking it straight up. Danny whipped up the famous drink just for her. No word as to whether Danny eventually got lucky with Marjorie. “But it doesn’t taste like tequila, Danny!” “It’s not supposed to, senorita.” (he says with a wink and a leering smile!) “Andale! I”ll make you another!”

4. Enrique Gutierrez in the early 1940’s in the heyday of Tijuana was also another infatuated barman. Margarita Cansino was a pretty teenage dancer in Tijuana at the Foreign Club. Enrique devised the drink as homage to Margarita. Americans know Margarita well. She came to the U.S. and became actress Rita Hayworth!

5. Pancho Morales in 1942 worked at a bar called Tommy’s Place in Juarez City. A woman patron ordered a Magnolia which is a drink made with brandy, cointreau, egg yold and champagne (yuk!). In what is often customary in Mexico, rather than say he didn’t know how to make it, he came up with a fuzzy alternative that wasn’t even close! (just like my contractors who worked on my building in La Paz) The new drink was an instant hit.

6. Barman Santos Cruz in 1948 worked at the infamous Balinese Room in Galveston Texas. He created the margarita for famous singer and Peggy “Margaret” Lee. The Balinise room was quite the hot spot and famous for having great food, entertainment, music, a casino and even..air-conditioning! The Texas Rangers shut it down in 1957.

7. Margaret “Margarita” Sames was a wealthy Dallas socialite 1948. She claims to have invented the frosty citrus drink and also the first to rim the glass with salt noting that Americans liked to lick salt before shooting tequila. She had alot of time on her hands.

She was given to lavish entertaining and strove to concoct a tequila drink for her guests that was refreshing and could be downed before lunch “because you can only drink so many beers and margaritas and screwdrivers or whatever…”

Early attempts by Sames were not immediately successful. “I was pushed into the swimming pool many times because some of those drinks were so bad.”

She finally got it right. Party guests included John Wayne, Lana Turner, the Nick Hilton, Hotel Bel-Air owner Joseph Drown; Tail ‘o’ the Cock owner Shelton Henry and other world travelers who brought the drink to their own establishments.

And an immortal drink was born…somewhere…pass the chips and salsa…

Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Editor of Western Outdoor News and his column appears every other week. He can be reached in La Paz at: riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com