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  Master Distiller Jaime Villalobos “It’s another tequila sunrise, starin’ slowly ‘cross the sky ...” resonates lyrics of a song by The Eagles from Los Angeles, California – their inspiration lying 1,500 miles south in Tequila, Mexico, the warmth of which touched Kingston, Jamaica, recently with the maestro – master distiller Jaime Villalobos. “ Buenas noches señoras y señores, bienvenidos a este viaje a la tierra del Tequila (Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this journey to the land of tequila),” Villalobos began, on the cata de Tequila. His presentation was in Spanish but, for any non-speaker, it wasn’t a blanking-out moment – his explanations flowed as smoothly as the ageing process of the brew of the evening. So much for nostalgia – one would guess that, for a non-drinker, this is as romantic as any cocktail would make anyone else feel. The genesis of tequila is agave, a plant that is central to Mexican culture. “Tequila will not be there if it was not for agave,”...

An aerial view of Calakmul in Campeche, Mexico.   Courtesy Embassy of Mexico in Jamaica There is an air of intrigue, a sense of awe, the fear of the unknown and epics that attain mythical proportions – the imposing structures of the Mayan civilisation nestled in the forests of Mexico are the earliest ­habitats of human civilisation that have witnessed ­history and its tribulations and still stand tall. “There are seldom things that words cannot describe, and the Mayan relics in Mexico are among those chapters of history that have withstood the test of time and still, I am sure, have people in awe as they did thousands of years ago,” said Ernesto Malda, deputy head of mission, Embassy of Mexico in Jamaica. We are sure that the people of Mexico – proud of their culture and heritage – concur with Malda’s words. The Mayan artefacts, particularly, encased in a time warp, would leave visitors mesmerised, only that the megapixel cameras of the smart phones have become the...