Aliados/en

The Agave Heritage Festival was founded in 2008 in Tucson, Arizona as a celebration originally dedicated to mezcal and tequila. Its first event — the Agave Fiesta — was the spark that gave rise to the festival. Since then, it has evolved into a four-day commemoration that explores the cultural, ecological, and economic richness of agave in the binational Sonoran Desert region.

The choice of Tucson was no coincidence: the area has an ancient tradition of agave cultivation and usage, practices inherited from Indigenous communities such as the Hohokam, who had been domesticating various agave species since at least 950 A.D.

As the festival continues to grow, it is particularly excited to incorporate and celebrate bacanora — an iconic spirit from the state of Sonora that represents a deep connection between communities on both sides of the border. This inclusion strengthens the festival’s commitment to the diversity of agave traditions and to fostering cultural exchange between Arizona and Mexico.