TALKING TUBA

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By: Arlene Pervin
Most people when they hear the word tuba, think of a huge brass instrument, but I associate the word to a tropical drink and the signature sight of the tuba vendors that roam the broad boardwalk or malecon of Puerto Vallarta.
The tuba vendor slings his wares, hung from a three- foot pole that balances across his shoulders. The large, round, golden- brown gourd hangs from one side, while suspended from the other side is a multi-coloured nylon mesh bag filled with plastic cups and a plastic baggie filled with chopped pecans and cubes of fresh apple.
He walks the malecon, the words "tuba, la tuba", tumbling out. I watch him pour the liquid expertly, from the gourd that holds the brew and not a drop is spilled. Then, he adds a few sprinkles of pecan and a few cubes of fresh apple to the cup and hands it to the waiting customer.
Tuba, as it is called in Spanish, is a drink that is made from the sap of the coconut palm. In Mexico, tuba is mostly linked to the area around Colima, south of Puerto Vallarta. Men, called tuberos, climb the coconut palms to collect the sap twice a day. A combination of the harvested sap, coconut milk, ice, and sugar make up the drink.
A few years ago, I had gone to Los Arcos, the amphitheatre in the centre of old Vallarta, to watch some entertainment, the dance troupe of folkloric dancers who performed every Friday night. I had noticed a man slinging a double gourd, fitted with an improvised piece of plastic pipe that acted as a spout. It was obvious that Mexican ingenuity had devised a specific use of this gourd-like vessel. The man walked the rows of the amphitheatre calling out "tubaaa, la tubaaa", and poured the liquid into the plastic cups and passed it to the waiting customer.

One afternoon I was toting groceries from the neighbourhood supermarket, walking side by side with a man slinging his gourd and wares. I smiled at the man, and said something like "muy pesado", "very heavy", in acknowledgment of his load.
He turned and said, "quince anos," as he pointed to himself. Fifteen years. I wondered whether his father before him was a tuba seller.
While tuba selling may go back generations, the drink was not native to Mexico. In the 16th century, Spanish galleons that carried spices silk and other trade goods also carried this species of palm from which tuba is made.
Filippino sailors not only brought the coconut palm with them, but their knowledge and know-how of making tuba, a popular drink in their native land. The seeds of cultural crossover between Mexico and the Philippines stem from this time and the area around Colima proved a prime growing area.
Tuba is known in many other parts of the world, including India, Africa and Southeast Asia. It has many different names. In Nigeria it is called emu, in southern India, kallu, in Sumatra, tuak, and the Philippines and Borneo, share its Spanish name, tuba. In its alcoholic form, for which it is mostly known in other parts of the world, it is called palm wine, or toddy. Tuba, in Mexico, is usually consumed as a non-alcoholic drink.

It was a hot and sunny afternoon, when I decided to try my first taste of tuba.
It is a bit hard to describe the flavour. The taste is a bit like a young fruity wine with a refreshing, acidic, fresh flavour. It is easy to imagine the fermented form, as palm wine.

As I savoured the drink, I imagine a Tuba tasting event, with wine glasses lined up, and tasters rating each glass for flavour, clarity, sweetness, and bouquet.
Jose Luis, a tuba vendor, told me that every vendor makes his own mix. I've never seen a recipe, nor been told the amount or proportions of each of the ingredients. But like all things passed down generation to generation, it is not the recipe, it is a way of life.

The tuba sellers calls of "tubaaa, la tubaaa," have a higher pitched tone than the orchestral instrument, but it is their melodic announcement of a drink that is unique as its name. It is just one of the sights, sounds and taste that is part of the street music of Puerto Vallarta.