Description
Book SynopsisLike coffee or tea, yerba mate is one of the world's most beloved caffeinated beverages. Once dubbed a devil's drink by Spanish missionaries in South America only to be later hailed by capitalists and politicians as green gold, it has a long and storied history. And no country consumes and celebrates yerba mate quite like Argentina. Yerba Mateis the first book to explore the extraordinary history of this iconic beverage in Argentina from the precolonial period to the present. From yerba mate's Indigenous origins to its ubiquity during the colonial era, from its association with rural people and the poor in the late nineteenth century to its resurgence in the last years of the twentieth century, Julia Sarreal meticulously documents yerba mate's consumption, production, and cultural importance over time.Yerba Mateis the definitive history of this popular beverage and social practice, and it tells a fascinating story about race, culture, and how a drink helped forge the national identit
Trade Review"Yerba Mate is the first book to chart the captivating journey of Argentina’s cherished caffeinated beverage from its indigenous roots to the modern day. Through meticulous documentation, author Julia Sarreal showcases how yerba mate has intertwined with Argentina’s cultural and racial dynamics. She sheds light on yerba mate’s transformative role in shaping the country’s national identity and its present ubiquity." * Food Tank *
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Yerba Mate would appeal to anyone interested in learning all that is needed to know about an infusion that is embedded in Argentine culture and the country’s everyday life. . . . I would recommend heating water, preparing a mate, and sipping while you enjoy the reading." * ReVista *
"As Sarreal notes, yerba mate is now increasingly consumed as a cold beverage in Europe and the United States, marketed as a pick-me-up superfood with all the false trappings of Indigenous exoticization. And thanks to Sarreal’s sweeping book, scholars of Latin America and of food and drugs now have a definitive study of yerba mate in Argentina, and a picture window on the nation’s historical longue durée."
* Hispanic American Historical Review *
Table of ContentsContents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 • From Indigenous Staple to Colonial Commodity
2 • Tool of Empire
3 • Borderland Production and the Struggle to Form an Argentine Nation
4 • Gaucho Mythology and the Drink of the New Argentines
5 • Profits and Nationalism: The Rise of Green Gold in Argentina’s Belle Epoque
6 • Yerba Regulation, Nationalism, and the Fall of Laissez-Faire Ideology
7 • Yerba Workers as a Symbol of Capitalist Exploitation
8 • Modernity, Mass Politics, and Mate’s Decline
9 • The Rebirth of Mate with Democracy, Economic Crisis, and Globalization
Afterword
Notes
Bibliography
Index
