Collecting tuba is hard work for little pay. Music and literature references to tuba often evoke sadness and heartache, echoing the harsh economic realities of tuba gatherers.
While coconut wine is widely known, it’s not readily available in northern areas like the capital, Manila. Tuba represents “marginalized people yearning for a better life,” says Pacho. In the Philippines, that “tuba has continued throughout over 300 years of Spanish colonialism and 50 years of American colonialism, does say a lot,” says Sta. Thank You! We've received your email address, and soon you will start getting exclusive offers and news from Wine Enthusiast.
In the 17th century, Filipinos working on the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade began making tuba in western Mexican states Jalisco and Colima, where it remains popular today.
Tuba’s influence spread outside of the Philippines to countries like Guam and Mexico via migration. “Wine became empowering and linked to the will to fight back and preserve our rights.” Tuba gatherers work with few tools, often just a knife, bamboo container, funnel and strainer / Photo by Arturo PachoĪccording to Pacho, Philippine history is full of instances where “tuba became a symbol of resistance,” he says. The legendary sailor was killed in the ensuing battle. When the local leader, Lapu-Lapu, refused, Magellan threatened to destroy houses and coconut trees. The Spanish fleet’s leader, Ferdinand Magellan, demanded the Filipinos pledge loyalty and convert to Christianity. The hospitality of Indigenous tribes was misjudged for subservience. Spanish diaries from the 16th century describe an alcoholic beverage served as a welcome drink and sipped through a reed straw. It’s a statement of regional pride.” A symbol of kindness mistaken for weaknessĪ cultural artifact, tuba was consumed during spiritual ceremonies and shamanic rituals long before the Philippines was colonialized by Europeans. “Locals are always very proud of their tuba. “Social interaction is extremely important in the Philippines, and tuba is an important part of that. Maria, who drank quite a bit of it during research trips to rural fiestas in the 1970s and ’80s. Tuba can “keep interpersonal relationships smooth,” says food historian Felice Prudente Sta. Bottles of tuba are sold at family-run convenience stores / Photo by Arturo Pacho But many Filipinos recognize tuba’s importance, thanks to its deep-rooted history and enduring social and cultural impact. Moneyed and middle-class drinkers go for imported beer, bottled rum and whiskey, says Pacho. It overflows at annual fiesta folk celebrations, baptisms and funerals, as well as dinners in poor areas.
Made from the sap of palm inflorescence, tuba is the favorite drink of those in the Philippines’ rural south, and especially in populous Visayan Islands like Leyte. So, when he retired in 2015, he wrote a book about it, Discovering Tuba. He spent most of his adult life as an administrator for the City of Los Angeles, but he never stopped thinking about tuba. “I had to learn what was good tuba because, if there were complaints, I would have to return it,” says Pacho. Sometimes, he’d listen to guerilla vets regale their war stories, or he’d lap up fresh-caught conch in the company of his uncle’s talking green parrot. Delivering gallon-sized jugs of the potent drink, known locally as “tuba,” always came with little rewards. Growing up on the Philippine island of Leyte, Arturo Pacho loved to watch the adults drink coconut wine.
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