We were lucky to catch up with Juan Pablo Carvajal recently and have shared our conversation below.

Juan Pablo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

At Los Magos we have always understood that in order to bring Sotol, an age old tradition that is very unkonwn outside its inner circle, to an industry that moves at a thousand miles an hour, the hospitality industry, in a meaningful way we would have to focus on the things that make this exciting. For me there is nothing more exciting about Sotol than the possibility to shape the industry as it grows and matures into what we hope will be a very prosperous and culturaly significant industry for our region and the people in it. At Los Magos we beleive that there is a chance to influence from the bottom up, from the sotol plant itself and how it is being extracted and used to the way we talk about the Sotol culture and the region where it comes from. We came to realize that this industry needed a guiding force that understood the culture and people in sotol country as well as the players on the market side that shape preferences. In order to tackle this we built a team that is diverse and multicultural, that has roots in Chihuahua but also in our main markets, namely the USA. We have a team that understands the rythm of the natural side of sotol making but also is aware of the pace of the market and its needs. We have a team that is willing and able to face the difficulties of building a brand and a category and that is resilient and hard headed enought to push though the ups and downs that any new venture will face. We build this mission by taking a good look at the state of the industry and making sure that we had the right people face the challenge that we had infront of us. We have not always won our battles and we have learned a lot from our mistakes along the way, but one thing is for sure, we are motivated by the idea that we can create an exiciting and long lasting sotol industry and we are here for it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a lawyer by trade and a big traveller that by chance ended up back in my home town without knowing what I was going to do with my life. I have always been a very social person and enjoyed nature and community very much. I share these things with my founding partner Lalo and together we decided that we wanted to explore the culture of Sotol in our home state of Chihuahua. What we found was a rich tradicition that was very unknown and local to specific areas of the Chihuahuan Desert, a culture that resonated faintly in our own more urban culture but that showed us the beauty centuries of tradition in a rural environment. We met a hand full of sotoleros and visited the mountinains, grasslands and deserts of Chihuahua and found amazing spirits that had their our distinct story. We knew that we had to be a part of this history and decided to create Los Magos as brand that represents the culture and nature of Sotol and allows for everyone to enjoy it with us. We have created a profile of Sotol that will take you on a journey of the natural landscape of the Chihuahuan Desert and the labor and love that go into making an artisanally made sotol. We create an experience that will hopefully bring people closer to the Desert and make them enjoy what we hold so dear. We want this experience to be one of adventure and wonder but also enjoyment and pleasure. We love working closely with creative minds on the production side of the industry as well as in the market side of it. We beleive that there is innovation that needs to happen in this industry that can compliment and enhance the tradition and cultural heritage that we have been given, and so we look to not only comply but create new standards that will make for a more robust and better working industry to benefit all.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I beleive that in order to succeed there has to be flexibility in the way we live our lifes. I have persued serveral interest in my life, from being a lawyer working for the Mexican senate to becoing a wood worker to running a non profit focused on professionalization of small businesses to becoming an aprentice of sotol making and help build an industry and a category of spirits. After being put off by the burocatic and shady nature of the work I was doing as a lawyer I decided that I would pursue a more hands on work as a wood worker. I left Mexico City to go live in a small village and work as an apprentice at a workshop for almost two years. When I felt I need to step out of there and learn new skills I applied for a space at a small wood working school and move back to my home town, with my parents, and waited for an admission that never came. I was left with out that opportunity but saw new opportunities open up in my home town of Chihuahua, where I had not lived for the last 10 years, that made me excited about the community and the growth that I could have here. I worked to bring a non profit organization to Chihuahua that trained people with small businesses to have the skills to turn those businesses into a more professional and profitable business for them and their families. As I inmersed myself back into the Chihuahuan culture more and more I started to enjoy many of the things I had forgoten or never experienced before and my joy for nature and culture drove me to the Sotol industry where I found a space that needed more actors to help it grow and mature. I found a space in this industry that gave me purpose and drive and that reafirmed my chihuahuan identity and made me feel like a useful part of the community. I have not looked back since.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Lalo and I go way back. Lalo, who is a few years older than me, was originally a good friend of my older brother. I’ve known him since I was maybe 9 years old and though the years we have developed a frienship that saw us play music together in two diffrent bands, hang out and explore some natural spaces around Chihuahua, share the joy for spirits, food and mexican culture and just be regular friends that see each other often. When we discussed the possibility of exploring the Sotol industry it was clear to us that we had the same interest and would enjoy sharing this and I was gifted the best business partner I have ever had. Beacuse of our upbringing, studies and general way of seeing things, Lalo and I look at this business from diffrent perspectives but share the common idea that it is best to build as a team and that our most valuble asset is working together. I am very gratefull to have a partner that will listen and criticize with out holding back but always focusing on building something better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://losmagossotol.com
• Instagram: @juantomasotol @losmagossotol
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/juan-pablo-carvajal-219686227