This popular drink had its origin in the village of Tequila, state of Jalisco, with deep roots in the mexican culture. The century plant,Agave, had been cultivated there since the early XVIII Century by a few persons, among them José Antonio de Cuervo who bought some land in the township around 1758, but a prohibition from King Carlos III forbade the production of 75 spirits that “brutalized the souls of the Indians” and it was not until the law was revoked by King Carlos IV that José Guadalupe Cuervo, a brother of José Antonio, was granted the first license in 1795 to produce “mezcal wine” which was sold at La Taberna del Cuervo (the crow’s tavern) where the oldest Tequila shop in Mexico began.
Years later, Doña María Magdalena de Cuervo, a daughter of José Guadalupe, married Don Vicente Albino Rojas who actively expanded the business and changed the name of Taberna del Cuervo to La Rojeña in concordance with his last name.

La Rojena became a large Hacienda, where Tequila Cuervo is still produced and its name appears on each bottle.
The Rojas family had many descendants, two of them illustrious writers from Guadalajara and, as we recall, all of them aficionados of the wonderful distillation called Tequila.

One of them came to Cozumel some 50 years ago and gratefully welcomes your visit to Pancho’s Backyard, along with his American wife Sharon, who is a passionate collector of Mexican crafts and creator of Los Cinco Soles. Francisco Javier Morales y Rojas.