In a half century of making mezcal, Ignacio “Don Chucho” Parada has dedicated his life to the craft of making traditional mezcal. He has risen from being a young apprentice on the palenque to a respected Don in both his local community and on the international mezcal stage. Don Ignacio Parada comes from Santa María Zoquitlán, a small town cradled by two converging river valleys and flanked with steep hillsides studded with rare agaves such as Jabalí and Tepeztate. It is within this wondrous territory of rugged ridgelines and sweeping river basins where Ignacio works with his son José, who is following in his footsteps as the next generation of a Parada family mezcalero. When the father and son duo are not working their fields, Don Chuco enjoys playing cards with his pals at the palenque on lazy Sunday afternoons.

osé Parada started making mezcal under the guidance of his father, Igancio “Don Chucho” Parada, before he was even a teenager. In the following twenty-two years, he has accrued the knowledge and experience rarely found in someone his age. At 34-years-old, José has already ascended to the level of maestro mezcalero.