Social “conbebencia”: Bars of Mexico City as spaces for alcoholic communion

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze cantinas as spaces for sociability and the preservation of urban memory. These spaces, in addition to the consumption of alcoholic beverages and food (snacks), build and strengthen social bonds through food and drink. This allows us to affirm that a communion is formed where commensality is expressed in terms of “conbebencia” (consumption). The latter is a linguistic expression and twist emanating from Mexico City’s popular culture regarding the libation of spirits in these places. It is concluded that these spaces for the circulation and consumption of distilled and fermented beverages, both traditional and industrialized, and the coexistence between diners, fall within the category of cultural heritage based on the diverse assessments made by the interviewees, as they are perceived as receptacles of a memory shaped by the interwoven stories of those who frequent them, as well as those who work there, which reveals changes and continuities in these sites that seek to survive the effects of gentrification and other urban transformations.