From the Editor
Rum, Romance and Rebellion
Luis Ayala
If the current political climate in the USA is making you feel like the world is coming to an end, don’t despair: many people in the past have had the same feeling and we’re still here! :-)
The American presidential election of 1884 was every bit as dirty, heated and violent as what we witnessed in recent months. Author Mark Wahlgreen Summers documents his research into these events in his book titled “Rum, Romanism and Rebellion: The Making of a President, 1884.” The title of the book reminded me of a much older book by author Charles William Taussig. I am, of course, referring to “Rum, Romance and Rebellion,” a book published in 1928 that addressed different social injustices and problems.
Both books discuss economic and political powers that were trying to impose their interests and influence their respective societies. The common thread in both cases is -surprisingly- rum: the drink that represents agriculture, commodities, world economies and people’s devotion to alcoholic beverages also represents oppression, slavery and depravity.
Regardless of your current political or religious views on the world, the fact that you are now reading these words means that we too have rum in common. And, want it or not, we may be living in the pages of a future book that someone will write about events affecting our current lives.
Rum has been around us for hundreds of years, giving us the courage to explore, consoling us as we wept, helping us forget our corporal pain as we suffered and amplifying our celebratory cheers on special occasions.This month, more than ever, I invite you to use rum as an excuse to celebrate the simple joys in life with those near you.
Cheers,
Luis Ayala
Editor and Publisher