Mayor Francisco García prepared this popular liquor on Thursday in a workshop at the Museum of the Zafra. The drink will be distributed on September 7 from the Town Hall's cart during the Romería del Pino in Teror.
The Mayor of Santa Lucía de Tirajana, Francisco García, got to work on Thursday to prepare twenty litres of mejunje, the traditional liquor of the municipality. He will take it to the Romería del Pino, which is celebrated on September 7 in Teror, where he will distribute it among attendees from the Town Hall's cart.
A Workshop with Forty Neighbours
The Identity area of the council organised a workshop at the Museum of the Zafra that was attended by about forty people. There, the mayor explained step by step how this drink is made, with the help of the councillor for Identity, José Miguel Vera.
The attendees attentively followed the instructions and asked questions about the ingredients. Fifteen litres of Canarian rum were used, and after mixing, the total will amount to about twenty litres of mejunje ready to taste.
The Origin of Mejunge, According to the Mayor
During the preparation, García recounted the history of this recipe. “Mejunje is a liquor that was invented in the bar of Mariquita López in Santa Lucía town centre, what is now the Guatatiboa bar,” he explained.
“The elderly people who got up early to go to mass or to start their agricultural work would stop by the bar and ask Mariquita for a little mix, which consisted of mixing rum, honey and lemon, and that’s where the mejunje recipe came from,” detailed the mayor.
The tradition of mejunje dates back several decades, and the mayor himself has been making it for years. The recipe includes Canarian rum, local honey, sugar water for smoothness, lemon peel, and lemon verbena. After a month of maceration, the drink is ready to consume.
A Gesture that Unites Two Romerías
The Romería del Pino, celebrated in Teror every September 7, is one of the most popular in the Canary Islands. The fact that the Santa Lucía Town Hall brings its own mejunje is a gesture that unites two municipalities and highlights the popular culture of southern Gran Canaria.
Residents attending the romería will be able to taste this liquor for free. Those who cannot travel will have another opportunity at the Romería de los Labradores in Santa Lucía, which takes place every December and where mejunje is the star drink.
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