When Fabiola Santiago was born, Oaxaca’s mezcal industry was in trouble. But the mezcal industry that had grown up over the previous decades was nothing like what she knew. “I realized that there was a lot of exploitation and theft,” says Santiago, who now operates the local nonprofit organization Mi Oaxaca . Working with mezcal at a Mi Oaxaca event (Courtesy of Mi Oaxaca)“That’s when the idea of the nonprofit was born,” says Santiago. Just saying this is a Zapotec food, this is a way we reclaim our heritage,” she explains.