Saturday, June 11, 2016

Cachaça, not 'la cucaracha'!

Cachaça, not 'la cucaracha'! What? They don't even sound alike. [In case you don't know, cachaça is pronounced kah-SHAH-sah.] Is there another connection that perhaps could cause confusion? Let's see by first taking a peek at what's happenin' on this next celebration that is international!

June 12 is...

International Cachaça Day

http://www.quericavida.com/en/letscelebrate/lets-celebrate-international-cachaca-day/#

Cachaça was originally known as aguardiente de caña or sugarcane firewater, and was given to slaves with their first meal of the day to help them endure the hard work in the sugarcane fields. Today, cachaça is known as Brazil’s national spirit and has conquered the rest of the planet thanks to the caipirinha, a zesty and refreshing cocktail. [Source: Let's Celebrate International Cachaça Day]

So grab a bottle of Brazil's specialty white-distilled spirits, some limes and sugar and have a Caipirinha kind of day (after work of course). This celebration falls on this particular day because of the 1744 ban by Portugal that prohibited the production and distribution of cachaça.

You may not be familiar with cachaça unless you are a connoisseur of rum. Even with that connection, its presence may be somewhat foggy. Cachaça is actually not rum. It is the third most distilled spirit in the world, as already mentioned - the national spirit of Brazil and now one of the fastest growing spirits categories in the United States.

So, why the reference to rum?

Cachaça is alcohol that’s distilled from raw sugar cane juice, whereas rum is distilled from sugar cane by-products like molasses. In that sense, even though the U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau recently recognized cachaça as a type of rum, it’s a distinctive spirit of its own. [Source: International Cachaça Day]

Cabana Cachaça is a brand of Brazilian-made cachaça relatively new to the United States having been launched in 2006 by entrepreneur Matti Anttila.

What's the connection with 'La Cucaracha'?

For some reason, when I saw the word cachaça, the tune of 'La Cucaracha' immediately came to mind. Of course, 'La Cucaracha' is Spanish whereas cachaça is Portuguese. It's not so much the words but the tune. The first line La cu-ca- | ra-cha, la cu-ca-ra-cha is a peppy little tune that became popular during the Mexican Revolution, which means it has been around for a long, long time.

Are you familiar with the tune? More importantly, do you know the words or what the song is actually about? That is the connection with cachaça! The song's earliest lyrics, from which its name is derived, concern a cockroach that has lost one of its six legs and is struggling to walk with the remaining five.

Enjoy the day! Salud! Remember to drink responsibly! You don't want to stand up feeling like you are about to walk only on one leg! Good luck on getting the tune out of your head after a couple of caipirinhas or batidas!