“I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that almost every Mexican grew up with a grandmother or mother whispering alchemical secrets over the laundry. These weren’t just household tips — they were closer to rituals, formulas worthy of a medieval guild. Scrub your clothes with jabón Zote. For whites, use the white bar; for colored fabrics, the pink one. Boil them with baking soda and vinegar. Let the pot rest under the full moon. Scrub again until your arms ache. Then hang the laundry where the sun can bless it.”
María Meléndez, Writer
It wouldn’t be a Mexican home without at least one bar of Jabón Zote, proudly made in the country for more than a century.
Today’s subject may not have been born in Mexico, but it was the country that truly made her — and she brightened it in return.
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Juan Rulfo may not have had a long career in Mexican literature, but the three novels he produced shape the country today.
