Tequila — The Cuervo Conspiracy

Your investigation begins in Tequila's Plaza Principal, Jalisco, the administrative and commercial heart of this municipality. Since the 19th century, this has been the convergence point for institutions and residents. Restoration and infrastructure improvement works, announced by Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro in 2026 with a 500 million peso investment, have brought shadows to light. It's here, facing the Parroquia Santiago Apóstol, that you decipher the first clues leading to the intricacies of local power. The church dedicated to Saint James the Greater is a central religious edifice of the colonial heritage in the Occidente region, representing Jalisco's ecclesiastical architecture.

The route then takes you to Casa Sauza, a historic distillery founded by the Sauza family, a competitor of Casa Cuervo since the 19th century. This site testifies to Tequila's industrial heritage and offers guided tours documenting the traditional tequila production process. Documents found here reveal suspicious transactions, bringing you closer to the corruption network linked to former mayor Diego 'N', arrested in February 2026. Nearby, La Rojeña, the oldest distillery in Latin America, founded in 1758, historically owned by Casa Cuervo, preserves its 18th-century traditional production equipment and techniques, offering a striking contrast to modern methods and insight into the origins of the Tequila Denomination of Origin.

Moving away from the center, the Cerro de Tequila stands tall, an emblematic geographical formation that gave its name to the municipality and the producing region. Accessible on foot from the Plaza Principal, it offers panoramic views of the Campos de Agave. These agricultural landscapes, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2006, cover approximately 34,300 hectares. They represent 400 years of continuous agricultural tradition, from pre-Hispanic cultivation to modern industrialization. Here you discover hidden messages in the plant arrangement, revealing smuggling routes used by criminal networks in Jalisco.

The Estación de Ferrocarril de Tequila, a historic 19th-20th century transport infrastructure, is the next landmark in your investigation. Today used for the José Cuervo Express tourist experience, it attests to the historical commercial connection between Guadalajara and the tequila-producing region. Railway archives, accessible via your phone, contain cargo manifests that could incriminate the former mayor. Finally, the Panteón Municipal de Tequila, a place of remembrance where the tombs of the founding families of the tequila industry rest, confronts you with the ghosts of the past. It is here that the last clue awaits you, engraved on a tombstone, revealing the mastermind behind the conspiracy.

Upon completing this walking tour of Tequila, Pueblo Mágico, you have not only traced the history of the Tequila Denomination of Origin and discovered the UNESCO World Heritage 2006 agave landscapes, but you have also unearthed the workings of a complex affair. From the Plaza Principal to the Zona Arqueológica Toriles (accessible via combined tours), your exploration of Occidente's monuments, the legacy of José Antonio Cuervo and the Sauza Family, has immersed you in an interactive visit to Jalisco. This augmented reality GPS treasure hunt will have allowed you to understand the economic and political stakes that have shaped this region, while offering a family visit to Tequila, revealing the secrets of its heritage.