thenews.com.mx
Cactus growers in Mexico are helping to revive an ancient dying tradition, raising cochineal insects in leaves of the characteristic nopal
Cochineal insects live in the leaves of the cactus nopal, one of Mexico’s traditional products and symbols.
The humble cochineal insect once occupied a proud place in pre-Hispanic culture as a natural dye for clothes.
The red color that cochineal produces when it is crushed is characteristic of a long tradition of dye for clothes started for the ancient cultures that lived in Mexico before the Spanish conquest.
Farmers extract pigment from the cochineal and mixed it with other components to get different red tones.
Over the years, the synthetic colours the cochineal’s parasitic nature saw it lose favor with local farmers.
Amidst worldwide demand for the bug that has come from unlikely sources such as Starbucks and fashionistas, growers of the cochineal are cashing in.
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