INNER~VIEWS : SALVADOR PERIBÁN

My name is Salvador Peribán, better known as “Chava”. I like to think that my most honest interest is to do research. I’ve worked designing and operating multi-fuel combustion systems to melt glass and fire ceramics; designed mezcal distilleries, and, just one time, spent a full year finding the right temperature curves to craft a tasty spirit; recorded many podcast episodes that cover everything that I believe is delightful; and documented the production of artisanal objects, food and spirits in Mexico. These are the activities that I remember the most, amongst a long list of odd, short-lived jobs.

I enjoy dancing to live music, buying wooden sculptures of saints probably stolen from a small church, imbibing bubbly wine, collecting early Gallimards and everything ever published by Minuit, walking, decadent breakfasts and jumping into rivers.

PHR : I always love talking with you, even if we only get together once every few years! You look at life very holistically. Everything is connected. Everything matters. What influenced this way of being - because it’s more than just a way of thinking. It really is how you live your life and consider the world.

Chava : This may be not be the best way of explaining this. But I’ve always loved the idea of mediocrity. When I was young (8 or 9) I was a tall kid amongst my Mexican peers. So, I was put in teams performing at a competitive level, even if I didn’t belong there. I immediately hated it. I couldn’t understand why people wanted to be the best swimmer or the best basketball player. I enjoyed the water and throwing hoops, but I wanted to “play”, not to excel. So, I kept that idea with me and found that playfulness is quite a wonderful ally when working in complex fields. Even if you don’t understand all the intricacies of, say, yeast strains in agave fermentation, it is nice to spend some time thinking about it and then use that information when you are evaluating a specific mezcal expression while working as a judge at a spirits’ competition or when you are designing a vessels collection for a store.

*detail of mezcal-making in San Luis Potosí using clay stills*

PHR : This connection is the ethos of your podcast. Yes, it’s about mezcal, but it gets into the web of it all; how one thing is tied to another. I especially loved the episodes on cacao and herbal infusions. How do you pick the topics you cover?

Chava : One of my favorite things to do is throw myself into the streets, all alone, walk into places and talk to people. Sometimes I have such a great time with them that I even get posted on the social media of places I’ve just found, ha. That is how I meet people and find information about all those things that haven’t been properly documented. That was my motivation behind the podcast, because a significant part of Mexican knowledge still only exists in conversations, in its original oral form.

I had never spent too much time thinking about cacao or herbal infusions, but I met people who had wonderful things to say about these areas of knowledge and I couldn’t not record them.

*randomly appearing in places’ social media, ha*

PHR : Your curiosity and enthusiasm are so inspiring. You dive into things and get your hands on them to understand it through its processes - you learned how to blow glass and make pottery with master artisans, distill mezcal, have travelled Mexico buying for beautiful shops in Mexico City & LA, you make your podcast and films - what else!? You treat life as your school. Have you always been like that? What gives you that drive?

Chava : It may have to do with my sense of humor. All these jobs I’ve had over the years felt very unlikely. I remember always thinking - it’d be super funny if I figured that out. For example, when I started fantasizing about video, I was sure that editing was the ultimate skill. I had read Tarkovsky’s book “Sculpting in Time” and I was both terrified and in awe. It took me many years and many failed experiments (including a very unorthodox acting venture); but when I edited my first video I couldn’t stop chuckling. I found immense humor in achieving what I thought was an impossible task.

PHR : Was it your curiosity that got you where you are today?

Chava : I’d say so, curiosity and a lot of coffee and fresh fruit.

PHR : If you don’t mind me asking, are you spiritual at all?

Chava : I am so boring on this front. As you may know, Mexico is a profoundly Catholic country, so my spirituality is mostly connected to that. But I should admit that there is nothing better than a two-week-long party celebrating a town’s patron saint.

*a cover of one of my podcast’s episodes showing a mythical patron saint party*

PHR : Where do you find inspiration?

Chava : I’ve been obsessed with the intricate shapes of Mexico City’s trees. They look like if a wicked bonsai artist had designed them with care. But mostly, I am library worm. Everything I care about tends to come from something I read or saw on a piece of paper.

*some Proust and other random books on my shelves*

PHR : What’s your ideal day look like - where are you going, what are you listening to or reading, what are you eating, drinking, etc.

Chava : I’ve always fantasized about the idea of a “routine” because all my days are asymmetrical. But here goes a tiny list of the things that can inform my perfect day.

Reading:

La Edad Media - Umberto Eco

Soju A Global History - Hyunhee Park

L’imaginaire - Jean-Paul Sartre

Going [in Mexico City]:

Salón Los Ángeles - for dancing

Felina - for sipping Manhattans

Siranda Librería - for buying beautiful books

Eating [in Mexico City]:

La Jarochita - for everyday-ever-changing lovely food

Izakaya Champloo - for Japanese snacks and good gossip

El Taco Ranchero - for the best anti-hangover barbacoa

Listening:

Fip - French radio station that claims to have the most eclectic music selection in the world

Vendredi Sur Mer - super sexy songs and videos

Emir Kusturica - my most-effective morning alarm

PHR: I last saw you a couple years ago. You had semi-recently bought your home and were taking your time decorating it. Does it feel complete? How have you gone about finding pieces for it?

Chava : I am so embarrassed about this, my casita is so incomplete to this day. I’ve never hosted a reunion or party. The few people that have come in tend to ask me if I really live in there or if I am just using it as a warehouse for books and alcohol. I worked with a carpenter to build my kitchen, two desks, a bed frame and some shelves. And that’s it. I’ve been on the lookout for a sofa for years now and haven’t found one yet. I struggle, ha.

PHR : What are some of your most beloved objects around your home?

Chava : A very scary-looking broken Betus clay sculpture that I found in Tonalá; a book printed in 1929, published by Flammarion, called Fummée D’Opium by Claude Farreré; a tiny collection of mezcales from Guerrero that have been matured in glass for over 10 years; a M2 Leica with a Dual Range 50 mm; my baptism crying-Jesus gold medallion; and a bunch of bizarre clay pieces.

*my baptism medallion hanging all the way down there*

PHR : Prayer to the world?

Chava : Tender love and more joy, please.

PHR : Where can people find you?

Chava : Heritage Mezcal, for the podcast; Chava Periban, for my direct IG; salvadorperiban.com for my website; and Maguey Melate for pretty mezcal.

All photos were provided by Chava.

INNER~VIEWS : SALVADOR PERIBÁN

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