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Ave María purísima — Oliver, Mamá, Papá, Abuel@s! … miren, salí en @forbes 🤍🫣🙏🏽❤️‍🔥

Grateful for this moment, and even more for the storyteller behind it. Honored to be included talking about cocktail trends for 2026, but today I want to spotlight Carley Rojas Ávila — a writer who tells our stories with so much cuidado, cultura, y corazón, always lifting Latino voices with intention and respect.

Thank you, @carleyrojasavila , for the way you hold these narratives.

Read the full piece — link in bio. 💃🏽 🔗
📸 @albertoy8

I stood on that stage with a lump in my throat and a whole island in my chest. 🏆🇵🇷

When they called my name for Best U.S. Brand Ambassador, it wasn’t just me walking up there. It was Puerto Rico. It was every Boricua who’s ever had to remind the world that we are not just a “territory.” We are a people. We are a nation carried in songs, in hands that build, in hearts that refuse to forget where they come from.

This is for the immigrant community too—for every soul who left home carrying their culture in their bones. Our stories are braided together in sacrifice and survival, in the way we build new worlds without ever letting go of our roots. Your struggle, your courage, your triumphs live inside this moment.

To my @mijentatequila family, thank you for trusting me to pour every ounce of corazón and comunidad into this work. What we are building isn’t just brand—it’s legacy.

And to my son, Oliver—you are my why. I hope one day you see this and know that your story is bigger than borders, bigger than awards. That being Boricua is power. That our people, our cultura, our fight, will always matter.

A big thank you to @elieraubret for making my dream dress a reality (in less than a week), it was an honor to carry our flag and wear something made por manos Puertorriqueñas.

Por mi isla. Por mi gente. Por los que sueñan con las manos y levantan el mundo con el corazón. ✨

¡Por mi Patria, PUÑETA! ❤️‍🔥🇵🇷🙏🏽

Words can’t describe how grateful I am to designer @elieraubret for giving this vision legs.

You are a master of your craft, y un orgullo Puertorriqueño.

Gracias por ayudarme a cargar nuestra bandera.

❤️‍🔥🙏🏽🇵🇷
📸 @marchetto_todoerti

¡Por mi Patria, PUÑETA! ❤️‍🔥🇵🇷🙏🏽

Words can’t describe how grateful I am to designer @elieraubret for giving this vision legs.

You are a master of your craft, y un orgullo Puertorriqueño.

Gracias por ayudarme a cargar nuestra bandera.

❤️‍🔥🙏🏽🇵🇷
📸 @marchetto_todoerti

¡Por mi Patria, PUÑETA! ❤️‍🔥🇵🇷🙏🏽

Words can’t describe how grateful I am to designer @elieraubret for giving this vision legs.

You are a master of your craft, y un orgullo Puertorriqueño.

Gracias por ayudarme a cargar nuestra bandera.

❤️‍🔥🙏🏽🇵🇷
📸 @marchetto_todoerti

¡Por mi Patria, PUÑETA! ❤️‍🔥🇵🇷🙏🏽

Words can’t describe how grateful I am to designer @elieraubret for giving this vision legs.

You are a master of your craft, y un orgullo Puertorriqueño.

Gracias por ayudarme a cargar nuestra bandera.

❤️‍🔥🙏🏽🇵🇷
📸 @marchetto_todoerti

¡Por mi Patria, PUÑETA! ❤️‍🔥🇵🇷🙏🏽

Words can’t describe how grateful I am to designer @elieraubret for giving this vision legs.

You are a master of your craft, y un orgullo Puertorriqueño.

Gracias por ayudarme a cargar nuestra bandera.

❤️‍🔥🙏🏽🇵🇷
📸 @marchetto_todoerti

Somewhere between the seminars, spreadsheets, late night calls, rewrites, and the endless moving parts… there’s a group of people quietly helping shape what education and community can look like for this industry.

Truly honored to be part of the Education Co-Chair Committeefor @tales_of_the_cocktailalongside the incredible @nanacoppertone , while also getting to witness the work being done across the business, sustainability, DEI, mentorship, and programming committees by so many brilliant humans who care deeply about hospitality and the people within it.

A huge shout out to everyone involved behind the scenes. The people reviewing proposals after long work days, advocating for new voices, building frameworks, asking hard questions, coordinating logistics, and trying to create spaces where people can genuinely learn, connect, and grow.

Special love to @lothomzfor the patience, @charlottehdovoiseyfor the guidance, and to every single person in all tracks doing the invisible work most people will never fully see. It takes a village to build these experiences for our industry.

This world is held together by people who continue to show up for community, even when nobody sees the hours behind it. Grateful to witness that up close.

(And I’m so sorry all the pictures don’t fit in this carousel 😭🤍)

Desde Carolina, 🇵🇷

Somewhere between the seminars, spreadsheets, late night calls, rewrites, and the endless moving parts… there’s a group of people quietly helping shape what education and community can look like for this industry.

Truly honored to be part of the Education Co-Chair Committeefor @tales_of_the_cocktailalongside the incredible @nanacoppertone , while also getting to witness the work being done across the business, sustainability, DEI, mentorship, and programming committees by so many brilliant humans who care deeply about hospitality and the people within it.

A huge shout out to everyone involved behind the scenes. The people reviewing proposals after long work days, advocating for new voices, building frameworks, asking hard questions, coordinating logistics, and trying to create spaces where people can genuinely learn, connect, and grow.

Special love to @lothomzfor the patience, @charlottehdovoiseyfor the guidance, and to every single person in all tracks doing the invisible work most people will never fully see. It takes a village to build these experiences for our industry.

This world is held together by people who continue to show up for community, even when nobody sees the hours behind it. Grateful to witness that up close.

(And I’m so sorry all the pictures don’t fit in this carousel 😭🤍)

Desde Carolina, 🇵🇷

Somewhere between the seminars, spreadsheets, late night calls, rewrites, and the endless moving parts… there’s a group of people quietly helping shape what education and community can look like for this industry.

Truly honored to be part of the Education Co-Chair Committeefor @tales_of_the_cocktailalongside the incredible @nanacoppertone , while also getting to witness the work being done across the business, sustainability, DEI, mentorship, and programming committees by so many brilliant humans who care deeply about hospitality and the people within it.

A huge shout out to everyone involved behind the scenes. The people reviewing proposals after long work days, advocating for new voices, building frameworks, asking hard questions, coordinating logistics, and trying to create spaces where people can genuinely learn, connect, and grow.

Special love to @lothomzfor the patience, @charlottehdovoiseyfor the guidance, and to every single person in all tracks doing the invisible work most people will never fully see. It takes a village to build these experiences for our industry.

This world is held together by people who continue to show up for community, even when nobody sees the hours behind it. Grateful to witness that up close.

(And I’m so sorry all the pictures don’t fit in this carousel 😭🤍)

Desde Carolina, 🇵🇷

Somewhere between the seminars, spreadsheets, late night calls, rewrites, and the endless moving parts… there’s a group of people quietly helping shape what education and community can look like for this industry.

Truly honored to be part of the Education Co-Chair Committeefor @tales_of_the_cocktailalongside the incredible @nanacoppertone , while also getting to witness the work being done across the business, sustainability, DEI, mentorship, and programming committees by so many brilliant humans who care deeply about hospitality and the people within it.

A huge shout out to everyone involved behind the scenes. The people reviewing proposals after long work days, advocating for new voices, building frameworks, asking hard questions, coordinating logistics, and trying to create spaces where people can genuinely learn, connect, and grow.

Special love to @lothomzfor the patience, @charlottehdovoiseyfor the guidance, and to every single person in all tracks doing the invisible work most people will never fully see. It takes a village to build these experiences for our industry.

This world is held together by people who continue to show up for community, even when nobody sees the hours behind it. Grateful to witness that up close.

(And I’m so sorry all the pictures don’t fit in this carousel 😭🤍)

Desde Carolina, 🇵🇷

Somewhere between the seminars, spreadsheets, late night calls, rewrites, and the endless moving parts… there’s a group of people quietly helping shape what education and community can look like for this industry.

Truly honored to be part of the Education Co-Chair Committeefor @tales_of_the_cocktailalongside the incredible @nanacoppertone , while also getting to witness the work being done across the business, sustainability, DEI, mentorship, and programming committees by so many brilliant humans who care deeply about hospitality and the people within it.

A huge shout out to everyone involved behind the scenes. The people reviewing proposals after long work days, advocating for new voices, building frameworks, asking hard questions, coordinating logistics, and trying to create spaces where people can genuinely learn, connect, and grow.

Special love to @lothomzfor the patience, @charlottehdovoiseyfor the guidance, and to every single person in all tracks doing the invisible work most people will never fully see. It takes a village to build these experiences for our industry.

This world is held together by people who continue to show up for community, even when nobody sees the hours behind it. Grateful to witness that up close.

(And I’m so sorry all the pictures don’t fit in this carousel 😭🤍)

Desde Carolina, 🇵🇷

Somewhere between the seminars, spreadsheets, late night calls, rewrites, and the endless moving parts… there’s a group of people quietly helping shape what education and community can look like for this industry.

Truly honored to be part of the Education Co-Chair Committeefor @tales_of_the_cocktailalongside the incredible @nanacoppertone , while also getting to witness the work being done across the business, sustainability, DEI, mentorship, and programming committees by so many brilliant humans who care deeply about hospitality and the people within it.

A huge shout out to everyone involved behind the scenes. The people reviewing proposals after long work days, advocating for new voices, building frameworks, asking hard questions, coordinating logistics, and trying to create spaces where people can genuinely learn, connect, and grow.

Special love to @lothomzfor the patience, @charlottehdovoiseyfor the guidance, and to every single person in all tracks doing the invisible work most people will never fully see. It takes a village to build these experiences for our industry.

This world is held together by people who continue to show up for community, even when nobody sees the hours behind it. Grateful to witness that up close.

(And I’m so sorry all the pictures don’t fit in this carousel 😭🤍)

Desde Carolina, 🇵🇷

Somewhere between the seminars, spreadsheets, late night calls, rewrites, and the endless moving parts… there’s a group of people quietly helping shape what education and community can look like for this industry.

Truly honored to be part of the Education Co-Chair Committeefor @tales_of_the_cocktailalongside the incredible @nanacoppertone , while also getting to witness the work being done across the business, sustainability, DEI, mentorship, and programming committees by so many brilliant humans who care deeply about hospitality and the people within it.

A huge shout out to everyone involved behind the scenes. The people reviewing proposals after long work days, advocating for new voices, building frameworks, asking hard questions, coordinating logistics, and trying to create spaces where people can genuinely learn, connect, and grow.

Special love to @lothomzfor the patience, @charlottehdovoiseyfor the guidance, and to every single person in all tracks doing the invisible work most people will never fully see. It takes a village to build these experiences for our industry.

This world is held together by people who continue to show up for community, even when nobody sees the hours behind it. Grateful to witness that up close.

(And I’m so sorry all the pictures don’t fit in this carousel 😭🤍)

Desde Carolina, 🇵🇷

Somewhere between the seminars, spreadsheets, late night calls, rewrites, and the endless moving parts… there’s a group of people quietly helping shape what education and community can look like for this industry.

Truly honored to be part of the Education Co-Chair Committeefor @tales_of_the_cocktailalongside the incredible @nanacoppertone , while also getting to witness the work being done across the business, sustainability, DEI, mentorship, and programming committees by so many brilliant humans who care deeply about hospitality and the people within it.

A huge shout out to everyone involved behind the scenes. The people reviewing proposals after long work days, advocating for new voices, building frameworks, asking hard questions, coordinating logistics, and trying to create spaces where people can genuinely learn, connect, and grow.

Special love to @lothomzfor the patience, @charlottehdovoiseyfor the guidance, and to every single person in all tracks doing the invisible work most people will never fully see. It takes a village to build these experiences for our industry.

This world is held together by people who continue to show up for community, even when nobody sees the hours behind it. Grateful to witness that up close.

(And I’m so sorry all the pictures don’t fit in this carousel 😭🤍)

Desde Carolina, 🇵🇷

Might be heading back for 45 hours… 🐰

Beyond the stage…

The people. The teams. The community.

That’s what builds this.
That’s what keeps it going.

Nobody tells you the life you worked for doesn’t arrive the way you pictured it.

It shows up sideways. A little heavier. A little louder.
And somehow, at the same time, exactly what you asked for.

You spend so much time becoming the person who can carry it
that you forget there’s still a version of you that needs a minute.

Not a vacation. Not a reset.
Just a pocket of quiet.

A book in a city that isn’t yours.
A cold drink sweating on the table.
No one calling your name. No one needing anything.
Just you, remembering you exist outside of what you do for everyone else.

Most people won’t admit how rare that feels.
The ones who are actually living it know.
Not performing it. Not packaging it.
Just catching their breath in the middle of a life they built.

I’m grateful for all of it. Even the weight of it.
Especially the weight of it.

But this… this small, quiet moment
this was mine.

Find yours.

📸 @saltafuri

Nobody warned me about the fish.

Pescado a la talla.
Split down the middle.
Red adobo on one side. Green herbs on the other.
Dropped on a wooden board the size of a small table like, claro, it belonged there.

We gave the forks a respectful 30 seconds.
Después… manos. No questions.

Aquí no hay performance.
No garnish for approval. No explanation.

Just food with clarity. Confidence.
The kind that quietly ruins you for everywhere else.

• Un carrito on the corner—four types of charred corn, cero English.

• A taco that cost less than a cortado in Miami and tasted like an argument I’ll never win.

• Down the block, a kitchen doing something restrained, casi European, with the same ingredients everyone else had. Equally mind blown.

No noise. Just intention.

Every meal this week felt like access.

Like the city opening a door without asking if you deserved to walk through it.

No hice muchas preguntas.
Just kept eating. 🤷🏽‍♀️❤️‍🔥🙆🏽‍♀️

Nobody warned me about the fish.

Pescado a la talla.
Split down the middle.
Red adobo on one side. Green herbs on the other.
Dropped on a wooden board the size of a small table like, claro, it belonged there.

We gave the forks a respectful 30 seconds.
Después… manos. No questions.

Aquí no hay performance.
No garnish for approval. No explanation.

Just food with clarity. Confidence.
The kind that quietly ruins you for everywhere else.

• Un carrito on the corner—four types of charred corn, cero English.

• A taco that cost less than a cortado in Miami and tasted like an argument I’ll never win.

• Down the block, a kitchen doing something restrained, casi European, with the same ingredients everyone else had. Equally mind blown.

No noise. Just intention.

Every meal this week felt like access.

Like the city opening a door without asking if you deserved to walk through it.

No hice muchas preguntas.
Just kept eating. 🤷🏽‍♀️❤️‍🔥🙆🏽‍♀️

Nobody warned me about the fish.

Pescado a la talla.
Split down the middle.
Red adobo on one side. Green herbs on the other.
Dropped on a wooden board the size of a small table like, claro, it belonged there.

We gave the forks a respectful 30 seconds.
Después… manos. No questions.

Aquí no hay performance.
No garnish for approval. No explanation.

Just food with clarity. Confidence.
The kind that quietly ruins you for everywhere else.

• Un carrito on the corner—four types of charred corn, cero English.

• A taco that cost less than a cortado in Miami and tasted like an argument I’ll never win.

• Down the block, a kitchen doing something restrained, casi European, with the same ingredients everyone else had. Equally mind blown.

No noise. Just intention.

Every meal this week felt like access.

Like the city opening a door without asking if you deserved to walk through it.

No hice muchas preguntas.
Just kept eating. 🤷🏽‍♀️❤️‍🔥🙆🏽‍♀️

Nobody warned me about the fish.

Pescado a la talla.
Split down the middle.
Red adobo on one side. Green herbs on the other.
Dropped on a wooden board the size of a small table like, claro, it belonged there.

We gave the forks a respectful 30 seconds.
Después… manos. No questions.

Aquí no hay performance.
No garnish for approval. No explanation.

Just food with clarity. Confidence.
The kind that quietly ruins you for everywhere else.

• Un carrito on the corner—four types of charred corn, cero English.

• A taco that cost less than a cortado in Miami and tasted like an argument I’ll never win.

• Down the block, a kitchen doing something restrained, casi European, with the same ingredients everyone else had. Equally mind blown.

No noise. Just intention.

Every meal this week felt like access.

Like the city opening a door without asking if you deserved to walk through it.

No hice muchas preguntas.
Just kept eating. 🤷🏽‍♀️❤️‍🔥🙆🏽‍♀️

Nobody warned me about the fish.

Pescado a la talla.
Split down the middle.
Red adobo on one side. Green herbs on the other.
Dropped on a wooden board the size of a small table like, claro, it belonged there.

We gave the forks a respectful 30 seconds.
Después… manos. No questions.

Aquí no hay performance.
No garnish for approval. No explanation.

Just food with clarity. Confidence.
The kind that quietly ruins you for everywhere else.

• Un carrito on the corner—four types of charred corn, cero English.

• A taco that cost less than a cortado in Miami and tasted like an argument I’ll never win.

• Down the block, a kitchen doing something restrained, casi European, with the same ingredients everyone else had. Equally mind blown.

No noise. Just intention.

Every meal this week felt like access.

Like the city opening a door without asking if you deserved to walk through it.

No hice muchas preguntas.
Just kept eating. 🤷🏽‍♀️❤️‍🔥🙆🏽‍♀️

Nobody told me CDMX was going to do this to me.

People ask why Mexican bars keep showing up on the world’s best lists.

Why the recognition.
Why this city, why now.

You don’t understand until you’re here.

And then you understand immediately.

It’s not the technique.
It’s not the ingredients.

It’s something harder to name and infinitely harder to manufacture.

It’s the hospitality.

Not a concept. The actual thing.

Walking into a room and feeling received.

Like the bar wasn’t waiting for you specifically, but is genuinely glad you came.

The experience doesn’t start when the drink lands.

It starts the moment you walk through the door and someone looks up.

This city built an entire culture on that one instinct.
And the rest of the world is still trying to figure out how.

So am I. 🙏🏽🙆🏽‍♀️❤️‍🔥

Mexico City doesn’t care about your schedule. You either surrender to it or spend four days fighting traffic and missing the point.

I surrendered. Completely.

Second michelada in, zero regrets.

Ni hablar… Lunes de Karaoke abierto 😻

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!

⏳

Moments in between, grateful to everyone who makes every moment special.

Gracias @r.c._visuals for the incredible foto!