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Máquina de Margaritas Heladas

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Sani-Serv
Description
In the 70's, the margarita surpassed the martini as the most popular American cocktail and salsa surpassed ketchup as the most-used American condiment. Today, Mexican cuisine, in all its modified, regionalized, commercialized, and even highly processed varieties, has become as American as apple pie. Mariano Martinez, a young Texas entrepreneur, and his frozen margarita machine were at the crossroads of that revolution. The margarita was first made on the California-Mexican border, and became associated with the service of Mexican food, particularly, with one of its variants, Tex-Mex, a regional cuisine that became popular all across the United States. In 1971, Martinez adapted a soft serve ice cream machine to create the world's first frozen margarita machine for his new Dallas restaurant, Mariano's Mexican Cuisine. With their blenders hard-pressed to produce a consistent mix for the newly popular drink they made from Mariano's father's recipe, his bartenders were in rebellion. Then came inspiration in the form of a Slurpee machine at a 7-Eleven, a machine invented in Dallas in 1960 to make carbonated beverages slushy enough to drink through a straw. The soft-serve ice cream machine that Martinez adapted to serve his special drink was such a success that, according to Martinez, "it brought bars in Tex-Mex restaurants front and center. People came to Mariano's for that frozen margarita out of the machine." Never patented, many versions of the frozen margarita machine subsequently came into the market. After 34 years of blending lime juice, tequila, ice, and sugar for enthusiastic customers, the world's first frozen margarita machine was retired to the Smithsonian.
Description (Spanish)
En la década de 1970 la margarita superó al martini como el cóctel más popular de América, y la salsa aventajó al ketchup como el condimento más usado por los americanos. En la actualidad, la cocina mexicana, en toda su diversidad, regionalismos, comercialización y hasta variedades altamente procesadas, se ha vuelto tan americana como el pastel de manzanas. Mariano Martínez, un joven empresario tejano, y su máquina de margaritas heladas se hallaron en la encrucijada de tal revolución. La margarita tuvo su origen en la frontera entre México y California, y empezó a asociarse en particular con el consumo de la comida mexicana y una de sus variantes, la tex-mex, una cocina regional que se popularizó en todo Estados Unidos. En 1971, Martínez adaptó una máquina de helados para crear la primer máquina de margaritas heladas en el mundo en su nuevo restaurante de Dallas, Mariano's Mexican Cuisine. Bajo la presión de tener que producir una mezcla de calidad uniforme de esta popular bebida sustentada en la receta del padre de Mariano, los barman se hallaban sublevados. Así fue como surgió la inspiración a partir de una máquina que usaba el 7-Eleven para hacer Slurpees, inventada en Dallas en 1960 para elaborar bebidas carbonadas congeladas lo suficientemente derretidas como para beber con pajita. La máquina de helados que adaptó Martínez para servir este cóctel especial tuvo tanto éxito que, según Martínez, "trajo los bares de los restaurantes Tex-Mex a la primera plana. La gente venía a lo de Mariano para beber la margarita helada de la máquina". La máquina nunca fue patentada y surgieron en el mercado numerosas versiones de la máquina de margaritas heladas. Luego de 34 años de mezclar jugo de lima, tequila, hielo y azúcar para sus entusiastas consumidores, la primera máquina en el mundo de hacer margaritas heladas se jubiló en el Smithsonian.
Credit Line
Gift of Mariano Martinez
ca 1970
ID Number
2005.0226.01
catalog number
2005.0226.01
accession number
2005.0226
Object Name
margarita maker
Physical Description
metal (overall material)
plastic (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 75 cm x 47 cm x 84 cm; 29 1/2 in x 18 1/2 in x 33 1/16 in
Place Made
United States: Texas, Dallas
See more items in
Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
Food
Cultures & Communities
Family & Social Life
Work
Mexican America
Exhibition
Food: Transforming the American Table
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
Title
Frozen Margarita Machine
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_1294740
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-bb89-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

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Frozen Margarita Machine
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