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Dictator Launches Mopa Mopa The Newest Addition To Dictadors Totem Series

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Published
12/17/2022 by

Following the successful launch of Dictador Wixárika, the first edition of the TOTEM collection, Dictador is now launching their second edition, MOPA MOPA. TOTEM was established to preserve cultural diversity, encourage traditionalism in art, and honor indigenous artisans and their techniques, dating back centuries.

With rare wines and spirits reaching increasingly large values and attracting global investment, Dictador is pioneering aged rum for collecting connoisseurs. The brand owns the world's largest stock of aged rum, up to 45 years old, allowing Dictador to release a range of innovative, yet fine and rare editions unrivaled by competitors – creating an entirely new luxury category for prestige rums and distributing its award-winning products to more than 80 countries around the world.

The limited edition, Dictador MOPA MOPA collection, is an exceptional demonstration of the artistry, technique, and thought devoted to the development of these collectible rum bottles. There are only 360 bottles within MOPA MOPA and each bottle has been hand-decorated by Colombian artists. This collection represents this historic, ancient art form but is also a symbol of the love and respect these artisans have for their homeland and its rich culture.

The inspiration for these bottles stems from the ancient tradition of using Mopa Mopa, a native South American phenolic resin, used for centuries in cultural contexts by artisans in the region of Pasto, Colombia, to decorate ceremonial drinking cups known as 'Qeros.' The process involves a complex cycle of production whereby sheets of flexible resin are extracted from trees of the genus Elaeagia, which grows in mountainous regions of western South America. This is done without harming the tree during the process.

The trek to collect the resin is always done on foot and typically takes up to 5 hours to reach the destination point. Resin gatherers will then set up campsites in the wilderness for 8 to 15 days as they comb through patches of trees for viable harvest. In total, the resin gatherers will collect between 6-9 kilos of Mopa Mopa which will then be sold to varnish masters at a central location closer to town. Mopa Mopa is sacred because of the beauty it makes possible but also because of the effort involved in sourcing it and the rarity of it - the harvest only happens twice a year between May and November.

Because the artistry of Mopa Mopa is so intricate and time-consuming, it cannot be automated for mass production. As a result, the people involved are crucial in the making of these limited-edition bottles. Like many indigenous processes, the harvesting of Mopa Mopa and the ancestral knowledge of the Pasto varnish application process is under threat of being lost due to deforestation and agricultural encroachment. It is because of the passion and commitment of these local people that this artform has been kept alive.

Starting at 3,600 – 4,800 EUR the limited-edition bottles are available for sale on Dictador's online store. 

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