Three Founders Describe the Origins of a Transformative Amaranth Factory
The three founders of San Miguel, Dr Benito Manrique, Diego Manrique and Bruno Pagliai, discuss the early years of the company in Huixcazdhá, Hidalgo, Mexico.
Huixcazdhá, Hidalgo, Mexico, 12/4/2013
Case Excerpt:
“Huixcazdhá (whis-caz-da´) is a small agricultural community of about 500 people located 23 kilometers from Huichapan (the municipality in which the town is located) in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. The town is about 160 kilometers from Mexico City, 2.5 hours by car (depending on Mexico City’s notorious traffic jams). Located in hilly terrain, the area around the town is a semi-arid landscape dominated by cactus and scrubs. In general, the state of Hidalgo was not known as an agricultural area, but for its mines and minerals.
In the 28 years that Benito Manrique has lived there, the development of San Miguel as a company and Huixcazdhá as a community has gone arm in arm. The village had become a company town in every sense of the term. San Miguel has influenced both Huixcazdhá’s material infrastructure and its social structure.”