Rosarito Beach, Baja California, Mexico. 1938

A showgirl named Rita de la Rosa, known for having lips as red as a rose, frequented an after-hour joint named Rancho La Gloria. She loved to drink, but all hard liquors except tequila made her fall asleep and miss the wild parties. Drinking tequila straight wasn’t very ladylike so she asked her friend the bar owner, if he could come up with another way to serve tequila. After catching Rita's act earlier that night, Rita's friend improvised a drink that was inspired by her electrifying performance.

He mixed a jigger of Tequila with limejuice because of the lime green colour of her dress. Then he threw in some triple sec for her sweet voice. Daniel, knowing that Rita was a girl who knew how to shake, shook up all the ingredients with shaved ice, which added that special gleam from her eyes. And, finally, he crowned the rim of the glass with salt for "the halo that sits upon that lovely angel’s head." In Rita's honour, Daniel named the drink after her full name: Margarita. The star struck girl from Guadalajara, which is famed for its stunningly beautiful style, captured the heart of the world and became an international star after all.

She became nearly famous because she took her act on the road and travel many years in and around the State of Jalisco and Guanajuato. On her last years as an actress she became careless of public opinion and begun to sip tequila. She then discovered that different regions yield different tasting tequilas and became aware of their peculiarities. She was known to prefer tequila produced in the "Los Altos" region in the highlands of the State of Jalisco.

I'll drink to Rita La Margarita!

Salud!!