In the early 20th century, my great-great grandfather, a man named Anselmo Figueroa, was on the editorial board of a socialist newspaper called Regeneración. The founder was Ricardo Flores Magón, a journalist and activist widely credited as one of the primary forces behind the Mexican Revolution. Magón’s call for “Tierra y Libertad” for all got him imprisoned in Mexico more than a dozen times. He finally fled his homeland permanently in 1904, under threat of death, eventually settling in Los Angeles, where he met Figueroa and others willing to put their lives on the line for journalism.
According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, to be regenerated means to “be renewed and restored, especially after a decline to a low or abject condition.”
The word tumbled through my mind repeatedly as I edited this latest issue of the magazine. Probably because regeneration lies at the core of so many of the stories that follow—whether it be the regeneration inherent in the public food forests that are renewing and restoring community, soil, water conservation, and food security in cities across Sonoma County or in the tenacious, hard-working aspiring farmers in our Grow feature that have gone back to school to learn how to farm thanks to fantastic local training programs. What about the regeneration found at the end of the day in a beautiful cocktail made from herbs grown in the bartender’s organic herb and edible flower garden at places like Duke’s Spirited Cocktails? And don’t even get me started on Delicious Revolution, my new favorite podcast out of Geyserville, which gets at the heart of food, culture, and place through soulful, provocative, and political conversations with the movers and shakers working to improve the Bay Area food system.
It’s all here, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Have your own stories of regeneration? Share them with me at editor@madelocal.coop. I’d love to hear from you.
Leilani Clark editor