From Tequila to Vilnius: Genealogy, Heraldry, and the UNESCO Agave Landscape – Twenty Years of Shared Heritage Linking Lithuania, Scotland, and Mexico  

Written By RIC LP

By Rodrigo Alonso López­-Portillo y Lancaster-­Jones

The author


From Tequila to Vilnius —

Twenty Years of Shared Heritage

In May 2026, I will have the honour of participating in the 5th International Colloquium of Genealogy, Heraldry and Vexillology in Vilnius, where scholars from more than twenty countries will gather under the theme “The State and Noble Families: Political, Social, and Cultural Heritage.” My lecture, officially included in the programme, is entitled “From Tequila to Vilnius: Genealogy, Heraldry, and the UNESCO Agave Landscape – Twenty Years of Shared Heritage Linking Lithuania, Scotland, and Mexico.” (GHVI)

This paper reflects on a remarkable historical convergence. In July 2006, during the 30th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Vilnius, the Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila were inscribed on the World Heritage List. Twenty years later, returning to Vilnius as a participant in this international colloquium offers an exceptional opportunity to revisit the genealogical, heraldic, and institutional lineages that helped shape the Tequila Valley as both an economic territory and a cultural landscape. (GHVI)

The article also revisits the long historical arc connecting the Cuervo, López-Portillo, and associated regional lineages, while placing this inquiry within a wider international scholarly itinerary that includes St Andrews 2006, Vilnius 2026, and the transatlantic dialogue between Mexico, Scotland, and Lithuania. More than a retrospective, this preview invites reflection on how family memory, legal continuity, heraldic symbols, and UNESCO heritage together illuminate the future of cultural identity.

López-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones Coat of Arms wax seal

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to express his warm gratitude to Remigijus Bimba, Chair of the 5th International Colloquium of Genealogy, Heraldry and Vexillology in Vilnius, for his generous invitation, scholarly leadership, and continued commitment to fostering international dialogue in genealogy, heraldry, and vexillology. His work in building Vilnius into an important meeting point for scholars from across Europe and beyond gives this commemorative participation a particularly meaningful framework.

The author also wishes to acknowledge with deep respect Pier Felice degli Uberti, whose longstanding international leadership in heraldic and genealogical studies, and whose support for transnational scholarly collaboration, continue to inspire generations of researchers dedicated to family history, noble lineages, and institutional memory. His intellectual example offers an enduring point of reference for the present contribution linking Lithuania, Scotland, and Mexico

Suggested Bibliography and Reference Links

For the lecture: “From Tequila to Vilnius: Genealogy, Heraldry, and the UNESCO Agave Landscape”

Official conference and programme

UNESCO and heritage framework

Core scholarly background for your article

  • Rodrigo López-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones. The Genealogy and Heraldry of the Oldest Tequila Company in the World.
    Presented at the XXVII International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences, St Andrews, 2006.

  • Rodrigo López-Portillo y Lancaster-Jones. From Tequila to Vilnius: Genealogy, Heraldry, and the UNESCO Agave Landscape – Twenty Years of Shared Heritage Linking Lithuania, Scotland, and Mexico.
    5th International Colloquium of Genealogy, Heraldry and Vexillology, Vilnius, 2026. (GHVI)

Contextual heritage reading

RIC LP
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Antonio de Guadalupe López Portillo (1677–1745): Del Tepic novohispano a Roma y Comayagua