Tequila, Jalisco and the history behind it has made the town and the area surrounding it a World Heritage Site. It was also named a "Pueblo Mágico" (Magical Town) in 2003 by the Mexican federal government. Tequila has also been famous for being the prime setting in the successful Televisa telenovela "Destilando Amor", starring Angélica Rivera and Eduardo Yáñez. The coat of arms of the municipality was officially adopted on 31 December 1983 by the municipal council. It contains the Latin phrase ALMA LAETA NOBILIS, meaning “cheerful and noble soul.” Its representative symbols include the tower of the main church in the
Tequila, Jalisco the native people and was much like what is called pulque today. By the time the Spanish arrived, the natives had begun to cultivate the plant. The Spanish first considered taking the plant back to Spain but decided to develop it and its product in Mexico. The Spanish introduced distillation to turn the native fermented mescal into what is now known as tequila. The first large-scale distillery was created in 1600 and over the colonial period demand for the drink resulted in some of the oldest, still-operating enterprises in this area such as: “La Riojeña”, founded in 1795; “El Tigre”