In the Mexican city that once perfumed the world, a push to revive vanilla

PAPANTLA, Mexico — Long gone are the days when heaps of green vanilla pods were drawn into town by mules and laid out on woven mats to dry in the sun, perfuming the streets before being packed up and sold abroad.

In this corner of eastern Mexico, known as "the city that perfumed the world," the aromatic spice once dominated daily life and contributed to Mexico becoming the world's leading supplier of vanilla more than a century ago.

Markets have long since shifted and artificial vanilla is now the global norm. But in Papantla, a city in Veracruz state where the spice is still strongly tied to people's identity, scientists, chefs and farmers are actively pushing to reassert its profile.

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In this city of 160,000, artisans make figurines with vanilla's shiny dark brown stems. Restaurants serve vanilla-infused dishes. And a prominent plaque by the town square tells the "Legend of Vanilla," the tale of how vanilla originally grew from the blood of a beautiful Indigenous princess who was decapitated by priests for having a romantic affair.

"If you have bad thoughts, they disappear, if you're angry, it disappears,