Modern Mixology Meets Ancestral Roots in This Mexican Cocktail Bar

At the heart of San Miguel de Allende’s Live Aqua Urban Resort, Bekeb cocktail bar shakes up drinks and stirs deep-rooted heritage. Designed by MAYE Estudio for acclaimed mixologist Fabiola Padilla—named among the 50 Best in North America—the 1,700-square-foot space channels the rugged spirit of Los Altos de Jalisco through a tactile, contemporary lens. Padilla, who honed her craft in New York before returning to Mexico, envisioned a place where modern mixology meets ancestral roots.

“For me, this project was a way to honor my dad and my family roots, while telling Fabiola’s story,” says Maye Ruiz, founder of MAYE Estudio, whose father worked on a dairy farm. “Our families lived for centuries on the same ranchlands, working the cattle and the land.” That shared history became the blueprint for Bekeb’s design, which reinterprets ranch culture’s textures, finishes, and motifs into a contemporary setting.

MAYE Estudio’s Bekeb Bar Channels Ranch Heritage

Artisanal collaborations anchor the design: warm Rosa Morada wood; plush cinnamon and deep-green velvet and chenille; and hair-on-hide leather from Ruiz’s hometown of León, wrapping the bar and custom booths with sleek stainless steel baseboards. Building on the inox elements, artist Rodrigo Méndez reimagines milk cans—echoes of the region’s dairy industry—into sculptural welcome statements that stand prominently on the bar top.

Mexican workshop MARO brings luminous tactility with handcrafted, three-dimensional ceramic tiles from Dolores Hidalgo, marrying regional tradition and contemporary technology to enrich walls in the bar, guest rooms, and bathrooms.

Lush Colors and Textures Enrich the Walls

Monterrey-based Nef Espino’s murals weave surreal scenes of agave fields, ranch life, and dreamscapes, folding Padilla’s bartending past in New York into a visual narrative that bridges time and place.

“Bekeb’s design thrives on rich contrasts, like a cookie box of treasured keepsakes—each different, yet coming together as a cohesive whole,” says Ruiz, whose work often employs bold colors to create dynamic visual harmony.

Completed in just four months, Bekeb is a layered, immersive environment where amber-tinted glassware catches the light and whispers of the highlands mingle with the scent of citrus and herbs. Behind the bar, Padilla’s cocktail menu reimagines ancestral recipes with regional botanicals, perfectly complementing the design’s evocative details.

MAYE Estudio Stirs Up Deep-Rooted Heritage at Bekeb Bar