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A Topo Chico still life by San Antonio artist Martin Emmanuel Rangel, who goes by Emmanuel for his art. The Mexican mineral water is so popular artists such as Rangel celebrate it in paintings as well as custom glassware and jewelry.
A custom Topo Chico hat by Logan Miles Allison (Instagram: @thehearthatter). The Mexican mineral water, which Coca-Cola Company acquired in 2017 for $220 million, has become so popular artists celebrate it in various mediums and media.
Topo Chico art by Instagram user, @dgopieart. The Mexican mineral water, which Coca-Cola Company acquired in 2017 for $220 million, has become so popular artists celebrate it in various mediums and media.
A Topo Chico still life by San Antonio artist Martin Emmanuel Rangel, who goes by Emmanuel for his art. The Mexican mineral water is so popular artists such as Rangel celebrate it in paintings as well as custom glassware and jewelry.
Topo Chico art by Julian Donaldson of Be A Good Person (Instagram: @juliandonaldson and @beagoodperson). The Mexican mineral water, which Coca-Cola Company acquired in 2017 for $220 million, has become so popular artists celebrate it in various mediums and media.
Custom Topo Chico glasses by San Antonio artist Heidy Ashton, who has made such glassware from original bottles for around three years.
A Topo Chico still life by San Antonio artist Martin Emmanuel Rangel, who goes by Emmanuel for his art. The Mexican mineral water is so popular artists such as Rangel celebrate it in paintings as well as custom glassware and jewelry.
"Top Chica" by San Antonio artist Allison Villarreal reimagines the Topo Chico mineral water as a feminist icon.
Drinking glasses made from upcycled Topo Chico bottles by San Antonio glass artist Stacy Levinson.
Topo Chico is so much more than just mineral water to San Antonio artist Martin Emmanuel Rangel.
As a kid, he spent many summers and holidays at his grandparents' house in Monterrey, Mexico, enjoying his abuelo's hot, homemade barbacoa tacos with a cold bottle of the popular fizzy beverage. Topo Chico has been sourced several miles away from his grandparents' home for more than a century.
Now 33, Rangel rekindles those memories every time he paints and sells another colorful still life of a Topo Chico bottle, an acrylic ode to the carbonated water branded with the bright yellow and red logo.
"It's a mixture of memories, culture, growing up," he said. "People have a crazy connection (to) the brand. The drink is so strong, the image of it, the idea of it. The art that I do of Topo Chico… I sell it super quick. It's just something people have to have on their wall."
Rangel is just one of several artists and artisans in the Alamo City who turn their passion for the legacy product into works of art.
You have your eclectic illustrations, such as the abstract representations by Rangel and the photo-realistic oil paintings of Eva Marengo Sanchez. Then there are those crafty glass artists such as Heidy Ashton, who transforms empty bottles into drink tumblers and votive candles, and Stacy Levinson, who makes bowls and succulents vases. And don’t forget those affectionate parodies of the sparkling water, such as Allison Villarreal's "Top Chica" design, which gives the iconic bottle a feminist spin.
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Custom Topo Chico glasses by San Antonio artist Heidy Ashton, who has made such glassware from original bottles for around three years.
"Topo Chico connects through culture by supporting and integrating into local art communities. We love to see people's real, authentic passion for Topo Chico and are humbled that people find inspiration in the brand to create all types of art," said senior brand manager David de la Garza in a statement to the Express-News.
Topo Chico does not sell labeled merchandise on its website, topochico.com. However, the brand recently collaborated with Brooklyn-based artist Hyesu Lee for limited edition artist bundles, which pair 12-packs of 6.5 oz. bottles with colorful stickers, bottle openers and prints featuring doodle-like drawings of everyday people hanging out with Topo Chico.
Lee noted on the mineral water site that her imagery is "meant to reflect the importance of sharing moments with those that love you with Topo Chico. Art, after all, has no language barrier, and anything warm and cheerful is as refreshing as Topo Chico."
Topo Chico mineral water has been around since 1895, and is still bottled and sourced in Monterrey, Mexico, from the Cerro del Topo Chico mountain that gives it its name.
These days, that art seems easier to come by than its source material.
According to Topo Chico, global supply chain constraints along with local production maintenance have been impacting availability in the U.S. Last summer, demand for the mineral water drowned out supply on account of a glass shortage. And in July, supply reportedly dried up once again, this time due to water restrictions in Mexico because of historic drought.
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Topo Chico has flowed out of northern Mexico since 1895, so named after the Cerro del Topo Chico mountain where it's still bottled and sourced. The name translates to "small mole," a nod to the mole-shaped elevation. Coca-Cola Company acquired Topo Chico five years ago for $220 million.
In recent years, Topo Chico has ridden the mixed-drinks wave with the popularity of the Ranch Water cocktail, which amps up the already bubbly water with lime and tequila. And last year, the mineral water made a splash in the spiked seltzer market with the launch of Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.
But true to its source, Topo Chico remains most popular for its original carbonated water and its ties to Mexico.
An oil painting of a Topo Chico bottle by San Antonio artist Eva Marengo Sanchez. The Mexican mineral water is so popular artists such as Sanchez celebrate it in paintings as well as custom glassware and jewelry.
Like Rangel, Villarreal also has family roots in Monterrey. The Indiana native spent her early years in Monterrey, where Topo Chico was just another drink. When she moved to San Antonio in 2014 to earn her bachelor's in architecture, she noticed how much the brand was revered. Villarreal came up with the "Top Chica" design last year to celebrate female empowerment as well as her culture.
"I feel like it's more of feeling connected to your roots," she said. "It is a Mexican brand, and you don't see any other big Mexican brand make such an impact. It makes you feel proud of where you come from. And it’s strength is from Mexico, (but) it's made such an impact in the U.S., not just San Antonio."
And the way glass artists such as Levinson see it, a Topo Chico bottle has plenty to offer long after the last drop. She reimagines and repurposes every inch of the containers, making drinking glasses and planters out of the lower portion, Christmas ornaments out of the center and bowls out of the top.
"The thing that I'm really proud of with my work is creating beauty with the discarded," she said.
rguzman@express-news.net | Twitter: @reneguz
René A. Guzman writes about geek and pop culture as well as consumer gadgets and technology. Before joining the Express-News in December 1998, the San Antonio native co-owned a college humor magazine named Bitter, for which he wrote, designed and edited, as well as distributed at various campuses and businesses citywide.