Como Agua Para Chocolate

I fell in love with Laura Esquivel's novel Like Water for Chocolate while reading it in a college Spanish lit class.  Happily, the sumptuous adaptation is streaming on Netflix these days.   

The story is filled with dizzying romantic and familial intrigue.  Reading it in Spanish some years ago was an extended process.  So every evening as I met my usual dining partner in the cafeteria, I would ply her with the latest plot twists.  Tita and Pedro are madly in love, but she's forbidden to ever marry!  Pedro is marrying her sister, Rosaura in order to remain close to Tita!  And that was just the first chapter.

The true heart of the story though is Tita's liberation (personal, sexual ... even political since the story is set against the Mexican revolution).  She is bound by an oppressive family tradition and a mother will continue to plague her from beyond the grave.  However, her vitality cannot be repressed and seeps out into her cooking (as she prepares all of the meals on her family ranch).   This in turn makes extraordinary things happen to everyone who consumes those meals.

Tito and Pedro have a clandestine love for the ages, but truth be told I don't care much for Pedro.  He's the jealous, moody type even if he is an impressive romantic.  

     

I rooted for Tita's unflinchingly doting suitor, Dr. John.  The bow tie and test tubes belie another deeply romantic, more responsible spirit. 

And then there's Tita's other sister, Gertrudis.  She's a saucy ginger with the boss attitude to match.  After eating one of Tita's recipes, she runs away to join the revolution while er, making whoopee atop a galloping horse.  Naturally, her judgement never disappoints.