La’Raye Francisco
March 1, 2020
Reel Food and World Cinema
Like Water for Chocolate
As Tita cooks, her becoming a woman is shown throughout the movie. From her first dish in the film, to her quail, her sexual identity has come to life. She is changing throughout the movie. She is no longer an innocent girl who obeyed her mother’s command. She grew up to be a woman who followed her passion.

Although Tita was not allowed to do much and show much emotion, her emotion took place in her food, through her cooking. Tita acted through her emotions. I believe her emotions are what stirred the other actors to behave the way they did. If it were not for Tita’s food, we would not have seen the identities of the other characters. Though her food we could see just who each actor is and their true identity. Food also showed Mexico’s identity. In the film, there were many dishes that Tita cooked that represented cultural differences. There were many dishes that Tita cooked that represented and was very important to Mexico. For example, Tita cooked a dish called Chiles en nogada.

Chiles en nogada is another recipe created in Pueble to honor a particular man, in this case the revolutionary leader Agustin de Iturbide, who happened to spend the day of St. Augustine, his patron saint, in Puebla on his way back from Mexico City, where he had signed the Treaty of Cordoba (1821), which gave Mexico its independence from Spain. The dish re-creates the colors of Mexico’s national flag…”

Their culture was also shown through out the film, with the way some of the characters spoke. The mention of food is used as a slang in the film. For example, Tita’s mother, Mama Elena, referred to Pedro as “chorizo.” We can also say that food in the film was used to show how women were identified. Women were not allowed to speak freely and so they did so through their daily activities. Tita was stuck in the kitchen and used food to communicate her feelings to the audience.
I would love to try some of the dishes that Tita had made. I have been to Mexico before and did not get the chance to taste any food that was originally from there. I am sure that would be a great experience.



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