How Food Helps Discover Personal & National Identities in "Como Agua Para Chocolate"

Food is the most coherent, articulate, persuasive, and powerful speaker within the entirety of  Como Agua Para Chocolate. Communication is a very important aspect of this film. The very first thing that we, the audience see is an onion being chopped as we hear the narrator explaining a trick to prevent crying from onions (we find out later how important this moment truly is). Although we've seen food being used as a means of communication in previous films- such as Mostly Martha- this film best executes the idea that food can speak louder than words, especially when words can't be spoken amongst main characters.

   The first time we see an example of this is when Tita and Nacha are preparing the Chabela Cake for Pedro & Rosaura's wedding. We can see how absolutely torn up Tita is by this, despite knowing Pedro's true intentions. She is succumbed by anguish and nausea that she begins to cry into the batter. The next day at the wedding, we witness Tita's grief transferred to the guests as they eat the cake. Almost immediately, the guests are overcome with heartache, queasiness, and yearning for "the loves of their lives". This wasn't caused by any foul ingredients put in by Tita or Nacha, but because baking was the only way for Tita to let out her true emotions and distance herself from the pain.

   The effects of the Quail in Rose Petal Sauce is the second time the audience sees how emotions can be transferred through food. After Pedro gifts Tita a bouquet of roses that he picked for her (in front of both Mama Elena and Rosaura), Tita is overwhelmed by the love and sensual desire for him and decides to make the Quail in Rose Petal Sauce instead of throwing the flowers out. Of course, she can't just jump into his arms and run off into the distance (just yet), so she expresses her lustful feelings the only way she knows how; by incorporating the most common symbol of love and romance into her meal. This immediately gets an array of responses from the table. Pedro instantly knows that this meal was made for him. Rosaura, also aware that this meal was a confession of Tita's lust for him, becomes nauseous from the thought (and from her pregnancy). Gertrudis becomes so overwhelmed that she leaves the table to go shower. Even Mama Elena gets visibly hot and heavy although she tries to hide it. A similar event happens towards the end of the film at Esperanza and Alex's wedding. The Chiles en Nogada that Tita cooks for the reception causes everyone to embrace with the ones they love and run off to get busy (even the priest).

   Although Tita's cooking can definitely be seen as a secret way of communication between herself and Pedro, it can also be seen as a way of her connecting to her niece, Esperanza, and the narrator, who we later find out is Tita's great-niece. I genuinely don't believe that this story would have been as impactful had it used another culture or its food to tell this story. First off, the Spanish language is known for being one of the top 5 "Romance Languages". And most people correlate Hispanic & Latin culture with fiery passion (whether that be referring to any type of love or anything that thrills you), the vibrancy of life (and death), and the idea of always honoring family, heritage, and tradition, especially through food. Each dish that was made in Como Agua Para Chocolate had a reason and a deeper meaning that allowed each character to grow in their own way.