Did You Know...

The zacahuil, or a Mexican tamale is three feet long and weighs about 150 pounds.

Mexico is home to the Volcano Rabbit, which is a rare rabbit that lives near volcanoes in Mexico.

Children in Mexico that celebrate el dia de los reyes magos do not recieve presents on Christmas, but on January 6. This also goes for Spain and many other Latin-American countries.

Mexico's size is 756,066 square miles, which is almost three times larger than Texas!

The Aztecs played a ritual ball game known as tlachtli, and the losing team would usually be sacrificed to the gods!


--Katie


Sources:

http://facts.randomhistory.com/2008/11/25_mexico.html

Question

Why is the book Like Water for Chocolate called like water for chocolate?

According an answer written to a question on enotes, "The title is a simile for Tita's passion for Pedro. Her love for him is as hot as water needs to be to melt chocolate." The simile is comparing Tita's boiling love for Pedro to how hot water has to be to melt chocolate. The title is also compared to how the drink hot chocolate is made in some countries. According to the blog Water for Chocolate, "In some countries, they make hot chocolate with boiling hot water instead of milk, The phrase 'like water for chocolate' is a double entendre. The first meaning, alludes to the actual hot chocolate making process. You have to get the water boiling hot to make what you want with it. The second, alludes to boiling hot passion." 

Sources:

http://waterforchocolate.tumblr.com/faq

http://www.enotes.com/like-water-chocolate/q-and-a/why-book-called-like-water-for-chocolate-17895

--Katie

Onions

For this post, I decided to look for a very symbolic ingredient in Like Water for Chocolate and on of the most symbolic ingredients I found was the onion. Onions can be a symbol of melancholy. In chapter one, or January Christmas Rolls, onions are symbolic to one of Tita's memories. 

"Tita was so sensitive to onions, and time they were being chopped, they say she wold just cry and cry; when she was still in my great grandmothers belly her sobs were so loud that even, Nacha, the cook, who was half-deaf, could hear them easily. Once her wailing got so violent that it brought onto an early labor. Tita had no need for the usual slap on the bottom, because she was already crying as she emerged; maybe that was because she knew then that it would be her lot in life to be denied marriage." -Pages 5-6

--Katie

       

About the author

Laura Esquivel was born September 30, 1950, in Mexico City, Mexico. According to a biography done on Laura Esquivel, "Laura Esquivel began working as a kindergarten teacher. She wrote plays for her students and wrote children's television programs during the 1970s and 1980s." Like Water for Chocolate was the first novel that Esquivel wrote, which became famous internationally and was made into an award-winning film. Esquivel now lives in Mexico City, Mexico.

Laura Esquivel

Source(s):

http://www.biography.com/people/laura-esquivel-185854

--Katie

Rosuara

I have decided to make a blog post just for Tita's hermanita (sister) Rosuara because I feel like throughout Like Water for Chocolate, even though Rosuara has a very important role, her background is barely discussed throughout the book.
According to an essay done by a student done on bookrags, "Rosaura is a very weak person and the main reason she married Pedro was because of her envy towards Tita. Also, Rosaura is the most unhappy and feels the need to ruin other peoples' days because of her nagging jealousy. Rosuara is also most like Madre Elena because she doesn't care if she hurts other people or if she hurts them. Rosaura dying of her illness shows the bitterness she had towards life just the same as Madre Elena did."
There was also a blog I found called Like Water for Chocolate: Rosaura, which is a blog written as if Rosaura was writing in a diary of the important events that happened in the book in her point of view. There are a total of four posts on this blog. The blog posts are written in a very great point of view. I recommend you read this because this blog will give you a greater understanding of this character that isn't really noticed throughout the book at all.




Source(s):

Like Water for Chocolate: Women of the De La Garza Family
http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/2/19/165957/298/

Like Water for Chocolate: Rosaura
http://lwc-pointsofview.blogspot.com/

--Katie

Question 3

How would Tita's life have been different if John accepted Mama Elena's request to send her to the mental institution?

Tita's life would have been different because she would have to find another way to pleasure herself besides cooking. Tita would also have to find a new interest or hobby in order to occupy herself. Tita would have also might have met people that she would remember throughout her whole life both in a good abd a bad way. But what if the mental institution were soon convinced that Tita wasn't the crazy one and Madre Elena was the one that brought up this whole mess? Would would have happened to Madre Elena? What would have happened to the ranch and would Madre Elena be still there to take care of it? What I think would have happened if this actually occured in the book is that Tita could either take two possible paths: Either go back to he ranch and live there alone or there might be a small chance that John would take Tita in. The ranch might be in family possession, but they wouldn't put the ranch in Tita's hands. Two reasons: The Mexican revolution was going on and the Mexican soldiers would od anything to get what they wanted, and two the governement and culture wouldn't approve of resting the property on the shoulders of a young women. MAdre Elena would take Tita's place in the mental institution. That's what I think would happen.

--Katie

Mexican Etiquette

I have decided to use this post to go over Mexican etiquette because Mexican culture was way different than American culture, both in the past and in the present.

1. Only men give the toasts.

2. Do not begin eating until the hostess starts.

3. It's considered polite to leave some food on your plate after a meal.

4. Never use a Mexican's first name unless they let you.

5. Gifts are opened immediately.

6. No matter what the gift is, act enthusiastic.

7. At a large party like a banquet, you are allowed to introduce yourself.

8. Arriving on time or early is considered inappropriate.

9. Always keep hands visible when eating.

10. White flowers are considered a fine gift in Mexico because they are considered uplifting.

--Katie

Mexican white flowers.

Source(s):

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/mexico-country-profile.html

What happened during the Mexican Revolution?

The book Like Water for Chocolate take place while the Mexican Revolution is going on, but what is the Mexican revolution?
Before the Mexican revolution, Porfino Diaz was elected to office. In the beginning of his term, he pretty much improved all of Mexico. For example, he built highways, he stopped crime, and he made the government and army stronger than ever before at the time. However, people started noticing that the people in power were getting much more money, soon enough leaving the rest of Mexico in their dust.  As a result, the Mexican people from all classes became disatisfied with the rule of dictator Porfino Diaz. While this was going on, federal elections were taking place, and the person running as a canditate was Fransisco I. Madero, who Diaz imprisoned for running against him. Suprisingly, Madero escaped prison, fled to Texas, and urged people to fight against this injustice. After a couple months of fighting, Diaz fled for his life to France and Madero was elected president of Mexico. However, he failed to implement land reforms, and soon enough everyone fighting noticed this, and of course, became quite angry. As a result, the revolutionaries saparated into sides and fought eachother for about 6 years.

Dicatator Porfino Diaz

Fransisco I. Madero

--Katie

Source(s):

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110404235708AAP6Fh5

http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/mcbride/ws200/mex-davi.htm

Question 2

Throughout the whole book Like Water for Chocolate,  why do you think no one except Tita stood up against Madre Elena?

I believe barely anyone stood up against Madre Elena because of her known ways to solve problems. Whenever Tita disobeyed her mother, her mother would solve this problem through cruelty, disbedience, and violence. It was also a part of the Mexican culture for the youngest or only daughter to take care of her mother until the mother or the daughter dies.

--Katie

Question one

Do you think that if Pedro married Tita's sister and was completely okay with the marriage, would Tita have been better off? Why or why not?

I believe that Tita would have and would have not been better off if Pedro was completely fine with himself marrying Tita's sister. In one way, she might have been better off because in my opinion a man is not worthy of a women if he marries someone else to become closer to a women. On the other hand, Tita would have not (in fact, in the book she wasn't) been better off because Tita would be stuck taking care of her mother until her dying day.

--Katie

Question

How do you think Tita's life would be different if she had not been raised in the kitchen?

I think that Tita was able to handle and express her emotions through her cooking. I think that because of all the sounds and smell, she was able to understand the world in terms of food. She could relate to people and help them heal or rejoice through cooking.
Before Tita was born, her father died and her mother couldn't really handle raising a child with her husband recent death. Therefore, Mother 'handed over' Tita to the cook and Nacha, the cook, really taught her the pleasure of food.
I think that Tita would have been sewing and keeping house, like her mother and her sister did, if she was not cooking. I think that it was unusual for a girl like Tita to have been cooking. If she had not been cooking, I think that she would have been in the same mold of many other girls.

--Sophie

Question Three

I think that Pedro could have stood up and fought for Tita's hand. But I also think that he was scared of their mother and maybe, in their society, it was acceptable to marry under their circumstances.
Mother had so much power in their house hold that in a way, I guess that no-one was going to test her. But I think after Mother died, Pedro could have married Tita and divorced her sister if that would have made both of them happy.
I think that Pedro was scared of their family and it wasn't socially accepted at the time.

--Sophie

Question two

I think that even though Pedro was Tita's first love, John was always there for her and would always be there  her. I think that Pedro had caused too much trouble for Tita and her family. Tita would have been happier with John in America.
I think that Pedro didn't fight enough for Tita because they both wanted each other. Tita tried and tried again to defy her mother's rules. Since Pedro is a man and in that society, men have the upper hand,  I think that Pedro could have fought harder for Tita. John always loved Tita and he had easily won Tita's hand.

--Sophie

Discussion questions

What I think is the answer to question one is:

I think that their mother really missed their father. But it was an arranged marriage so I think, in a way, she never really loved him.

Mother had loved another man before she met father so I think that because of the arranged marriage and the fact that she will always love the first man before father is why she never talks about him. It brings up too many bad memories.

Also, Father had died so it's sad that the girls never grew up with a father and mother might have want to have been there for her girls but couldn't if it was only her. 

--Sophie

Like Water for Chocolate

I really liked this book and I really like how the different recipes linked to her story. It was a very deep book and I have a couple questions that I'm going to discuss:
1. Why did Tita's mother not talk about her father? Why was he so 'forbidden'?
2. Was it right for Tita to not marry John and marry Pedro?
3. Why didn't Pedro stand up for himself and not marry Tita's sister?

--Sophie