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BOOK Like Water For Chocolate PDF
BOOK Like Water For Chocolate PDF
T HE
GreatSummerRead
C H A P T E R 1
SPONSORED BY
Originally a screenwriter, LAURA ESQUIVEL was nominated for the Ariel Award for best screenplay by the Mexican
Academy of Motion Pictures for her screenplay Chido One. The film version of Like Water for Chocolate swept the Ariel
Awards in 1992 and went on in 1993 to become the biggest grossing foreign film ever released in the United States.
In 1994, Like Water for Chocolate won the prestigious ABBY award, which is given annually by the American Booksellers
Association to the book the members of the organization most enjoyed hand-selling. Ms. Esquivel lives in Mexico.
The recipes in this book are based on traditional Mexican recipes and have not been tested by the publisher.
Anchor Books, Doubleday, and the portrayal of an anchor are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Like Water for Chocolate was originally published in hardcover by Doubleday, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell
Publishing Group, Inc., in1992. The Anchor Books edition is published by arrangement with Doubleday.
t
C H A P T E R O N E
J A N U A R Y
Christmas Rolls
INGREDIENTS:
1 can of sardines
1/2 chorizo sausage
1 onion
oregano
1 can of chiles serranos
10 hard rolls
t
P R E PA R AT I O N : onion. Tita had no need for the usual slap on
the bottom, because she was already crying as
Take care to chop the onion fine. To keep from she emerged; maybe that was because she knew
crying when you chop it (which is so annoying!), then that it would be her lot in life to be denied
I suggest you place a little bit on your head. The marriage. The way Nacha told it, Tita was liter-
trouble with crying over an onion is that once ally washed into this world on a great tide of
the chopping gets you started and the tears tears that spilled over the edge of the table and
begin to well up, the next thing you know you flooded across the kitchen floor.
just cant stop. I dont know whether thats ever That afternoon, when the uproar had sub-
happened to you, but I have to confess its hap- sided and the water had been dried up by the
pened to me, many times. Mama used to say it sun, Nacha swept up the residue the tears had
was because I was especially sensitive to onions, left on the red stone floor. There was enough
like my great-aunt, Tita. salt to fill a ten-pound sackit was used for
Tita was so sensitive to onions, any time cooking and lasted a long time. Thanks to her
they were being chopped, they say she would unusual birth, Tita felt a deep love for the
just cry and cry; when she was still in my great- kitchen, where she spent most of her life from
grandmothers belly her sobs were so loud that the day she was born.
even Nacha, the cook, who was half-deaf, could When she was only two days old, Titas
hear them easily. Once her wailing got so vio- father, my great-grandfather, died of a heart
lent that it brought on an early labor. And attack and Mama Elenas milk dried up from
before my great-grandmother could let out a the shock. Since there was no such thing as
word or even a whimper, Tita made her powdered milk in those days, and they couldnt
entrance into this world, prematurely, right find a wet nurse anywhere, they were in a panic
there on the kitchen table amid the smells of to satisfy the infants hunger. Nacha, who knew
simmering noodle soup, thyme, bay leaves, and everything about cookingand much more
cilantro, steamed milk, garlic, and, of course, that doesnt enter the picture until later
L I K E WAT E R F O R C H O C O L AT E | BY LAURA ESQUIVEL
offered to take charge of feeding Tita. She felt Sometimes she would cry for no reason at
she had the best chance of educating the inno- all, like when Nacha chopped onions, but since
cent childs stomach, even though she had they both knew the cause of those tears, they
never married or had children. Though she didnt pay them much mind. They made them
didnt know how to read or write, when it came a source of entertainment, so that during her
to cooking she knew everything there was to childhood Tita didnt distinguish between tears
know. Mama Elena accepted her offer grateful- of laughter and tears of sorrow. For her laugh-
ly; she had enough to do between her mourn- ing was a form of crying.
ing and the enormous responsibility of run- Likewise for Tita the joy of living was
ning the ranchand it was the ranch that wrapped up in the delights of food. It wasnt easy
would provide her children the food and edu- for a person whose knowledge of life was based
cation they deservedwithout having to on the kitchen to comprehend the outside
worry about feeding a newborn baby on top of world. That world was an endless expanse that
everything else. began at the door between the kitchen and the
From that day on, Titas domain was the rest of the house, whereas everything on the
kitchen, where she grew vigorous and healthy kitchen side of that door, on through the door
on a diet of teas and thin corn gruels. This leading to the patio and the kitchen and herb
explains the sixth sense Tita developed about gardens was completely hersit was Titas realm.
everything concerning food. Her eating habits, Her sisters were just the opposite: to them,
for example, were attuned to the kitchen rou- Titas world seemed full of unknown dangers,
tine: in the morning, when she could smell that and they were terrified of it. They felt that
the beans were ready; at midday, when she playing in the kitchen was foolish and danger-
sensed the water was ready for plucking the ous. But once, Tita managed to convince them
chickens; and in the afternoon, when the din- to join her in watching the dazzling display
ner bread was baking, Tita knew it was time for made by dancing water drops dribbled on a red
her to be fed. hot griddle.
While Tita was singing and waving her wet Then there was trouble, however, when the
hands in time, showering drops of water down animals had to be taken apart to fry the sausage.
on the griddle so they would dance, Rosaura Tita refused to do it. The only time she was
was cowering in the corner, stunned by the dis- willing to take them apart was when the sausage
play. Gertrudis, on the other hand, found this was intended for the Christmas rolls she loved
game enticing, and she threw herself into it with so much. Then she not only allowed her ani-
the enthusiasm she always showed where mals to be dismantled, she watched them fry
rhythm, movement, or music were involved. with glee.
Then Rosaura had tried to join thembut since The sausage for the rolls must be fried over
she barely moistened her hands and then shook very low heat, so that it cooks thoroughly with-
them gingerly, her efforts didnt have the desired out getting too brown. When done, remove
effect. So Tita tried to move her hands closer to from the heat and add the sardines, which have
the griddle. Rosaura resisted, and they struggled been deboned ahead of time. Any black spots on
for control until Tita became annoyed and let the skin should also have been scraped off with
go, so that momentum carried Rosauras hands a knife. Combine the onions, chopped chiles,
onto it. Tita got a terrible spanking for that, and and the ground oregano with the sardines. Let
she was forbidden to play with her sisters in her the mixture stand before filling the rolls.
own world. Nacha became her playmate then. Tita enjoyed this step enormously; while
Together they made up all sorts of games and the filling was resting, it was very pleasant to
activities having to do with cooking. Like the savor its aroma, for smells have the power to
day they saw a man in the village plaza twisting evoke the past, bringing back sounds and even
long thin balloons into animal shapes, and they other smells that have no match in the present.
decided to do it with sausages. They didnt just Tita liked to take a deep breath and let the char-
make real animals, they also made up some of acteristic smoke and smell transport her
their own, creatures with the neck of a swan, the through the recesses of her memory.
legs of a dog, the tail of a horse, and on and on. It was useless to try to recall the first time
L I K E WAT E R F O R C H O C O L AT E | BY LAURA ESQUIVEL
she had smelled one of those rollsshe could- from the well, a third was in charge of wood for
nt, possibly because it had been before she was the stove. There would be no ironing, no
born. It might have been the unusual combina- embroidery, no sewing that day. When it was all
tion of sardines and sausages that had called to finished, they went to their bedrooms to read,
her and made her decide to trade the peace of say their prayers, and go to sleep. One afternoon,
ethereal existence in Mama Elenas belly for life before Mama Elena told them they could leave
as her daughter, in order to enter the De la the table, Tita, who was then fifteen, announced
Garza family and share their delicious meals in a trembling voice that Pedro Muzquiz would
and wonderful sausage. like to come and speak with her. . . .
On Mama Elenas ranch, sausage making After an endless silence during which Titas
was a real ritual. The day before, they started soul shrank, Mama Elena asked:
peeling garlic, cleaning chiles, and grinding And why should this gentleman want to
spices. All the women in the family had to par- come talk to me?
ticipate: Mama Elena; her daughters, Gertrudis, Titas answer could barely be heard:
Rosaura, and Tita; Nacha, the cook; and I dont know.
Chencha, the maid. They gathered around the Mama Elena threw her a look that seemed
dining-room table in the afternoon, and to Tita to contain all the years of repression that
between the talking and the joking the time had flowed over the family, and said:
flew by until it started to get dark. Then Mama If he intends to ask for your hand, tell him
Elena would say: not to bother. Hell be wasting his time and
Thats it for today. mine too. You know perfectly well that being
For a good listener, it is said, a single word the youngest daughter means you have to take
will suffice, so when they heard that, they all care of me until the day I die.
sprang into action. First they had to clear the With that Mama Elena got slowly to her
table; then they had to assign tasks: one collect- feet, put her glasses in her apron, and said in a
ed the chickens, another drew water for breakfast tone of final command:
Thats it for today. plan for taking care of women in their old age.
Tita knew that discussion was not one of If Tita couldnt marry and have children, who
the forms of communication permitted in would take care of her when she got old? Was
Mama Elenas household, but even so, for the there a solution in a case like that? Or are
first time in her life, she intended to protest her daughters who stay home and take care of their
mothers ruling. mothers not expected to survive too long after
But in my opinion . . . the parents death? And what about women
You dont have an opinion, and thats all I who marry and cant have children, who will
want to hear about it. For generations, not a take care of them? And besides, shed like to
single person in my family has ever questioned know what kind of studies had established that
this tradition, and no daughter of mine is going the youngest daughter and not the eldest is best
to be the one to start. suited to care for their mother. Had the opinion
Tita lowered her head, and the realization of the daughter affected by the plan ever been
of her fate struck her as forcibly as her tears taken into account? If she couldnt marry, was
struck the table. From then on they knew, she she at least allowed to experience love? Or not
and the table, that they could never have even even that?
the slightest voice in the unknown forces that Tita knew perfectly well that all these ques-
fated Tita to bow before her mothers absurd tions would have to be buried forever in the
decision, and the table to continue to receive archive of questions that have no answers. In
the bitter tears that she had first shed on the day the De la Garza family, one obeyedimmedi-
of her birth. ately. Ignoring Tita completely, a very angry
Still Tita did not submit. Doubts and anxi- Mama Elena left the kitchen, and for the next
eties sprang to her mind. For one thing, she week she didnt speak a single word to her.
wanted to know who started this family tradi- What passed for communication between
tion. It would be nice if she could let that them resumed when Mama Elena, who was
genius know about one little flaw in this perfect inspecting the clothes each of the women had
L I K E WAT E R F O R C H O C O L AT E | BY LAURA ESQUIVEL
been sewing, discovered that Titas creation, only one who said the word without the prop-
which was the most perfect, had not been bast- er deference was Tita, which had earned her
ed before it was sewed. plenty of slaps. But how perfectly she had said
Congratulations, she said, your stitches it this time! Mama Elena took comfort in the
are perfectbut you didnt baste it, did you? hope that she had finally managed to subdue
No, answered Tita, astonished that the her youngest daughter.
sentence of silence had been revoked. Unfortunately her hope was short-lived, for
Then go and rip it out. Baste it and sew it the very next day Pedro Muzquiz appeared at
again and then come and show it to me. And the house, his esteemed father at his side, to ask
remember that the lazy man and the stingy man for Titas hand in marriage. His arrival caused a
end up walking their road twice. huge uproar, as his visit was completely unex-
But thats if a person makes a mistake, and pected. Several days earlier Tita had sent Pedro
you yourself said a moment ago that my sewing a message via Nachas brother asking him to
was . . . abandon his suit. The brother swore he had
Are you starting up with your rebelliousness delivered the message to Pedro, and yet, there
again? Its enough that you have the audacity to they were, in the house. Mama Elena received
break the rules in your sewing. them in the living room; she was extremely
Im sorry, Mami. I wont ever do it again. polite and explained why it was impossible for
With that Tita succeeded in calming Mama Tita to marry.
Elenas anger. For once she had been very care- But if you really want Pedro to get mar-
ful; she had called her Mami in the correct ried, allow me to suggest my daughter
tone of voice. Mama Elena felt that the word Rosaura, whos just two years older than Tita.
Mama had a disrespectful sound to it, and so, She is one hundred percent available, and
from the time they were little, she had ordered ready for marriage. . . .
her daughters to use the word Mami when At that Chencha almost dropped right onto
speaking to her. The only one who resisted, the Mama Elena the tray containing coffee and
cookies, which she had carried into the living aching heart in check. She would not accept
room to offer don Pascual and his son. what she had just heard. Feigning calm, she
Excusing herself, she rushed back to the continued cutting the rolls for her sisters and
kitchen, where Tita, Rosaura, and Gertrudis Nacha to fill.
were waiting for her to fill them in on every It is best to use homemade rolls. Hard rolls
detail about what was going on in the living can easily be obtained from a bakery, but they
room. She burst headlong into the room, and should be small; the larger ones are unsuited
they all immediately stopped what they were for this recipe. After filling the rolls, bake for
doing, so as not to miss a word she said. ten minutes and serve hot. For best results,
They were together in the kitchen making leave the rolls out overnight, wrapped in a
Christmas Rolls. As the name implies, these cloth, so that the grease from the sausage soaks
rolls are usually prepared around Christmas, into the bread.
but today they were being prepared in honor of When Tita was finishing wrapping the next
Titas birthday. She would soon be sixteen years days rolls, Mama Elena came into the kitchen
old, and she wanted to celebrate with one of her and informed them that she had agreed to
favorite dishes. Pedros marriageto Rosaura.
Isnt that something? Your ma talks about Hearing Chenchas story confirmed, Tita
being ready for marriage like she was dishing up felt her body fill with a wintry chill: in one
a plate of enchiladas! And the worse thing is, sharp, quick blast she was so cold and dry her
theyre completely different! You cant just cheeks burned and turned red, red as the apples
switch tacos and enchiladas like that! beside her. That overpowering chill lasted a
Chencha kept up this kind of running long time, and she could find no respite, not
commentary as she told the othersin her own even when Nacha told her what she had over-
way, of courseabout the scene she had just heard as she escorted don Pascual Muzquiz and
witnessed. Tita knew Chencha sometimes exag- his son to the ranchs gate. Nacha followed
gerated and distorted things, so she held her them, walking as quietly as she could in order
L I K E WAT E R F O R C H O C O L AT E | BY LAURA ESQUIVEL
to hear the conversation between father and only heard what everyone else was afraid to say.
son. Don Pascual and Pedro were walking slow- Tita could not get to sleep that night; she could
ly, speaking in low, controlled, angry voices. not find the words for what she was feeling.
Why did you do that, Pedro? It will look How unfortunate that black holes in space had
ridiculous, your agreeing to marry Rosaura. not yet been discovered, for then she might
What happened to the eternal love you swore to have understood the black hole in the center of
Tita? Arent you going to keep that vow? her chest, infinite coldness flowing through it.
Of course Ill keep it. When youre told Whenever she closed her eyes she saw
theres no way you can marry the woman you scenes from last Christmas, the first time Pedro
love and your only hope of being near her is to and his family had been invited to dinner; the
marry her sister, wouldnt you do the same? scenes grew more and more vivid, and the cold
Nacha didnt manage to hear the answer; within her grew sharper. Despite the time that
Pulque, the ranch dog, went running by, bark- had passed since that evening, she remembered
ing at a rabbit he mistook for a cat. it perfectly: the sounds, the smells, the way her
So you intend to marry without love? new dress had grazed the freshly waxed floor,
No, Papa, I am going to marry with a great the look Pedro gave her . . . That look! She had
love for Tita that will never die. been walking to the table carrying a tray of egg-
Their voices grew less and less audible, yolk candies when she first felt his hot gaze
drowned out by the crackling of dried leaves burning her skin. She turned her head, and her
beneath their feet. How strange that Nacha, eyes met Pedros. It was then she understood
who was quite hard of hearing by that time, how dough feels when it is plunged into boiling
should have claimed to have heard this conver- oil. The heat that invaded her body was so real
sation. Still, Tita thanked Nacha for telling she was afraid she would start to bubbleher
herbut that did not alter the icy feelings she face, her stomach, her heart, her breastslike
began to have for Pedro. It is said that the deaf batter, and unable to endure his gaze she low-
cant hear but can understand. Perhaps Nacha ered her eyes and hastily crossed the room, to
where Gertrudis was pedaling the player piano, the tiniest suspicion to remain in Paquitas
playing a waltz called The Eyes of Youth. She mind or she might tell her mother. Titas fear of
set her tray on a little table in the middle of the her mother was enough to make her forget
room, picked up a glass of Noyo liquor that was Pedro for a moment, and she applied herself to
in front of her, hardly aware of what she was convincing Paquita, any way she could, that she
doing, and sat down next to Paquita Lobo, the was thinking clearly, that her mind was alert.
De la Garzas neighbor. But even that distance She chatted with her, she gossiped, she made
between herself and Pedro was not enough; she small talk. She even told her the recipe for this
felt her blood pulsing, searing her veins. A deep Noyo liquor which was supposed to have had
flush suffused her face and no matter how she such an effect on her. The liquor is made by
tried she could not find a place for her eyes to soaking four ounces of peaches and a half
rest. Paquita saw that something was bothering pound of apricots in water for twenty-four
her, and with a look of great concern, she asked: hours to loosen the skin; next, they are peeled,
That liquor is pretty strong, isnt it? crushed, and steeped in hot water for fifteen
Pardon me? days. Then the liquor is distilled. After two and
You look a little woozy, Tita. Are you feel- a half pounds of sugar have been completely
ing all right? dissolved in the water, four ounces of orange-
Yes, thank you. flower water are added, and the mixture is
Youre old enough to have a little drink on stirred and strained. And so there would be no
a special occasion, but tell me, you little devil, lingering doubts about her mental and physical
did your mama say it was okay? I can see youre well-being, she reminded Paquita, as if it were
excitedyoure shakingand Im sorry but I just an aside, that the water containers held
must say youd better not have any more. You 2.016 liters, no more and no less.
wouldnt want to make a fool of yourself. So when Mama Elena came over to ask
That was the last straw! To have Paquita Paquita if she was being properly entertained,
Lobo think she was drunk. She couldnt allow she replied enthusiastically.
L I K E WAT E R F O R C H O C O L AT E | BY LAURA ESQUIVEL
Oh yes, perfectly! You have such wonder- dont have to think about love; you either feel it
ful daughters. Such fascinating conversation! or you dont. I am a man of few words, but my
Mama Elena sent Tita to the kitchen to get word is my pledge. I swear that my love for you
something for the guests. Pedro happened to will last forever. What about you? Do you feel
be walking by at that moment and he offered the same way about me?
his help. Tita rushed off to the kitchen without Yes!
a word. His presence made her extremely Yes, a thousand times. From that night on
uncomfortable. He followed her in, and she she would love him forever. And now she had to
quickly sent him off with one of the trays of give him up. It wasnt decent to desire your sis-
delicious snacks that had been waiting on the ters future husband. She had to try to put him
kitchen table. out of her mind somehow, so she could get to
She would never forget the moment their sleep. She started to eat the Christmas Roll
hands accidentally touched as they both slowly Nacha had left out on her bureau, along with a
bent down to pick up the same tray. glass of milk; this remedy had proven effective
That was when Pedro confessed his love. many times. Nacha, with all her experience,
Senorita Tita, I would like to take advan- knew that for Tita there was no pain that would-
tage of this opportunity to be alone with you to nt disappear if she ate a delicious Christmas
tell you that I am deeply in love with you. I Roll. But this time it didnt work. She felt no
know this declaration is presumptuous, and relief from the hollow sensation in her stomach.
that its quite sudden, but its so hard to get near Just the opposite, a wave of nausea flowed over
you that I decided to tell you tonight. All I ask her. She realized that the hollow sensation was
is that you tell me whether I can hope to win not hunger but an icy feeling of grief. She had to
your love. get rid of that terrible sensation of cold. First she
I dont know what to say . . . give me time put on a wool robe and a heavy cloak. The cold
to think. still gripped her. Then she put on felt slippers
No, no, I cant! I need an answer now: you and another two shawls. No good. Finally she
L I K E WAT E R F O R C H O C O L AT E | BY LAURA ESQUIVEL
went to her sewing box and pulled out the bed- the yarn, not to let it go to waste, and so she
spread she had started the day Pedro first spoke worked on the bedspread and wept furiously,
of marriage. A bedspread like that, a crocheted weeping and working until dawn, and threw it
one, takes about a year to complete. Exactly the over herself. It didnt help at all. Not that night,
length of time Pedro and Tita had planned to nor many others, for as long as she lived, could
wait before getting married. She decided to use she free herself from that cold.
t
TO BE CONTINUED . . .