Como agua para

chocolate
Like Water for
Chocolate [1992]
Northern Mexico 1895-1930s
 One of mexico’s
“greatest hits”
Ba s e d o n a n o ve l w rit t e n b y La u ra Es q u ive l in 1 9 8 9 .

As I m e n t io n e d in t h e b lo g , it ’s a n e xa m p le o f
Ma g ic Re a lis m , wh ic h is …..

Th e n o ve l is s t ru c t u re d wit h re c ip e s
in t e rc a la t e d . I c a n ’t g u a ra n t e e t h e
s a m e re s u lt s a s yo u ’ll s e e in t h e film !
Borderlands
A brief history of texas
Mid -1 5 1 9 --
Sa ilin g fro m a
b a s e in Ja m a ic a ,
Alo n s o Alva re z d e
Pin e d a , a Sp a n is h
a d ve n t u re r, wa s
t h e firs t kn o wn
Eu ro p e a n t o
e xp lo re a n d m a p
t h e Te xa s
c o a s t lin e .
18 February 1685 -- Robert Cavelier, Sieur de LaSalle established Fort St. Louis at
Matagorda Bay, and thus formed the basis for France's claim to Texas. Two years
later, LaSalle was murdered by his own men.

22 April 1689 -- Mexican explorer Alonso de Leon reached Fort St. Louis, and found it
abandoned, during an expedition planned to reestablish Spanish presence in Texas.

1716-1789 -- Throughout the 18th century, Spain established Catholic missions in

Texas, and along with the missions, the towns of San Antonio, Goliad and
Nacogdoches.

8 August 1812 -- About 130-men strong, the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition crossed the
Sabine from Louisiana in a rebel movement against Spanish rule in Texas.

3 January 1823 -- Stephen F. Austin received a grant from the Mexican government and
began colonization in the region of the Brazos River.

Mid-1824 -- The Constitution of 1824 gave Mexico a republican form of government. It

failed, however, to define the rights of the states within the republic, including Texas.
 Oh, the irony…

6 April 1830--
Relations between the So….Texas was settled by illegal
Texans and Mexico immigrants…..from the US!
reached a new low
when Mexico forbid
further emigration into
Texas by settlers from
the United States.
 2 March 1836 -- The
Texas Declaration of
Independence was
signed by members of
the Convention of
2 October 1835 -- 1836. An ad interim
Texans repulsed a government was
detachment of formed for the newly
Mexican cavalry at the created Republic of
Battle of Gonzales. Texas.
The revolution began.

21 April 1836 --
Texans under Sam
Houston routed the
Mexican forces of
Santa Anna at the
Battle of San Jacinto.
Thus, independence
was won in one of the
most decisive battles
in history.
 Border crossings

The film takes place in Ciudad Acuña, Piedras

Negras [Mexico] and Eagle Pass, Texas.

Many of the characters are bilingual, or at

least capable in both languages.
 class structure

Public education became mandatory

through 6th grade in 1917. Prior to that,
the Catholic church had controlled much
of the education system, and attendance
was neither mandatory nor universal.
Social classes were determined by both
race and economics. But the more
European one was, the higher the social
status tended to be.

Domestic help was not limited to the

upper class, and still isn’t. Many
households from the lower middle class
and up have servants—a cook, someone
who cleans, washes clothes, helps out in
general. These people tend to be of a
more indigenous background
 gender relations

Not much had changed since our last glimpse at

women’s lives, in the 1600s!

Women married and had kids,

joined a religious order, or
became a prostitute [or was
considered one…]

The strong, domineering

The family structure that we’ll see tonight—the women that we’ll see
youngest daughter doesn’t marry—is NOT a conforms to many Latin
Mexican tradition. stereotypes of matriarchal
societies.
 Las adelitas y las
revolucionarias
These were female soldiers during the Revolution who
accompanied their spouses/partners, cooked, got ready the
clothes, rifles and whatever else needed to be prepared, spied
when possible , acted as nurses, messengers, and more.

Some rose to a position of command within

the ranks of the Revolution.

They’ve been romanticized over the last 100 years of Mexican history, folklore and popular
culture. Reality was much harsher—the women were barely educated and didn’t have the right
to vote in the new society they were helping create.
 Gertrudis’ father

He’s described as “the mulatto” [and serves as an explaination for

her sense of rhythm and dancing skills…]

Mexico does not have a large Black community. He

may have been from the Veracruz area, which does.

He also may have been part of a group that migrated to

Northern Mexico from Alabama in the late 1800s.
 Stock characters
We’ve already seen some this semester—
the 2 cops in El Barón del Terror [one
serious, one not]
Tonight we’ll see the priest with
somewhat dubious behavior, the
wise old indigenous woman, the
nasty gossip [also present in the
Barón, in the crowd at the burning at
the stake scene]. Plus lots of men
with large mustaches, big sombreros
and bullets slung across their chests.
 hennig brandt
Brandt first isolated phosphorus as an
element in 1669. It was soon touted
as an aphrodisiac, and as cure for
many human illnesses [especially
mental].
Later it was branded “the
devil’s element” and was
thought to have caused more
curses than cures.
The phosphorus match was
nicknamed “the lucifer”.
Murders, suicides and
accidental poisonings
resulted from its use, and it
was eventually outlawed.
 roscÓn de reyes

A bread that is traditionally served on the eve of /

day of 6 January, el día de los Reyes Magos [3
Kings or Wise Men] or the Epiphany.

Inside of the roscón are baked a

ceramic figure of a baby, and a
bean.
Whoever finds the baby is
crowned king or queen, and is
supposed to be guaranteed good
luck.
Whoever finds the bean pays for
the roscón.
Traditions differ between countries
but the idea is the same.
 music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeNX4bLixV0&feature=related
“Jesusita en Chihuahua”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AFfxQpr2r0
“Ojos de juventud”
 what to watch for and
think about
the truth—how did different
characters interpret it or
present it?
Men- Who needs them?

What happened in the

gap years between 1910
and 1934?

Next week: