Reel Food and World Cinema Blog Posts

February 27, 2020

The Role of Food in Como agua para chocolate

Every dish prepared in the Mexican film, Como agua para chocolate had historical and ethnic implications to them. But the food also played a role in the formation of both the personal and national identities depicted in the film.

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When it comes to personal identities, food helps to show the identities of just about all the main characters. We especially learn a lot about Titas identity. Tita is given a servant-like position within the family, so the kitchen is the only place where she can find refuge. Cooking allows her to truly express herself, while also finally giving her a voice that she never really had. She uses cooking as a small rebellion tactic. She uses it as way to rebel against her mother's tyranny, since it allowed her to show the creativity that she had, that her mother always restrained. Tita, also uses the dishes that she creates allows her to communicate her feelings. For example, the quail in rose-petal sauce is a dish that Tita has prepared that represents the strong and orgasmic love that she had for Pedro. This is the dish that defines their relationship, in a more physical way.

The Mexican national identity is defined through the connections that the recipes have with cultural traditions, along with those historical implications that each dish carries. There is a strong Mexicanization of food names, with Spanish, Indian, and European foods. This is evidence of Mexico’s cultural mixture. This then impacts the way that some of the food is prepared and how that food plays a role in the Mexican identity that is shown within the film. What’s the cultural and historical significance of some of the dishes cooked in the film?

Christmas cakes – Christian tradition imported to Mexico by the Spanish clergy
Chile peppers in walnut sauce – recreates the colors of Mexico's flag
Three Kings Cake – Christian tradition, representing the Three Wise Men /Three Kings
Mole (turkey in almond and sesame sauce) and Chiles peppers in walnut sauce – honored historical Mexican figures
Mole (turkey in almond and sesame sauce) – dish was forbidden to women during the colonial period due to its supposed aphrodisiac quality

I already discussed how the quail in rose-petal sauce was a dish that defined Tita and Pedro's relationship, showing how part of their identity is their deep love for each other. But are their other dishes that specifically play a role in the symbolization of helping us learn a little more about these characters identities? Well of course there are!

Capons (Castrated chickens) - represents the idea of Pedro lacking “cajones”
Matches (not a dish, but a recipe) - learn three “ingredients” about John which are his respect for Tita as a woman, his respect for domestic labor of women in general, and how he honors his own and Mexico’s indigenous women
Cooking of the chorizo – shows us the cruelty of Mama Elena

Personal and national identity is defined overall in Como agua para chocolate through the strong use of food imagery. The food imagery in the end is a tribute to Mexican cookery, and the women who have created, preserved, and passed it down, such as Tita.