Como Agua Para Chocolate English Translation

At the beginning of the narration, the narrator is cooking and tells us that she cries non-stop while cutting onions.

I don't know if this has happened to you, but it certainly has happened to me countless times. Mama used to say it was because I am just as sensitive to onions as Tita, my great-aunt.

They say Tita was so sensitive that even when she was in my great-grandmother's womb, she would cry and cry whenever she chopped onions; her crying was so loud that Nacha, the house cook, who was half-deaf, could hear it without effort. One day the sobs were so strong that they caused her labor to start early. And before my great-grandmother could say a word, Tita arrived in this world prematurely, on the kitchen table, amid the smells of a noodle soup that was cooking, along with the scents of thyme, bay leaf, cilantro, boiled milk, garlic and, of course, onion.

As you can imagine, the customary spanking wasn't necessary since Tita was born crying beforehand, perhaps because she knew her destiny determined that she would be denied marriage in this life. Nacha said that Tita was literally pushed into this world by an impressive torrent of tears that spilled over the table and kitchen floor.

Later that afternoon, when the shock had passed and the water had evaporated thanks to the sun's rays, Nacha swept up the residue of the tears that had remained on the red tiles that covered the floor. With this salt, she filled a five-kilo sack that they used for cooking for quite some time. This unusual birth determined Tita's immense love for the kitchen and that she would spend most of her life in it...

[The text continues with descriptions of Tita's sixth sense for food, family traditions about making chorizo, and then moves to a scene where Pedro Muzquiz asks to speak with Tita. Mamá Elena forbids the relationship, reminding Tita that as the youngest daughter, she must take care of her mother until death. The fragment ends with Pedro confessing his love to Tita, but since she cannot marry him due to tradition, he ends up marrying her older sister. Tita is forced to prepare the wedding cake, and her tears of sorrow when mixed into the cake cause strange effects on the wedding guests, making them nostalgic and ill.]

That's why it's not strange that Tita developed a sixth sense in everything related to food. Tita confused the joy of living with that of eating, and greatly enjoyed every aspect of cooking. For example, Tita greatly enjoyed preparing chorizo-filled pies because... it's very pleasant to enjoy the smell they give off, as smells have the characteristic of reproducing past times along with sounds and smells never matched in the present.

A tradition in Tita's family was the way of preparing chorizos. All the daughters would sit around the table to participate in the preparation...

One of those afternoons, before Mamá Elena said they could leave the table, Tita, who was then fifteen years old, announced with a trembling voice that Pedro Muzquiz wanted to come speak with her...

"And what does that gentleman need to come speak to me about?"

Mamá Elena said after an endless silence that shrank Tita's soul.

With a barely perceptible voice she responded: "I don't know."

Mamá Elena gave Tita a look that for her contained all the years of repression that had floated over the family and said: "Well, it's better that you inform him not to do it. He would be wasting his time and making me waste mine. You know very well that for being the youngest daughter, you have to take care of me until the day of my death."

Having said this, Mamá Elena slowly stood up, kept her glasses inside her apron, and as a final order repeated: "We're done with this for today!"

Tita knew that within the house's communication norms, dialogue was not included, but even so, for the first time in her life she tried to protest a mandate from her mother. "But I think that..." "You don't think anything and that's final! Never, for generations, has anyone in my family protested this custom and none of my daughters will be the one to do it."

[Then there's a break in the text, and it continues:]

Later Tita thinks about her first encounter with Pedro: She would never forget the accidental touch of their hands when they both clumsily tried to pick up the same chalk at the same time.

It was then that Pedro confessed his love to her. "Señorita Tita, I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to speak with you alone to tell you that I am deeply in love with you. I know this declaration is bold and rushed, but it's so difficult to get close to you that I made the decision to do it tonight. I only ask that you tell me if I can aspire to your love."

"I don't know what to answer you; give me time to think."

"No, I couldn't, I need an answer right now: love isn't thought about: it's either felt or it isn't felt. I am a man of few, but very firm words. I swear you will have my love forever. What about yours? Do you also feel it for me?"

"Yes!"

Yes, yes and a thousand times yes. She loved him from that night forever.

[The text then describes how since Mamá Elena had forbidden Tita to marry, a marriage was arranged between Pedro and Tita's older sister. Tita was forced to prepare the wedding cake for her sister and Pedro's wedding. The text describes how the cake had a strange effect on the guests:]

An immense nostalgia took hold of all those present as soon as they took their first bite of the cake. Even Pedro, always so proper, was making a tremendous effort to contain his tears. And Mamá Elena, who hadn't shed an unfortunate tear even when her husband died, cried silently. And that wasn't all, the crying was the first symptom of a strange intoxication that had something to do with a great melancholy and frustration that seized all the guests and made them end up in the patio, the corrals, and the bathrooms, each one yearning for the love of their life. Not one escaped the spell, and only some fortunate ones made it to the bathrooms in time; those who didn't, participated in the collective vomiting that was organized in the middle of the patio.

Comprehension Questions

What do the narrator and Tita have in common?

Both the narrator and Tita are highly sensitive, particularly to onions. The narrator's mother even remarks that the narrator inherited this sensitivity from Tita, her great-aunt.

How is the water left on the floor after Tita's birth used?

Nacha, the cook, sweeps up the tears that had spilled onto the kitchen floor and uses the salt left behind to fill a five-kilo sack. This salt is later used for cooking.

What is Tita's attitude towards cooking? How is this attitude explained?

Tita loves cooking and has a deep connection to it. This attitude is explained by her unusual birth in the kitchen and the way her life became intertwined with the smells and activities of cooking from the very beginning.

In what way is Tita a victim of a family tradition from Mamá Elena's family?

Tita is a victim of the family tradition that requires the youngest daughter to remain unmarried and take care of her mother until her death. This tradition prevents Tita from marrying Pedro, the man she loves.

How is Mamá Elena characterized? What is revealed here about the relationship between Tita and her mother?

Mamá Elena is strict, authoritarian, and unyielding. She prioritizes family traditions over her daughter's happiness, forbidding Tita from marrying. This reveals a tense and repressive relationship between Tita and her mother, where Tita has little freedom to make her own choices.

What happened the first time Tita and Pedro saw each other?

The first time Tita and Pedro saw each other, their hands accidentally touched while reaching for the same object, which led Pedro to confess his love for Tita.

What are the strange effects that the wedding cake produces on the guests who eat it?

The wedding cake, infused with Tita's tears of sorrow, causes the guests to feel an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and melancholy. Many guests end up crying uncontrollably, and some become so emotionally overwhelmed that they vomit.