A Life Examined
I haven’t been able to take my mind off the ballet I saw this past week.
Like Water for Chocolate is a beloved 30 year old Mexican love story. An extremely special gift from my husband last Christmas, we were able to see the North American premiere at Segrestrom Hall.
The American Ballet Theater and The Royal Ballet co-produced a tour de’ force of magic. It was my first ballet by a traditional company and I breathed in every second of the Pacific Symphony playing an original score to the gorgeous, lyrical choreography of Christopher Wheeldon.
Author Laura Esquivel based her novel on her experiences growing up, learning traditions, like cooking the recipes of her grandmother and mother, aromas filling the air of the kitchen.
Inspired by her love of photography, she would often look through an old trunk of family pictures, inherited from her mother, some dating back to 1860. Among the many faces there were some she stared at longer, wondering what happened to them. An aunt, named Tita, was a mystery. All she knew was that her great-grandmother never let Aunt Tita marry. She was beautiful.
As she aged, the images told of a different story.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. For Laura Esquivel, the hardened pain she saw in Tita’s face was actually her own destiny. By choosing what she saw in those images, she tells a story of an old cultural tradition through cooking recipes that feed and magically evoke emotions of love, deprivation and rebellion.
A daughter, unable to marry, caught in the middle of forced devotion, seeing her life go by.
Ultimately Esquivel proves true love is a fire that can never be diminished, creating an evocative, imaginative story, and what has turned out to be an exceptional ballet.
A combination novel and cookbook, Like Water For Chocolate has sold more than 4.5 million copies, translated into more than 30 languages, won book awards and was one of the highest grossing foreign language films. Esquivel later wrote a screenplay for the award winning movie.
I turned to writing, as a way of creating, telling my stories, when my photography business became irrelevant during the pandemic. My love for staring at old images has lead me to other stories as well.
Although I had never heard of Laura Esquivel, I related to her curiosity, passion and reasoning behind her famous novel. She took a picture, examined it and gave it life, love and breadth.
“The life which is not examined is not worth living.” - Plato
Hi again Deb. LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE is one of my favorite movies. Although it does have some unnecessary (in my opinion) nudity in it, which I edited out when I showed this to my fourth-year Spanish students over 20 years ago, the movie deals with passion, lost love, and the consequences when we make poor choices. Especially since I lived in Mexico for two years (1989-1991), I can relate quite well to the cultural aspects explored and highly recommend the movie. Although I would love to see the ballet someday, I don't suppose it will come to Ecuador. HA! I think I have a copy, in Spanish, of the book, which I'll have to dig out. As always, thanks for sharing! OX
There's a wealth of stories buried in old photo albums. It's sad to think that the photos we take today will probably not end up in a treasured book, filled with visual memories that can be shared and enjoyed by family and friends. Instead they will have to be tracked down in a 'cloud'.