Transcript for Duo’s Film Club - Como agua para chocolate

Hola, Listeners. I'm Martina Cattro and we're back with a new episode of Duo's Film Club, the latest season of the Duo Lingo Spanish podcast. This season we're exploring some of the most iconic Spanish language films. And whether you've seen them or not, you're gonna learn what makes these movies so special. In our signature bilingual format.

I love this movie, and I'm so excited to talk about it with you today. Komo agua para chocolate, or like water for chocolate, is a tale of forbidden love. But this movie is also about the power of food, how it's intimately connected to our emotions and family. So, against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, Komo agua para chocolate pays homage to Mexico's rich culinary heritage.

That's our guest today Mauricio Garcia. He's an expert in Mexican cinema, and he'll be guiding us through the romance and intense emotions or emotions of como agua para chocolate. He'll share what you need to know about Mexico's history, culture, and of course the food in the movie. So grab some popcorn and get comfy. We're about to step back in time to Mexico in the early 1900s. Please keep in mind that that Camoa, what better to call out there is rated R. But our episode today is completely family friendly. Now, maybe you're like me, and you read the book before you watch the movie. The book has the same title, Gamuawa-wapara-chokolati, and the Mexican writer, Laura Esquivel, first published it in 1989. Parts of it read like a cookbook, and lists ingredients for food like chavella wedding cake, which appears early on in both the novel and the film. It's a sweet and buttery cake with a citrusy twist.

The book was translated into over 30 languages, captivating people around the world. But it wasn't just the love story that made it popular. It was also the book's style. Esquivel was part of a literary movement called magical realism, or really small Mexico. This style was popularized in Latin American literature where realistic events are combined with dreamlike or fantastical elements. It presents a world where the ordinary and the extraordinary can seamlessly coexist.

You might have heard of a red other authors from this genre, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or Isabella Yende. These writers focused on elements that are unique to Latin America, like Indigenous mythology, folklore, and its colonial heritage.

In fact, the very first things we see on screen are magical moments related to food. A woman is chopping up an onion, and then suddenly, she gives birth to theta, our main character, and the baby's tears end up flooding the kitchen. From then on, in almost every scene, we see people cooking or eating. But before we talk about the amazing food, let's review the basic storyline. Gomuawa para chocolate, they follow the life of Dita, the youngest daughter in a very traditional Mexican family. She falls deeply in love with a man named Pedro, but an old family custom prevents her from getting married because she has to care for her mother. So Pedro ends up marrying her sister, Rosada, so that he can stay close to Dita. His true love.

The movie has all the ingredients of a classic Mexican soap opera or delinevala. If you don't know these, they are serialized TV shows that started in Latin America and are hugely popular with themes like forbidden love, betrayal, and lots of family drama. And like many delinevalas, this movie is a period piece. It takes place at the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910.

The revolution would usher in a series of reforms in a brand new government for Mexico. But at the time, in the early 20th century, it was still very much a male dominated society. So you'll see that the female characters in this film were expected to follow traditions and defer to men, even on their own ranch or rancho.

Especially Dita, whose main form of rebellion is expressing herself through food. This is what truly makes movies special. And one reason why it's still one of the most popular foreign films ever in the United States.

That's such a passionate moment, and it's all thanks to a single dish. Kodor Nises in Betalos de Rosa, or quail with rose petals. Dita uses the roses Pedro has given her to make a sweet and fragrant sauce with chestnuts, honey, and spices. She pairs it with the tender and flavorful coil, prompting Baythero to proclaim it's the pleasure of the gods. Later, we see another example of passion and food uniting together when Dita prepares an elaborate dark gravy called moly for her nephew's baptism. I was lucky enough to be given a family recipe for Molly when I visited Wajaka and it included 27 ingredients that took me two whole days to make.

The baptism and mule are also great examples of how Mexican cuisine shapes family events and customs. Mauricio says that food is definitely a source of national pride.

For today's scene, we pick one of my favorites. It features a moment between Dita and Nacha, the family's cook. They're preparing the wedding cake for her sister, Rosada, and Beidaro. Dita's true love. Of course, Dita is heartbroken, and she begins to cry, or Chiyad, her tears fall into the batter as she stirs.

the tears end up in the cake. So the next day, with a wedding guest eat it, they become overwhelmed with sadness for their lost loves. They not only cry, but they also become physically ill. It's one of the clearest examples of magical realism in the film, and it shows a key theme. Even if Tita and others try to hide their real feelings and avoid happiness, they can't help their emotions showing up in the food that they make.

Before we wrap up, we'd like to leave you with a few fun facts, or that those curiosos that hopefully will teach you something new about the movie. We asked our expert guest Mauricio to share some of his favorites. Let's see what he came up with. Okay, fun fact number one. The title of the movie, Como agua para chocolate, is a metaphor based on the recipe for Mexican hot chocolate. To start, you have to put water to boil, or it'll feed.

Fun fact number two is about language. Did you notice how we hear snippets of English throughout the movie? That's because Dita's family lived near a border town, and at the time, in the early 1900s, the border between Mexico and the United States was nearly non-existent.

And for fun fact, number three, it turns out that there was romance in the movie both on and off screen.

Yep, he heard that right. The actor who played Beodorot didn't speak Spanish. His lines are completely dubbed over in the film. And finally, let's circle back to something we mentioned at the beginning. That this movie is like a telenovela. There are a lot of similarities, but one big difference stands out, and it's a spoiler. So if you haven't seen Komu Awa para Jagolate, truly come back after you've seen the movie or skip ahead of the end, because this is a big one. Okay, here we go. The big difference between the movie and the classic telenovela is the fact that there's no happy ending, just a bittersweet finale. Mauricio explains.

We do see a wedding of Titus Niz, then when everyone leaves Titus and Pedro are finally alone. They enter a shed filled with glowing candles. And when they're finally together, they both die in a fiery magical scene. Modi says that it's like their passion was just too much for this world.

It's so dramatic, but at the same time, it's so beautiful. And that's it for today's episode. Special thanks to our guest, Mauricio Ercia. He's an editor in Mexico City for Ede Siones Caliadena. And we'll catch up with him again soon for a different episode of duo's film club. The episode was written by Thali Goldman, a journalist and writer based in Buenos Aires. And if you want to watch the movie for next week's film club before the episode comes out, we'll be talking about the iconic Spanish director Pedro Almo Dóvar, and his classic film, Mujeres al Bordé de una taquete de Nervios. But this movie, I went back to chocolate, is one of my all-time favorites. So I'd love to know what you think of it and what you thought of this episode. You can write us an email at podcast at duolingo.com or send us an audio message on WhatsApp at plus one, seven o'clock, nine, five, three, nine, three, six, nine. Don't forget to say your name and wear your from. If you liked this episode, please share it. You can find the audio and the transcript of podcast.doolingo.com. You can also follow us on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite listening app so you never miss an episode. With over 500 million users, Duolingo is the world's leading language learning platform, and the most downloaded education app in the world. Duolingo believes in making education free, fun, and available to everyone. To join, download the app today, or find out more at Duolingo.com. The Duolingo Spanish podcast is produced by Duolingo and Adon de Media. I'm the executive producer and your host, Martín Acáatro. It asks, yes, put a good chat.