“Like Water for Chocolate” is a new HBO Max Spanish television series adapted from the novel of the same title which was written by Mexican author Laura Esquivel. The first episode was released in November.
The cast of this 2024 series includes Azul Guaita (Rebelde) as Tita De la Garza, Irene Azuela as Mama Elena, and Andres Baida as Pedro Musquiz. It also includes Andrea Chaparro (Rebelde) as Gertrudis and Ana Valeria Becerril (Control Z) as Rosaura, Tita’s sisters.
The novel “Like Water for Chocolate” was originally published in Spanish in 1989, but its translated English version was released three years later. It falls under the genre of magical realism and deals with themes of tradition versus independence, challenging gender roles, and tumultuous love.
The novel is set in a town close to the Mexican-U.S. border and during Mexico’s Revolutionary War. It highlights a matriarchal family, the De la Garza’s. More particularly, it follows Tita, the youngest of the De la Garza daughters, and her personal journey in dealing with traditions and family struggles.
Tita meets and falls in love with Pedro but when Pedro goes to Mama Elena to ask for Tita’s hand in marriage, Mama Elena does not offer her blessing. She proclaims that family traditions dictate that because she is the youngest daughter, Tita cannot ever marry and instead must remain by Mama Elena’s side to care for her until her death.
The main element of magic comes from Tita’s emotions manifesting themselves in the foods she creates. The book consists of 12 chapters, each one representing an entire month of Tita’s life. It is set up almost like a cooking book, with a recipe for each month, in which a dish Tita prepares is highlighted and a story is told through the dish.
This book already has an existing adaptation— the 1992 film of the same name directed by Alfonso Arau. The film was well-received and even won 10 Ariel awards, a high-distinction award for cinematographic works in Mexico, including the Golden Ariel, the highest award.
Because of this, the new series received mixed reactions at first especially since there are many debates surrounding both book adaptations and remakes. Regarding book-to-screen adaptations, some people do not have trust in them, believing that some books’ plotlines get lost or misportrayed when they are translated into a screen format. Regarding remakes and reboots, many abide by the “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” rule.
So far, I think that “Like Water for Chocolate” (2024) is a fair adaptation of the novel.
This new adaptation incorporated new elements that were not present in the book. It added a new storyline that involved the lower-class workers and rebels of the war which I think helped provide social context about the class and gender expectations that influenced Tita and her family.
Another new addition was the element of rivalry between Tita and Pedro’s families. I think this second change wasn’t necessary and the series could have done without it. However, overall, the adjustments and additions made do not take away from the main plot which was Tita’s relationship with her mother and her love story with Pedro.
One of the strengths of this new work is its ability to depict the magical realism scenes of the book. Scenes like Tita’s birth or the ones that involved her magical cooking weren’t overly focused which provided a sense that their occurrences were normal in Tita’s world. The adaptation is also visually appealing.
I do think, though, that one thing the adaptation will struggle with is the character arcs and development, particularly of the love interest Pedro Musquiz. This is not a “fault” of the adaptation itself but rather of the original work by Esquivel.
The show will need to work on the likeability of Pedro Musquiz because, after everything he puts Tita through, it is difficult to concede with the idea that in the end, he is the best choice for her. Thus far, I don’t think many are rooting for Pedro and Tita because of this but the two remaining episodes could change this.
All HBO’s “Like Water for Chocolate” episodes are now out and available to binge-watch. The season ends with Tita’s journey to freedom still undecided. News of a second season is still unknown.
