Original subtitles

[♪]

[indistinct chatter]

It will be a great day, sweetheart.

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE

I'm doing what must be done, right?

(Nacha) If it comes from your heart,

then you're doing what must be done.

[♪]

[indistinct chatter]

(Delfino) Giddy up!

[horse neighs]

[church bells ringing]

[indistinct chatter]

Grace will tell you when to bring the rings.

- Okay? - Yes, Dad.

Very well.

(Alex) Dad said you'd tell me when to bring the rings.

- Right. - But how am I supposed to...?

I'll say when, don't worry.

(woman 1) Here comes the bride!

[whispers] Do I look okay?

(woman 2) She looks like a princess!

Thank you, Delfino.

Thank you.

Would you help me, Delfino?

Thank you.

[♪]

[breaths heavily]

[sighs]

[pipe organ playing]

[pipe organ stops]

Welcome, brothers.

May the Almighty's blessing

be upon you.

The Lord God said:

"It is not good for the man to be alone.

I will make a suitable partner for him."

You're not marrying this woman

out of an impure desire,

but with the best intentions.

God Almighty,

give us your mercy

and let us be together in your kingdom,

all of us at the same time.

This is the word of the Lord.

- We praise You, Lord. - (everybody) We praise You, Lord.

(Father) Let's stand up.

We're here, at the altar,

because God, infinitely glorious,

will guarantee your will to enter into this marriage.

Face each other.

Look at each other.

Now, the question is...

Are you here

under no pressure,

free and willingly?

Yes, Father.

Willingly.

[fluttering wings]

(Father) Are you determined to love and to respect each other

and to live in matrimony for the rest of your lives?

Are you determined to love and to respect each other

and to live in matrimony for the rest of your lives?

[sobs quietly]

I'm sorry.

I can't.

[woman gasps] No...

[general exclamation]

What happened?

Pedro...

Careful, Miss.

Thank you, Delfino.

[sighs]

- [door opens] - (Rosaura) Tita!

Tita!

[mutters] Where is she?

- (Gertrudis) What's wrong? - (Rosaura) Tita!

(Gertrudis) Rosaura!

You knew it, right?

You told her to leave, right!

- (Gertrudis) I don't... Calm down... - (Rosaura) What did you do? Let me go!

Rosaura, please, you must calm down.

[♪]

[steps approaching]

[trembling voice] You're back.

(Pedro) Rosaura.

(Rosaura) What happened?

Where did you go?

(Pedro) We have to talk.

No.

Don't say it, I don't want to hear you.

I'm leaving with Tita.

We can't go on living like this.

No, that will never happen.

Haven't we both suffered enough?

If you hadn't accepted my mother's agreement,

nobody would be suffering.

I didn't cheat on anybody!

I married you because I loved you!

I will never love you.

[whispers] I know.

I know that.

I don't even care.

Like it or not, I'll be by your side until I die.

We still have time.

You could be happy too.

I'll never be happy.

I won't allow you or Tita to be happy.

If you leave this house, you'll never see Esperanza again.

You've already lost a son.

Do you want to lose her too?

Are you two leaving?

And where will you live?

Right now, I don't know a thing.

What matters is that I did what I had to do.

I knew you weren't sure.

It took me too long to decide.

Marrying the doctor was your duty.

All you had to do was that!

Duty, tradition, good manners. You sound exactly like Mom.

None of that matters, when will you ever realize?

Don't hit her!

If Mom were here, none of this would have happened.

You would have obeyed her!

She lied to us. She was forced to get married.

She loved another man.

That's not true.

So much for your good manners.

It's a lie, you're both crazy.

You're trying to hurt me! All my life you've been against me!

You only care about appearances!

You never cared about us!

Get the hell out of my house once and for all, damn it!

[button falls]

[Gertrudis sighs]

Once you and Pedro decide what to do, let me know.

Take care.

[baby cries]

I love you.

I love you.

If Juan doesn't show up,

I'll grab him by the ear and take him to you!

[laughs quietly] Grab his balls!

[Tita laughs]

[door opens]

John.

Why are you here?

I wanted to say goodbye.

It's for you.

It was your wedding gift.

We all have an inner box of matches.

All we have to do is find a detonator.

The legend says more.

We must be careful

and light one match at a time.

Otherwise, if emotion is very intense,

and all matches are lit,

the flame would burn forever.

I didn't mean to hurt you.

I know.

I know.

[♪]

[indistinct chatter]

- [baby sobs] - [goat bleats]

[galloping]

[horse snorts]

[metal clanking]

- [baby yelling] - [woman talking]

If you want an explanation, I won't do that, not today anyway.

No.

I can't stand being away from you two.

Now he is your son.

I'm an asshole.

Yes, right, an asshole.

Forgive me.

And?

You didn't cheat on me.

[Gertrudis hums]

You're trustworthy, Gertrudis.

And?

Anything else to say?

I was overwhelmed with jealousy.

I was an asshole.

I really got upset because I thought that...

that you loved someone else.

And?

Forgive me.

I miss you a lot.

Forgive me.

Gertrudis.

(Gertrudis) Are you coming or what?

[♪]

(Gertrudis) Take him to bed.

[steps approaching]

What do you want?

I won't have more children.

Esperanza will stay with me until I die.

Don't you realize how harmful that tradition has been?

It's the only thing I have.

Esperanza has the right to live the life she wants.

I'm willing to accept that.

But don't take her father away from her.

Go far away

and never come back.

[laughs quietly]

[Gertrudis sighs]

I've missed you.

I've missed you more.

[moans]

Keep it in a safe place.

Someday, our Josecito will see it.

Yes.

I must go back.

I'm sure there's another way of changing things.

You wanted to fight like me.

What happened?

Well, we have a son now.

Yes, that's true.

But I can't walk out on my men.

I can't just vanish into thin air.

I'm not a deserter.

Of course not.

You're not. I know that.

But José needs you.

Then let's go.

You won't abandon your ideas, and I won't abandon mine either.

I have no choice.

What do you really want?

I want you to take care of yourself.

I'll come back for you two.

- [Gertrudis sobs] - I swear.

[sighs]

[♪]

[door slams]

[Pedro] Here you are.

Are you ready?

[whispers] Yes.

[whispers] What's wrong?

It's been a very long day.

It was wonderful.

Good evening.

Good evening.

(Tita) Pedro,

I'm writing this letter

because I'm not brave enough to look at you and say goodbye.

I've accepted Rosaura's deal,

and I'm leaving for good.

If we stay together,

be it here or somewhere else,

Rosaura won't allow you to see Esperanza again.

What's even worse, she'll condemn her to undergo

the same absurd tradition that ruined my life.

I won't allow that to happen.

That tradition will die with me.

Take care of Esperanza.

I'll take care of her during summer.

I'm sure that

both you and I

will help her become a free woman.

Today I'm giving up on happiness

so that Esperanza can be happy.

I'm also giving up on you

and I'll go after my freedom.

Please...

never doubt my love for you.

We've been loving each other from a distance since our childhood.

I think it will be better for everyone if things remain like this.

Goodbye, Pedro.

[♪]

(narrator) That day,

the life of the De la Garza women changed for good.

While Tita fought an inner revolution,

the rebels,

despite getting weaker and weaker,

kept fighting too.

(woman) Gertrudis!

A horseman!

Who is he?

- Help me. - Give him to me.

I'll take care of him. Go ahead, run!

[♪]

(narrator) Time went by,

and Rosaura kept her word.

She took Esperanza to Tita each summer.

Be careful.

Hi, Esperanza!

Hi, Aunt Tita!

Come on in. Want some help?

(narrator) Tita also fulfilled the agreement.

She never ever went after Pedro.

In exchange, she saw Esperanza grow.

Eventually,

Tita found the peace she'd been longing for so long.

She lead a quiet life,

what with knitting,

cooking,

and her next chance of spending time with Esperanza.

And, like Nacha had done with her,

Tita taught Esperanza all her cooking secrets.

(Tita) And this herb with a particular smell is...

It's a herb...? [laughs]

(Tita) It's mint!

Right, mint!

Make thinner slices so that cooking them is easier.

(narrator) Pedro never was on intimate terms with Rosaura again.

He was an exemplary father.

He devoted body and soul to this daughter

and to fight for the rights of the underprivileged people.

As a landowner, he promoted the creation of laws

to improve people's working conditions in the country.

(Tita) Safe travels, honey.

Thank you, Aunt.

Don't take long to return.

(narrator) Time continued to pass.

I guess that, in the meantime,

Tita and Pedro never stopped thinking about each other.

Deep down, they knew that being away from each other

was the best for everybody.

(Rosaura) And Esperanza?

Where is my daughter?

I don't know.

[♪]

(Rosaura) Esperanza!

We have guests.

I'm coming, Mom.

Bye, Alex.

Bye.

(Alex) Bye, madam.

(Rosaura) What were you doing with Dr. Brown's son?

I don't think a young lady should behave like that.

Besides, I don't feel well.

I need you to take care of me.

[groaning]

[engine running]

[groaning]

(narrator) Rosaura's pain was getting worse.

Pedro's rejection,

her secret desire to prevent Esperanza from finding love

and all the bitterness she'd been keeping in her heart

made her rot inside

little by little.

[farts]

[dragging]

[clanking]

[door opens]

[Esperanza gasps] Mom!

Mom!

What happened, Mom?

Mom!

Mommy, Mommy...

[sobbing] She's dead.

(narrator) After Rosaura's death,

Esperanza asked Tita to help her cook for an upcoming event.

Tita accepted

because she knew that Pedro would be busy in town.

Getting back to the ranch

brought painful moments back to Tita's memory.

It also awoke beautiful memories that had been dormant for a long time.

[♪]

[crackling]

(narrator) That day they cooked chiles in walnut sauce,

the dish with which

Mexico's independence is traditionally celebrated.

It is said that if the chiles are properly cooked,

they may light the soul of any person who tries them.

Preparing this dish with Esperanza

in the kitchen where she was born,

where she grew up and learned so many things,

moved Tita very deeply.

Therefore,

she felt a strong sense of freedom grow within her

and again, this feeling spread into all of the food she touched.

CHILES IN WALNUT SAUCE

[♪]

[indistinct chatter]

Dad!

Let me introduce you to some friends.

- Come here. - Okay.

How are you?

- (Esperanza) This is Beto. - (Pedro) Hi.

- (Beto) Hi! - And his wife.

(Pedro) Hi!

[clapping]

I thank life

for making our paths cross long ago.

Today I want to toast

to you,

my beautiful Esperanza.

And to all of you as well!

Cheers!

- (everybody) Cheers! - (Esperanza) I want to speak too!

And before we start eating!

That is...

if I'm not overcome with emotion.

I want to thank my father,

my mother,

my dear father-in-law,

and you, Alex,

for making me the happiest woman in the world.

I also...

want to say thanks to a great person.

This person has taught me and shown me

that I can achieve whatever I want in life,

that there are no limits,

and that freedom isn't a gift,

you have to fight for it every single day.

I know that today I'm here...

thanks to you,

Tita.

I'm so happy to have you near me.

To be honest,

you've been like a second mother to me.

Cheers!

- (everybody) Cheers! - [clapping]

[cheering]

- Cheers. - (man) Bravo!

Son.

- (man) Bravo! - [indistinct chattering]

[car approaching]

- (woman 1) Who's that? - (woman 2) No idea.

- (woman 1) Did you invite them? - (man) Isn't that Josecito?

(Esperanza) It's Aunt Gertrudis.

[gasps] It's my aunt!

[laughing]

(Gertrudis) Sister!

You all look beautiful!

Fina!

(Tita) Hi!

Nice to meet you, I'm Tita.

José, you're so big!

(Tita) I'm so glad I've finally met you.

(Gertrudis) Come, meet my family.

- [indistinct chatter] - [laughter]

(Gertrudis) Thank you very much.

[moans]

[moans]

(woman 1) This dish is so delicious!

(woman 2) This is so tender!

(woman 3) No, it's Tita De la Garza!

(narrator) In the blink of an eye,

the chiles disappeared from the trays.

Guests savored them with pleasure.

And while they were at it, one by one,

they allowed themselves to feel the freedom

with which Tita had cooked that dish.

- Leo! - (Leo) Yes, sir?

- Play another song! - (Leo) Okay!

[music starts]

(man) Bravo!

Son!

[car approaching]

[door slams]

[♪]

(narrator) Only after 20 years

Pedro and Tita finally felt free to be together.

They had been waiting for this moment their whole life.

That day,

their love challenged the passage of time.

[Tita moans]

(narrator) The desire, after so many years,

the endless waiting,

the intensity of such reunion.

There were so many feelings,

there was so much love in that union

that all the matches they had within

lit at the same time.

[Tita moans]

(narrator) A long time ago,

I learned that stories are not entirely true or false,

because they're nurtured with half-truths,

with well told lies,

or with blurred memories.

Memories...

that get lost in smoking fires

or that get imbued with the smell of spices,

and, like in any recipe,

they get mixed like any other ingredient.

[♪]

This is the story

of Tita, my great-great aunt,

of Esperanza, my great-grandmother, who rescued her book of recipes,

and of each and every other De la Garza women that came after them.

A story that, whether it may be true or false,

reminds us that we women are the owners of our destiny.

A story that will continue to exist

as long as there is someone

who cooks its recipes.

[♪]