Translation by Laura's Nephew Jordi Castells
Interview By Paul Salfen
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE AUTHOR LAURA ESQUIVEL RELEASES MEMOIRS
“What I’ve Seen” reflects renowned author’s perception of her life in a changed world
MEXICO CITY, Mexico City (December 9, 2020) – Award-winning author Laura Esquivel who mesmerized the world with international best-seller Like Water for Chocolate, has just released What I’ve Seen, memoirs of her colorful life spanning 70 years. Available by chapters in monthly installments through the author’s Patreon, What I’ve Seen explores the author’s particular vision of growing up and living in Mexico, her inspiration surrounding writing Like Water for Chocolate which became a global phenomenon, family relationships and dynamics, her quarantine and pandemic experiences, and much more.
Life continues to be upended by a global health crisis that has affected everyone. With much of the world going into some type of lockdown and isolation, some have used this time for self-reflection, to learn new hobbies and skills, to express themselves through various creative outlets and to better understand how to relate to others and themselves. A pandemic, quarantine, isolation, and a transformed world has inspired Esquivel to view the world through altered lenses and reflect on her life in this new world. Her objective in writing What I’ve Seen is to document how the world has changed and share how her way of looking at the world has changed. Of the creative inspiration behind Esquivel’s latest project, the author is seeking to find the fragments of life experiences that have transformed her, combined with a yearning of a community that seeks to build a better world in an unprecedented time.
For a low subscription of $5USD monthly, readers have access to a new chapter each month via Patreon, in English and Spanish text, along with never-before seen photographs of Esquivel’s life and inspiration. For $7USD monthly subscription, readers receive the chapters, plus a Spanish language narration by Esquivel herself and an English language narration by Yareli Arizmendi, the actress who portrayed Rosaura in the film Like Water for Chocolate. The first chapter is now available, and a new chapter will be released each month.
First published thirty years ago, the international best-seller Like Water for Chocolate sold over seven million copies around the world and was published in 36 languages. The book was adapted for film and debuted as a Spanish-language movie in 1992 and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It became the highest-grossing foreign language film ever released in the United States at the time.
This year brings the addition of two books completing the Like Water for Chocolate trilogy. Tita’s Diary, the second book, takes an intimate look at the life of the best-selling novel’s main character, who embodies love, passion, and the communication of emotions through food in early 20th Century México. The Colors of My Past, the third book is an ode to female independence and centers around Maria who reconnects with her roots and family traditions after discovering Tita’s Diary.
Tita’s Diary and The Colors of My Past are now available both in eBook and Paperback format from Amazon. The release comes at the same time as the announcement of the development of a Like Water for Chocolate musical with original music by Grammy Award-winning Latin group La Santa Cecilia, lyrics by La Santa Cecilia and Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights) and a book by Lisa Loomer. Like Water for Chocolate will be directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer. A preview of the original score is available at www.broadwaycares.org.
Tita’s Diary is available for purchase now at: https://www.amazon.com/Titas-
About Laura Esquivel
Born on September 30, 1950, in Mexico City, Mexico, Laura Esquivel began writing while working as a kindergarten teacher. She wrote plays for her students and then went on to write children’s television programs during the 1970s and 1980s. Esquivel often explores the relationship between men and women in Mexico in her work. She is best known for Like Water for Chocolate (1990), an imaginative and compelling combination of novel and cookbook. It had been released in Mexico a year earlier. After the release of the film version in 1992, Like Water for Chocolate became internationally known and loved. The book has sold more than 7 million copies. Esquivel has continued to show her creative flair and lyrical style in her later work. Accompanied by a collection of music, her second novel The Law of Love (1996) combined romance and science fiction. Between the Fires (2000) featured essays on life, love, and food. Her novel, Malinche (2006), explores the life of a near mythic figure in Mexican history-the woman who served as Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés’s interpreter and mistress.
