A Foreword for My Exploit

It is an awful thing when one feels irritated and depressed. So to celebrate those awful feelings, I turned back to creative writing. Which was well. I ended up productive by channeling the negative vibes that were bugging me, intensifying them, and turning them to another direction. Thus The Curse That is Tita.

My first short story after two years (I think the last one I wrote was in 2004 for one of my classes in college) is some sort of a spin off of Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate. Set in a town in Mexico, Like Water for Chocolate takes off with the lives of three sisters: Rosario, Gertrudes, and Tita; and their controlling mother, Mama Elena.

In my version, I tried borrowing the voice of Sandra Cisneros’ Esperanza of The House on Mango Street to further give life to Tita. And to add a twist, I attempted do what Neil Gaiman did with his Nicholas Was.

I can’t say how I think I did with my latest exploit. (Exploit seems more appropriate than creation.) In any case, I wish that The Curse That is Tita will stick not only to your minds but also to your hearts.

Besides, what better way to welcome the women month than to be acquainted to a woman nobody wants to become?

Huh!