Recommended by Amy

The Tequila Worm
Title of Novel

I. Author

A. Lifespan (When did the author live?)

Viola Canales was born on April 21, 1957 in McAllen, Texas

B. Background (Where and under what conditions did the author live?)

Viola and her family lived in McAllen, Texas in the barrio – close-knit and highly religious community when it was at least 80 percent Mexican-American. The community was poor, but rich with culture, traditions, family, friends and food.

C. Relevant facts (List a few important facts about the author’s life.)

The Tequila Worm is filled with facts surrounding some of the choices/decisions that Viola made as a 14 year old.
1) Parents considered it disrespectful to speak English in front of her grandmother, so she started grade school unable to speak or write English. It took her until the 3rd grade to catch up and she at times dreaded and stressed about going to school.
2) Won an academic scholarship at the age of 15 to attend St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin, Texas, which was 300 miles from McAllen, her family and community
3) Accepted to attend Harvard College; however, restless she took several “adventures” in her undergrad leaving to work one summer as an organizer with the United Farm Workers Union. The second time was to complete officers training at Fort Benning – Served as a Captain in the US Army
4) Graduated from Harvard, concentrating in government, in 1986
5) Pursued law degree, which she felt would help her improve “equality and opportunity for everybody whatever their culture or race or gender”
6) Joined O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles, commission that investigated the Los Angeles Police Department after the beating of Rodney King
7) In 1994, worked for the Clinton Administration as the regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) – Returned to communities to help women and minorities start and grow businesses. Helped guarantee $3 billion in loans annually in California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and Guam
8) Started writing

D. Notable works (Name and tell the types of the author’s most important publications.)

2001 – Orange Candy Slices and Other Secret Tales – collections of short stories
2005 – The Tequila Worm
2006 – Won Pura Belpre Award (Presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth)


E. Influence of life on works (Relate how events in the author’s life influenced his writing.)

Viola started writing stories about her experience growing up while at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School to help with feeling homesick. The Tequila Worm debuts a lot of those experiences.




II. Brief plot summary (What happened throughout the story?)

The Tequila Worm is about a young girl, Sofia, coming of age while living in a Texas border town, McAllen, with her family. Upon given the opportunity to win a scholarship to attend a boarding school, St. Luke’s, in Austin, Texas, Sofia must decide how to pursue her dreams, but remain close with her family values.


Barrio Storyteller – Tells Sofia, as a young girl, that she resembles her Mama Maria who was a mule. “Always kicking her way through things. A force to behold! But beautiful, with the darkest eyes and long, wild Apache hair. And you, Sofia, not only look like her, but have inherited her gift for mule-kicking” (p. 2).

First Communion – At the age of seven took her first communion by accepting the holy host. She had practiced this with her younger sister, Lucy, and cousin Noe. Telling them that upon accepting the wafer they must allow it to dissolve in their mouth because its holy and if you bite it “you die and go to hell”. “Then on Sunday, you can’t ear anything – not even a tiny crumb – for a whole hour before taking communion.” Then a week after accepting her first communion she was standing in the Communion line and remembered that she had taken a bite of Berta’s chocolate bar just before Mass. She panics, but is afraid that people will think she had done something really evil if she sat back down. She froze when she got to the priest who, after she did not reply to him, shoved the wafer into her mouth and pushed her aside. She secretly removed it from her mouth and placed it in her shirt pocket. Upon arriving home, Sofia stated she was ill and ran upstairs to change her shirt, later telling her mother what had happened. Her mother immediately took her to church to confess to the priest and left the shirt. Three months later the shirt arrived at the house with the pocket sewn shut.

Easter Cascarones – Sofia becomes very competitive with Berta during lent to save the most egg shells/cartons, but does not realize the significance until she and Lucy must decorate each individual egg. Sofia hits Berta with an egg filled with flour. Berta hits Sofia with an egg filled with mustard. Lucy hits Berta with a rotten egg.

El Dia de los Muertos – Sofia’s cousin, Berta, told her that she had gone to the other side of town the previous year and found “chocolate heaven”. Sofia started in the barrio and got:
Small skull with her name on it
Cucumber
Big sugar tortilla
Card with a Guardian Angel
More cucumbers
Carrots
Pennies
Peanuts
Popcorn balls
Brown egg
Flowers (fresh, paper, plastic)
Bean taco
Lollipops
Some hard candy

Upon complaining about the lack of chocolate bars and quarters to her mother, they drove across the railroad tracks to trick-or-treat. She obtained Hershey bars and kisses. When her father asked about the candy she got and saw the different bags, he drove her to the cemetery where people were talking, dancing, playing guitars, singing to tombs and eating food. Sofia comments about wishing they lived on the other side of town in the nice houses. Her father said, “we have our music, our foods, our traditions. And the warm hearts of our families.” And tells her how the comadres got together to cure Lucy after the accident, which was something the rich doctors could not do.

Taco Head – Sofia use to ask her mother every morning for lunch money to eat at school or a sandwich, but her mother would always make her 2 bean tacos. Some kids at school called the Mexican Americans “beaners” and she did not want to be labeled. One day one of the kids caught her eating the tacos in the far corner of the cafeteria and called her “taco head”. However, Coach Clarke (girls’ PE teacher) invited Sofia to eat lunch at her table and they shared each others food. Sofia then realizes that the sandwiches are not all she thought they would be. When Sofia mentions that she would like to kick the girl who made fun of her, Coach Clarke suggests, “Sofia, learn to kick with your head instead” and “by kicking her butt at school, by beating her in English, math, everything – even sports”. She then started to eat her tacos quickly and head to the library.

Scholarship to St. Luke’s Episcopal – A doctor was funding scholarships to send four Mexican American students from lower Rio Grande Valley to Saint Luke’s Episcopal School in Austin. Since Sofia was in the top of her class the school counselor wanted to recommend her. She would have to go through tests and interviews. Upon reviewing the brochure, she was memorized by the building, chapel and especially the soccer fields. It made her think was of the mansions on the other side of town where the doctors and lawyers live. However, she became very hesitant when he told her it was 350 miles away from her family. Sofia brings it up at sobremesa and her family is shocked. Her mother brings up planning her quinceañera where she states that she does not want one.

Cleaning Beans – Every Tuesday when her father came home, Sofia would sit in the kitchen with him and clean pinto beans. He was very thorough and would not cook them until the water was clear. It was a time for them to bond, since they had similar personalities. Where as, Lucy was more similar to her mother. “These are better than any piece of meat or steak”.


Quinceañera – Sofia was Berta’s dama de honor at her quinceañera. As comadres, Berta provides tips to Sofia about how to discuss St. Lukes with her mother. Upon realizing that her mother is really nervous about her attending due to her not growing up, Sofia is able to prove to her mother and obtain her blessing. Her father tells her about the tequila worm curing homesickness.

Five New Dresses – Sofia must have dresses to attend the St. Luke’s formal dinners from Monday through Friday. Therefore, Berta offers to help her.
1) Berta’s blue dress
2) Sofia’s dama dress from Berta’s quinceañera
3) Sofia’s father gives her $10 dollars, which she purchases a dress at Wal-Mart
4) Made out of a bathrobe
5) Emerald silk dress made from a bedsheet
The bathrobe dress and bedsheet were purchased at Johnson’s Ropa Usada (Take Sofia’s $3 dollars from her piggy bank) where for a flat fee you could purchase a whole bale of random clothes.

Packing Shed – Berta continues to try and convince Sofia to get sponsored by some padrinos and madrinas to purchase her dresses, but she is too proud to ask for the assistance. She went into numerous retail shops on Main Street in town filling out applications. However, when she was walking home she came across a packing shed where Mexicans were sorting cucumbers. When she tells her father that evening, he says it is really hard work and to come home and he would raise the money. She tells him no that she wants to earn the money herself.

Arrival at Saint Luke’s – Upon arriving on campus and finding her dorm room, Sofia’s mother starts to set up her room alter, which consists of:
· Yellow votive candle
· 10” statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe
· Glow-in-the-dark rosary
· Framed print Guardian Angel
· Grandmother’s favorite saint, black San Marin de Porres (“Patron Saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony)
· 12” bleeding Christ on a wooden cross

Stolen alter pieces showing up in chapel

St. Luke’s preparing students for college as individuals (Sofia was use to unity of family – not individual gain)

Christmas nacimiento – Sofia’s grandmother is making a Mexican town out of mud, styroform and wood. Everyday they would open more boxes with items to place in the nacimiento. The themes would change from year to year.

Father’s death – Sofia’s father is diagnosed with cancer during her senior year and passes away. Her Tia Belia tells her that she must let her father go because he is holding on out of concern for her. Upon telling him how much she loved him; he passed away.

The Plaza – Sofia built a plaza where there old house use to be in McAllen and used the space to create a plaza for the neighborhood to meet, have conversations. She planted Mexican Jasmine, which were he father’s favorite.


III. Characters (Who are the main characters in the story?)

Sofia
Mother
Father
Lucy
Berta
A. Relationships (How are the main characters related to each other or important to the story?)
Family – Mother, Father, Sofia (daughter), Lucy (daughter, Sofia’s sister) and Berta (Sofia’s cousin).

They are important to the story because of the family values that Mexican Americans instill in themselves.
B. Development (How does the author show the increasing importance of the main characters? Include brief quotations, if possible.)
Sofia’s relationships develop with her:

Father – She is most like her father

Mother – She is least like her mother

Sister Lucy – About 5 years younger than Sofia, but they share a room and have a close relationship

Cousin Berta – Same age, they had a following out as children over a chocolate bar, but grown to become best friends and comadres

IV. Setting (Where and when does the story take place?)
A. Time and time span
The book does not really define the time period; however, if you assume that it is relevant to the author’s life then around the Late 60’s; Early 70’s
B. Place
Rio Grande Valley (McAllen, TX)
C. Importance of setting to the story (Could the story take place at any other time or place?)
Yes, if Mexican Americans still hold the same family values then this story could take place during any time period or place.

V. Conflict (What is the main problem?)
Sofia is offered the opportunity to obtain a scholarship to an excusive elite boarding school (St. Luke’s) in Austin, Texas. However, she struggles with convincing herself, specifically, her family to attend.

She struggles a little with being a Mexican American (Taco Head) and the candy at the neighborhood across town

VI. Resolution (How is the problem solved?)
Upon numerous discussions with her family and godmother (Tia Petra), she convinces everyone that she is ready for the challenge and the future opportunities for her life.

Even though she is on a full scholarship, Sofia’s family must still come up with $400 dollars for the semester. Sofia takes it upon herself to earn the money versus just allowing her parents to struggle and come up with it.
VII. Vocabulary
A.
1. Definition
Cascarones – confetti eggs
Eggs filled with confetti or small toys, decorated, and closed with tissue paper. Tradition carried among friends and family. Thrown or crushed over the recipients head. Brings “good luck”
2. Quotation (including page number) from text
During Lent, Sofia’s mother made the family eggs. They washed out the eggshells which were dried, placed in the empty cartons and stacked on top of the refrigerator.

“As the forty days of Lent marched on, towers of egg cartons grew on top of the refrigerator. Seven days before Easter, I counted fifteen cartons” (p.18).

“Lucy and I sat there for hours, until the sun finally set. By then we were not only streaked and colored from the previous day’s crayons and dyes and markers, but also covered with confetti and bits of crepe paper and gobs of goo. But we were experts at transforming empty white eggs into magical casarones” (p. 23).
B.
1. Definition
Comadre – relationship between parents and godparents of a child is an important bond which originates when the child is baptized.
Relationship formalizes a pre-existing friendship which results in a strong lifelong bond.

Quotation (including page number) from text
When Sofia wins one of the scholarship’s to St. Lukes, her parents stated that the family still needs to decide whether she will accept and that she needs to visit her Tia Petra (who happens to be her godmother, too). Godmother also has a say in her education.

Sofia: “Well, Mama worries that if I go away to Saint Luke’s, I won’t learn to be a good comadre. And when I asked what that meant, Papa said that it was at the heart of learning to be happy.”

Tia Petra: “Ay. Two Martians talking. That’s because you’re still young, Sofia, and learning what your mama means takes time. And not through books but through experience, and having comadres around to help you.”

“…Part of learning to become a good comadre is learning how to feel happiness, especially after life gets tricky” (p.56).

C.
1. Definition
Curanderas – practices folk medicine; an herb. Dedicated to curing physical or spiritual illnesses.
2. Quotation (including page number) from text
“…like curing cases of evil eye with the secret powder of a chicken egg, or curing earaches by inserting and then igniting paper cones inside throbbing ears – but she had brought a dead baby back to life just by blowing into it. She had given a poor woman who couldn’t have children so many teas to drink and so many saints to bury that the woman would up with three babies, and all of them with bright orange hair” (p.27).
D.
1. Definition
Canicula – occurs during the hottest, rainiest part of the year. Begins July 14 and lasts forty days to August 24.
2. Quotation (including page number) from text
“The forty days between July fourteenth and August twenty-fourth, which are the hottest days of the year and when the cotton gets picked.”
“But what does that have to do with losing your keys?”
“Everything, mi’ja, because the craziest things happen during canicula. But to this day, I still don’t know whether the canicula makes people crazy so they do crazy things, or whether it makes things crazy to make them crazy” (p.113).

E.
1. Definition
Sobremesas - It refers to the time spent gathered around a table talking after a meal.
2. Quotation (including page number) from text
“Sobremesa was the time right after everyone had finished eating supper and was relaxing and sipping coffee or hot chocolate around the kitchen table. There were two rules for a sobremesa. One was that everyone had to take a turn and say something. The other was that you had to pay attention, listen to the person talking, and never, never interrupt” (p.45-46).
VIII. Personal criticism and recommendation
A. Criticism (What literary tools did the author employ to tell the story? Cite examples from the novel. How effectively was the story written? What tools did the director and producer employ to show the story? Cite examples from the movie. How effectively was the story portrayed on film?)

There are some gaping holes throughout the story in regard to Sofia’s age and some of the Spanish words were used in a different meanings or definitions than what I located online.


B. Recommendation (Would you suggest that others read this novel or watch this movie? State reasons. Give examples from the text or the movie, if possible. Which medium did you prefer? State reasons and cite examples.)
I would recommend others to read The Tequila Worm. It portrays the strong family values and bonds that Mexican Americans families hold.
Unity of family versus individuality and pursuit of a higher educated life with opportunities