The Tequila Worm

From the title comes the symbol of the tequila worm. Doña Clara’s visit ends with her assessment of the worm. She reaches into her bag and pulls out the mescal. Then, she takes a hairpin and grabs the worm. Before she eats it, she tells everyone, “This will cure my homesickness when I travel to my next family” (4). The tequila worm is closely associated with family and love. The worm’s power, her father reminds Sofia the first time they share the worm, is to help a person live their lives wherever they live without missing the things of home. The worm is also a symbol of the relationship between Sofia and her father, insofar as he is the first to show her how to eat the worm, and the one with whom she is closest in her family.

In context then, the worm is not just for curing homesickness, but a way to stay connected with those Sofia loves. This symbolic metaphor is repeated when Sofia shares the worm with the people she loves; Berta and her sister, Lucy, and the people she says goodbye to—her friends from school, Marcos and