The Tequila Worm, published in 2005 by Random House, (first edition) is a middle grade novel about a young Mexican American girl, Sofia, who comes from a family of storytellers. The tales Sofia hears strengthen her ties to her family and their traditions in the Texas barrio where they live. Though poor, the family does not struggle, finding riches in the practice of making Easter cascarones, (colored eggs) celebrating Dia de los Muertos, (Day of the Dead) and enjoying the Christmas nacimiento (nativity). When Sofia, at age 14, earns a scholarship to an esteemed and expensive school, she fears it will tear her away from her family and its traditions. But in the end, she finds that the exposure to the world outside her barrio only fortifies her ties to the place and people she loves.

The novel is based on the author’s life. Viola Canales grew up in Texas and won a scholarship when she was 15 to a prestigious high school. It was then, she asserts, that she began to truly understand the differences between the world in which she was raised, and the larger world and its perceptions about Mexican American culture.

The novel received critical acclaim for its positive portrayal of Mexican American culture. It was designated a Notable Book by the American Library Association and won the Pura Belpré Medal for Narrative. Canales also won the PEN Center USA Award in 2006.

Plot Summary

Sofia, the 14-year-old narrator, is surrounded by tradition and Mexican culture in the Texas barrio where she lives. She grows up listening to the stories her mama and papa and aunts and uncles tell her. Her mama tells Sofia that she has many comadres, a person who shares friendship, family, and responsibilities with her. She wants Sofia to make sure her younger sister, Lucy, and her cousin Berta, become her own comadres, but Sofia isn’t sure what that means. She believes it must have something to do with telling stories and having the courage to eat a tequila worm, just like her favorite storyteller, Doña Clara. Doña Clara tells everyone that eating the worm cures her homesickness as she travels, telling stories.

Sofia’s family is Catholic, and Sofia has her First Holy Communion. On Easter, they decorate their cascarones and celebrate by smashing them open so the toys and confetti inside fall to the ground. She and her cousin, Berta, discuss their upcoming quinceañeras. As much as Berta looks forward to her quinceañera, Sofia dreads it. The two girls, and Sofia’s sister, Lucy, learn what a comadre is; a special friend and/or family member who shares in the responsibility of not just raising children, but in offering unwavering friendship. Sofia and Berta and Lucy are each encouraged to share the responsibility of being comadres, but Sofia and Berta fight all the time, and Lucy is young. Nevertheless, they celebrate all the holidays together, joyously participating in the Christmas nacimiento, and sitting side-by-side listening to the tales told by their friends and relatives.

When Sofia wins a scholarship to a prestigious Protestant school, she is torn. She worries that going to school with kids who are so different from her in their religious beliefs, the color of their skin and their financial standings might tear her from her family. But she knows it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She realizes she wants to go, and one by one, she elicits the blessings of her aunt, her papa, her sister and, most reluctant of all, her mama.

After a summer of working in a food processing plant, Sofia goes to her new boarding school. Her mother makes her bring an altar and sends her with tamales and special Mexican chocolate; all things Sofia is embarrassed by until she meets her roommate, Brooke. Brook is a sweet girl who accepts Sofia exactly as she is. Sofia does have to deal with ignorance and racism when Terry, another student, plagues her with racist actions. Sofia learns that the world outside her small barrio, with its traditions and deep family ties, is very different. She does well in school, makes friends with another boy from her barrio, and learns valuable lessons about family and life.

The experience makes her even more connected with her barrio, her family’s traditions and her comadres. Soon, she and Berta become the best of friends, and Sofia’s sister, Lucy, also joins Sofia’s small band of comadres. When Sofia’s father dies, she must also learn to deal with loss and grief. At the end of school, Sofia is accepted to all three prestigious colleges she applied to and begins to plan for her future, knowing that she will always hold onto the ways and traditions of her past.

Many years later, when Sofia becomes a lawyer, she returns to the old barrio. It is crowded and rundown. Sofia has moved her mama to a safer, quieter house, but their old house remains, wrecked by years of neglect. Sofia realizes that many of the holidays she shares with her family help her to connect to the loved ones who’ve passed on, just as much as they give her meaning in her current life. She remembers that her mama laments the passing of the plaza, where people met each other, shared gossip, and fell in love. Sofia deicides to build a plaza on the site of the old house. After that, the new and old neighbors become friends and prove to Sofia that the plaza is indeed, an important gathering spot for Mexican Americans. She promises to return every year for Christmas.