PHOENIX — The holiday season is stereotypically marked with brightly decorated trees, colorful lights, presents and Christmas music, but there is one tradition that remains distinctly Latino.
Tamales are more than food for Arizona’s Latino community; it’s a symbol of family and togetherness during the holidays.
A combination of masa dough filled with meat all wrapped in a corn husk, its simple appearance belies the complexity of flavor and hours of work required to make.
12 News Digital Producer Yolanda Garcia shared her family’s own tamale tradition with Digital Video Producer Caylee Scott.
Making tamales can be tedious, time-consuming and laborious, but perhaps that’s the point. You need a village, or a whole family, to come together to make it happen.
For Yoly’s family, it’s an effort that takes as many as eight people in an assembly line to carry out the tradition year after year.
From grandparents to grandchildren, only during Christmas time are so many family members together. Each person can have a hand in that assembly line to create something collectively as a family.
The result is something gifted, shared and best enjoyed together.
Recipes are handed down from generation to generation and every family has its own spin. Ingredients are often measured by instinct and wildly vary, but the point is that it’s something done together.
That idea of unity is as important as ever in a difficult year marked by division and hardship.
While the origins of tamales are unique to the Latino community, the heart of this Christmas tradition is unequivocally universal and relatable to all of us.
To take part in this tradition with your own family, watch the full 12 News video on how to make tamales.
