The kitchen windows are steamy this December morning, and the smell of chile, masa, and coffee fills the air. Abuela has been up since dawn, preparing for the annual tamalada – our family’s tamale-making party that marks the true beginning of Christmas in New Mexico.
Three generations gather around her worn wooden table, where corn husks soak in warm water until they’re pliable. “Your bisabuela taught me to make tamales on this same table,” she tells my daughter, who is finally old enough to join the assembly line at seven. The recipe isn’t written down anywhere – it lives in muscle memory and stories passed down through five generations of New Mexican women.
Tía Maria sorts through dried chile pods, selecting the perfectly ripened ones for the red chile sauce while sharing tales of tamaladas past. “Remember when your prima accidentally used the cinnamon-sugar masa meant for dessert tamales in the green chile batch?” The kitchen erupts in laughter – that Christmas dinner surprise has become a family legend.
The assembly line forms naturally: the aunts spread masa (corn dough) onto husks with well-practiced strokes, and cousins add perfectly seasoned fillings – pork with red chile, chicken with green chile, and sweet tamales filled with raisins and cinnamon for the children. The youngest helpers learn to fold the husks just so, tucking each tamale like a precious gift.
We sip champurrado (Mexican hot chocolate thickened with masa) and snack on biscochitos between batches. Stories flow as freely as the coffee: tales of great-grandma’s secret ingredient (was it really oregano?), debates about whether red or green chile is better (the eternal New Mexican question), and memories of holidays past when the kitchen was even more crowded with beloved faces now gone.
As the steam rises from the massive tamale pots, my mother teaches my daughter the proper way to layer the tamales – standing upright, not too tightly packed. “Tamales need room to dance,” she says, repeating her mother’s words. Each pot holds about fifty tamales, and by day’s end, we’ll have made hundreds – enough to share with neighbors, friends, and anyone who might be alone this Christmas.
The best part comes at sunset. As the last batch steams, we gather to taste the first tamales of the season. Judgment is passed, techniques are critiqued, and next year’s improvements are planned. But everyone agrees – these are the best tamales yet. They always are.
In modern New Mexico, some traditions fade, but the tamalada endures. Today is about more than making tamales – it’s about sharing our history, one husk at a time. During these precious hours, children learn not just recipes, but their place in a long line of family history. Every tamale holds a story, wrapped in tradition and steamed with love.
Next time you’re lucky enough to be invited to a tamalada, bring your stories, your helping hands, and your hunger for both food and family. But don’t ask for the recipe – some things can only be learned heart to heart, masa to masa.Last edited just now
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