LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The vacation season is stuffed with custom. From baking cookies to creating sweet, many households discover themselves repeating practices and introducing them to new generations. For some, a kind of traditions embody tamales, a well-liked Mexican delicacies.
“Just like turkey is for Thanksgiving, tamales are for Christmas in the Hispanic community,” stated Nariza Martinez-Johnson, a third-generation co-owner of Doña Maria Tamales, one of many oldest Mexican eating places within the Las Vegas valley.
Tamales are a Hispanic custom that began through the Aztec instances, symbolizing household, love, and celebration.
“All the families get together, and you have the grandmas that are kneading the masa, then you have the aunts that are putting the masa on the corn husk, and somebody’s rolling them, and they’re cooking them,” stated Martinez-Johnson.
Doña Maria Tamales, a three-generation family-owned enterprise, is understood for its wealthy custom and genuine tamales. They are saying they have been spreading the style and heat of the vacation season within the valley for greater than 4 a long time.
“The recipe comes from my dad’s side of the family, so it’s his grandma’s recipe. We’ve been perfecting it as the years go [by],” stated Martinez-Johnson. “We know we gotta add a little more of this, a little more of that.”
Doña Maria Tamales makes 400 kilos of masa each day through the vacation season. That’s sufficient for 400 dozen tamales – one dozen per pound. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, manufacturing jumps as much as 1,500 to 2,000 kilos of masa to maintain tempo with demand.
“It’s rewarding. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s rewarding that [people] allow you to go into their homes and have your food,” stated Martinez-Johnson.
The Martinez household plans to cross on the deeply rooted custom to future generations whereas persevering with to supply a style of their tradition to the neighborhood.
“We are very proud because to see your product, they like it and they love it,” stated Alfredo Martinez, proprietor and founding father of Doña Maria Tamales. “It’s the culture for us.”
“When we first started out, it was small, and we kind of grew, just like the community grew, we grew with it, and it’s rewarding,” stated Martinez-Johnson.
