Tamale Night

by Alyssa Marquez

It was a very cold night and everyone was gathering around the fireplace, it was just beginning to snow outside. It was the winter that I was 8 years old.

It was Christmas Eve "Noche Buena" and our aunts and uncles would all be arriving soon to help make tamales. The men would all gather around the fireplace drinking "tezwino" a drink made of fermented corn mash and tell stories of their work with the cattle or their "vaquero" (cowboy) days. The kerosene lamps were all lit and I can remember walking through the fireplace room on my way to the kitchen thinking how warm it was and how silly the men were trying to outdo each other with their stories.

In the kitchens were my tias and primas (girl cousins) gathering around the table in their assigned spot for the tamale preparation. For days my Mama and Nana had been preparing for this event. They had taken the dried red chilies, roasted , cooked and carefully sieved the seeds and skin to make the sauce. They had also ground the "maiz" corn for the "masa" dough.

As we gathered around the large wooden table drinking our "canela" cinnamon tea I could hear the latest gossip. " Did you know that your cousin Chavela on your DadÕs side ran off with that gringo from El Paso" said my tia Celia. " Ay, que bueno" said my cousin Luz, " Some day I will marry a rich Americano". Quickly my Nana put a stop to this nonsense talk and started the tamale process.

It all started at one end with my youngest cousin Leticia washing the dried corn husks in a bowl of water and laying them out to dry. Next my tia Socorro would smear just the right amount of masa on the husk and pass it on to my tia Celia who would add the mixture of red chili sauce and pork meat that had been cooking all day on the wood burning stove. Occasionally she would yell for one of the men to bring in more wood to keep the stove burning. My Mama would then give it to Nana, who would fold it just right and finally pass it to me so that I could tie the top off with a strip of the corn husk. I would pass it to my tia Socorro who would carefully place the tamales in a very large pot. In the bottom of the pot was the "molcajete" grinding stone so they would not stick. When the pot was full of tamales she would add a little water, place a cheese cloth on top and steam.

I donÕt really remember how long they cooked, but I do remember that by the time we were done with the very last tamale, it was time to eat!

My Nana said that she had a surprise for us! When we were not looking she said that she had placed a little wooden carving of the Jesus baby in one of the tamales and who ever got that tamale would get a surprise! All of us cousins of course wanted to eat at once!

We were told that first we had to let the men eat, which was our custom at that time. So all the tios, and my Tata and Papa came into the kitchen to eat the feast that was prepared . Each family member contributed to this feast. We had frijoles, arroz and chili colorado with tortillas. We also had canned peaches, canned raspberries and bu–uelos for dessert. It seemed like hours before the ladies and kids got to eat. We were all very happy to see that the men had not gotten the surprise tamale.

Finally, it was our turn. Our Nana, Mama and tias let us sit at the table while they stood around saying "I wonder who will get the, Ni–o Dios (baby Jesus). We each got one tamale and the fixings. We ate so fast that I am sure we did not appreciate the taste and the time it took to prepare the meal. Next to me my sister, Socorro (named after my aunt) squealed!

Es mio, es mio (itÕs mine, itÕs mine). We all ran to see the little tiny baby Jesœs that my Tata had carved himself. That was a prize in itself. We all gathered back in the fireplace room to open gifts. Only the children received gifts and they were usually a much needed pair of socks, gloves or a nice knitted scarf. We were all very content with our new clothes. My Nana came in to the room and handed my sister Socorro a beautiful knitted blanket. We donÕt really know when Nana had the time to knit the blanket because she was always busy in the kitchen. I was sad at first that I did not get this wonderful gift but that night I got to sleep with my sister Socorro and we were very warm with "our" new blanket.

As told by Martha Olivas Translated by Socorro Marquez, daughter.

My Nana says that Tia Socorro still has that blanket, tattered and worn. As for the traditionÉÉ..some of our family members still cook their tamales on "Noche Buena" and sometimes you can still hear the squeal of one of the children getting the "Ni–o Dios tamale".