SAN ANTONIO — Christmas time inside of Ruben's Tamales is one of the busiest seasons of the year.
“In Mexico we celebrate Christmas with tamales. So now a lot of the American culture is starting to do the same thing,” store manager Rosalinda Perez said.
In the back are the women you’ll never see, but thanks to their hard work San Antonio has enjoyed some of the most authentic tasting tamales for almost 70 years, because everything there is handmade.
“They make them, they cook them for one hour, they pack them, and then we sell them,” Perez said.
It’s all in the spirit of tradition.
“We still use the individual little pots and we retain all of that flavor and I think that’s what makes out tamale’s special,” Perez said.
Now that tamale demand is up Perez says they’re struggling to find women to work. Which means they have to close earlier.
“By this time we usually have about 20 women making tamales. We only have 9 this year because the art of making by hand is diminishing. No one wants to do it anymore,” Perez said. “We used to open 10 hours a day. Now we are only open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. So, at 1 p.m. we have to stop so the tamales we make in the afternoon can be ready for open the next day.”
So, this year those with plans on continuing the holiday tradition will have to do so while supplies last.
“We have plenty of tamales to start out with a day. We have a lot of tamales in the morning, and if you come early you should get everything you want,” Perez said.