SAN ANTONIO — La Familia Cortez is keeping San Antonio culture alive through the annual La Gran Tamalada festival downtown, for which they hand-roll about 250,000 tamales each year to satisfy the demand.
Yeah, you read that number right.
Along with preparing the thousands of tamales, they go through an average of about 18,000 tortillas, 600 pounds of maseca flour and an astonishing 600 gallons of salsa each week.
The legendary La Familia Cortez has partnered with the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center to make this year's La Gran Tamalada an even more fulfilling experience than ever. Chef Coriño Cortez shared the exciting details about this year's event while schooling KENS 5 digital reporter Jon Coker on some age-old Cortez family recipes.
On Saturday, Dec. 8, families can gather in the Historic Market Square for the annual tradition of food, culture and learning at La Gran Tamalada. Attendees will be entertained, informed and inspired through performances and workshops.
The main attraction each year, of course, is the food. While rolling tamales, Cariño cleared up a few misconceptions about tamales while also dishing out some interesting facts.
She confirmed that the proper way to pronounce tamales in singular form is actually "tamal" and not "tamale," explaining that "tamale" is a San Antonio word. She also put to rest the old arguments about the correct way to reheat tamales.
"My favorite way is on a cast iron skillet," she said. "Or you can wrap it in a wet towel or wet paper towel and put it in the microwave for one to two minutes, and it'll taste just as good."
Wrapping it all up and putting a bow around the husk, Cariño explained that if making tamales for the family is not realistic, then leave it to La Familia Cortez and order online at www.LaFamiliaCortez.com. Follow the tamale talk on social media with the hashtag #LaGranTamalada.