Tamales Week Begins Monday at COCINA — Your Ultimate Tamales Survival Guide

Sound the alarms. Hide your forks. Cancel your plans.

It’s officially tamales season, and here at COCINA we’ve heard your cries, your cravings, your all-caps DMs at 2AM demanding MORE TAMALES. You want tamales tolimenses, sweet tamales, chicken tamales, pork tamales, beef tamales, tamales that can emotionally support you through the holidays…

Honestly? Same.

Which is why from 12/08 to 12/12, we’re unleashing something the internet may not be emotionally prepared for:

TAMALES WEEK 

Five straight days dedicated entirely to the mass (masa?) obsession. And if you’re still whispering to yourself what are tamales like it’s a philosophical question, don’t worry—by Friday you’ll know the history of tamales, how to make them step-by-step, where to buy them, what mistakes to avoid, and which abuela rituals are legit (including the famous “throw a penny in the pot” spell—ancient wisdom, do not question it).

If it can hold a tamal, it’s getting one next week. Articles? Tamales. Videos? Tamales. Social posts? Tamales. Your dreams? Probably tamales too.

We Kid You Not: Santa Claus Is Kicking Things Off

Yes, that Santa Claus.
The CEO of the North Pole. The man who canonically eats cookies but suddenly said “hold up, what are tamales and why does everyone keep talking about them?”

He slid into our DMs (politely!) and helped us with a magical delivery from The Original Tamale Company, which we wrapped with mucho cariño.

On Monday, you’ll see the full drop—and why he’s suddenly very interested in what tamales are.

So You Want to Make Tamales? Josh López Is Here to Save You From Yourself

Making tamales isn’t hard… until it is. Until you realize you’ve mixed the masa wrong, tied the husk weird, or stacked them upside down and now everything is chaos.

Enter Josh López, our guardian angel with the patience of a saint and the energy of a man who has watched too many family tamaladas implode. He’s teaching you how to make tamales step-by-step, answering once again the eternal question what are tamales supposed to look like when they’re not a disaster?

Spoiler: not how that one cousin makes them.

He gives extremely specific directions, including an Olympic-level list of THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER EVER DO. Your future self will thank him.

Meanwhile, 11-Year-Old Legend Enrrique Alejandro Is Exposing the Rest of Us

Thinking of telling your mom you “don’t have time” to participate in the family tamale assembly line this year?

Prepare to get roasted.

Because Enrrique Alejandro, the 11-year-old culinary prodigy (yes, 11), is about to show you how he prepares tamales step-by-step with the confidence most adults wish they had. The kid goes to school, plays soccer every day, cooks like a champ, and still finds time to breathe.

Your mom is going to see him and hit you with a brutal:

“¿Ves? ¡Hasta un niño de 11 años los puede hacer!”

At that point, your only hope is witness protection.

So go ahead and watch his segment first. Prep your notes. And start planning a better excuse.

Not Cooking? Cowardly? Valid. Gabriela Bañuelos Will Tell You Where to Buy the Best Tamales

If you’ve accepted your fate and retired from the kitchen, fear not—you can still earn points with your family by bringing in the good stuff.

Gabriela Bañuelos is giving you a tour of the best tamalerías in Los Ángeles, answering once more the crucial question: what are tamales supposed to taste like when they’re absolutely perfect and possibly blessed by saints?

Pro tip: buy extra. People fight.

A Tamal & a Fit Check? Only Tess García Could Pull This Off

Need a mid-week breather? A snack? A vibe reset?

Tess García is delivering a Peruvian “Fit Check, Food Check” alongside designer Sofía Lerner, bonding over tamales peruanos during merienda. It’s fashion. It’s culture. It’s carbs. It’s everything.

And Yes… There Is a Tamales Rave

Look, after enough tamales, anything becomes possible.

We’ve got:

• Fun facts
  
  
• Polls
  
  
• Deep dives into the history of tamales
  
  
• A surprisingly chaotic list of “deadliest” tamales
  
  
• And yes, a tamales rave that will make you question reality
  
  

All while answering and re-answering the internet’s favorite question: what are tamales.

So clear your schedule from 12/08 to 12/12. Tamales Week is coming to COCINA, and you won’t want to miss a single husk-wrapped, masa-filled moment.

Be there, or be… hungry.