SAN ANTONIO – La Gran Tamalada, a two-day festival, brought together tourists and locals in San Antonio this year to celebrate the love behind cooking and eating Tamales.
The holiday tradition took a new twist this year, with seven high school teams competing in a cook-off.
“My grandpa had this business with his mom since the ’90s,” said Xavier Chavez. “So this has been a family business for many years, and we still continue to do it.”
Chavez helps his family run their tamale business and said crowds always ramp up during the holiday season. He said he’s happy to see the tradition and skill get so much attention during festivals such as the festival.
“They’ve always done this since I’ve known of,” he said. “Someday, I want to do it too.”
The festival featured local vendors, musicians, dancers, tamale-making workshops and a competition between the seven local high schools.
Students from East Central, Somerset, South San, Nixon-Smiley, Brackenridge, Lanier and McCollum high schools cooked and had their work judged in traditional and chef’s choice categories.
“One day, [my family] wants me to take care of the business too,” Chavez said. “So I’ve been working for a couple of years too already, so I’m quite experienced.”
La Familia Cortez Restaurants, the organizer behind the festival, said it plans to host La Gran Tamalada again next year.
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