This essay won awards in the following categories of the 2024 Los Angeles Press Club Awards: “Immigration Reporting,” Third Place; “Race and Society Reporting,” Third Place; and “Criticism of Food/Culture,” Finalist. Read more about this here.
“These are likely the last tamales I will ever make,” my aunt and godmother Vicky says as she hands me bags filled with four varieties.
This may not be a heartfelt prediction: In fact, Tia Vicky has made this announcement every year for the last 15 years. Still, she is 82, and her voice is raspy from health challenges.
I unpack the bounty: pork in red sauce with potato; rajas (made with strips of pasilla chile, cotija cheese and tomatillo salsa verde); chicken cooked in tomato sauce and onion, and jalapeño and olives; and sweet tamales studded with shredded coconut, pineapple, raisins and sugar.
How could this ever end or even change?
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