Every year in Indio, California, those who make the best tamales come to compete.
We happened to be near the area for the 30th Anniversary of the festival, which began as a humble church fundraiser locally, and since, has become a widely-recognized food event– covered by everyone from The Food Network to the Los Angeles Times.
The tamales bring people to the area in the thousands, as there is opportunity to try the classics, as well as other flavor experiments such as: birria de res, refried bean, strawberry, and pineapple. Of course we HAD to try the latter two, as I had never had a sweet tamale– but more on that (and photos) below.
First, I grabbed a Michelada– the Spicy Limon version, which was garnished with a huge amount of fruits and vegetables, including a little holiday tree. The tamarind straw– like those in a mangonada– was inside, and was delicious to gnaw on as we walked around the festival.
Second, I grabbed a cheese and japaleno tamale, as I was already getting hungry, and being a vegetarian– this was one of my only options. I was super-happy with the flavor– rather than just doing the bare minimum on the vegetarian option, the flavors were all really pronounced, and the heat brought by the hot sauce atop was intense.
Third, I never turn down an opportunity for Elote.
The tamale festival was about way more than just food– it was a celebration. Of the crossroads in the desert where Mexican, South American, and Central American cultures meet — not just for masa (the corn mixture tamales are made of)– but for music and performances as well.
While we didn’t stick around for the evening portion of the musical performances on the various stages, it was clear the performances were anticipated. We were lucky to get to hear the exuberant DJing of Alf Alpha, pictured here.
One of my favorite aspects of the festival was the wrestling ring– the Luchadores were out in force, putting on an amazing show. This particular troupe was impressive– with a skinny guy, a beefy dude, and a clear delineation between the ‘Good Guy’ team and the ‘Bad Guy’ team. Everyone’s acting was on-point.
The littlest guy had incredible bounce in his moves– on the right below, he has leapt onto the neck of an opponent and is using his legs to backflip backwards to bring the opposition up and over onto the mat. The acrobatics!
The wrestlers whipped the crowd into a frenzy, with the ‘Good Guys’ nearly being defeated multiple times by underhanded tricks, only to come roaring back at the last minute. The crowd was actively booing the ‘Bad Guys’ and the applause was massive once the favored team broke through.
There was also a section of carnival games– and I proceeded to lose about $40 trying in vain to win totally un-winnable games. So I was particularly taken by This Guy– someone I can only describe as a Man Absolutely Hell-Bent on Winning a Baby Turtle. To do this, he had to throw a ping pong ball into a tiny-mouthed fishbowl, which seemed impossible.
But given the rules, he could lean over the barrier without touching it– and leaned waaaaayyy forward, straining his muscles in a focused manner. He went up on his tip-toes. We all held our breath. Then eventually, he tipped one of the balls into the empty fishbowl– SUCCESS!!
We clapped, excited for him– but I can assure you nobody was nearly as jazzed as he was: the proud owner of a new baby turtle.
Now, it was time for the Strawberry and Pineapple tamales– a friend of ours waited in the gnarly line, and came away with the prize of one of each. So, how were they?
Different than I expected.
I think I’d set my expectations erroneously, assuming the tamales would be filled with strawberry or pineapple preserves or a pie-like compote, but that was not the case. The masa (the corn) was unfilled, but imbued with the flavors likely using a fruit juice– so, the flavor was a bit dull, and the texture was never broken up– it was consistent masa, all the way through.
So, the ultimate flavor was one-note: sweet, and nothing else. The strawberry at least had an acidic bite, which balanced the sweetness a bit, but the pineapple was just far too sweet. We were all glad we tried them, but nobody was a fan.
Ultimately, the tamale festival was huge– it covered way more ground than we thought, and we were stuffed and tired after a few hours of walking around. Moon’s take was “There was more tamales than I could reasonably expect to eat”– there was a limit to our stomachs, but not our curiosity.
The most enduring part of the festival was the down-to-earth vibe of it– nearly all of the stands were family businesses, run by welcoming folks who wanted to share their food. Having been to several “food festivals” where national brands have a presence and making a buck is the focus– this one had a humble feeling to it, which left us feeling happy and content– not just full.
Posted by Sun
