Edgar Escobedo

Honors ELA
Mr. Cook
10/8/14


Es Una Tradicin De mi Pueblo y mi Familia


I am a thousand miles away from my native land, and yet, the tradition from
home is still alive in my heart. For as long as I could remember, tamales on the 24th of
December was a tradition that my family followed. Es una tradicin de mi pueblo y mi
familia. Without tamales on the day of la Noche Buena, it just didnt feel right.
While the 23rd of December rolled by, I noticed my moms stress rise to get the
meal prepared. As I watched her add the water to the pot, nostalgia quickly filled my
body from the past celebrations. She had added the corn husks to the water, so that by
the next day, the corn husks would be ready to start filling.
Waking up on the 24th of December, I knew that today was going to be a good
day because the sky was gray, snowflakes were falling down, and my mom was cooking.
I rushed to the window to wipe the As I looked down at my hand, I felt my hand turn
cold. It had started to turn blue. I ran into the kitchen to tell my mom about what had
happened, but before I could get to her, the warmth of the boiling water eased the
coldness, and made my hand feel warm. I walked up to my mom, gave her a hug, and
left her to get started. She had been ready to do the same process for hours and hours,
but today was the important day. As the pot slowly filled with tamales, it was now time
to start the celebration. Her overworked hands, were now able to rest.
Looking at the pot filled with tamales, you couldnt help yourself from snatching
one, and enjoying all that was inside. As my family started to arrive, the conversation
that was immediately initiated was, Are the tamales ready? The quick response from
my exasperated mother was, A comer! That night, we had feasted on what were the
best tamales that had ever been created.
Tamales, just like life, takes time to perfect. The tamales taught me that hard
work and struggle is part of life, and that without them, I wont reach my overall goal.
Going to college is my overall goal, and I know that this endeavor will bring me
happiness. In the end of all the hard work and struggle, I will not only be able to taste
success, but also the taste of the sweet tamales.
The tamales also taught me the importance of keeping a positive attitude, even
when you are tired. While my mom was preparing the tamales, words could not express
the feelings that were on her face. She did not want to keep going, but she did because
she knew that putting this meal together was an important part of the tradition.
Sometimes, I just want to give up when life gets tough, but I put in the extra effort so
that I can reach my goal.





Tamales Recipe

Preparations:
Red Chile
Roast chile
Remove from the oven
Then add into boiling water for 30 minutes
Add garlic, cumin, and salt.
Stir to then get a chile mixture.
Carne
Roast with onion, garlic, and one leaf of laurel.
Left to cook for about 4- 5 hours

Dough
Add salt, butter, and some of the water left from the meat
Recipe
1.)Take the Corn husks and dry before you start making Tamales
2.)Apply the dough to the cornhusks
3.)Add the meat
4.)Add the the red chile
6.)Add the tamales into the pot, and leave a hole in the middle
7.)Then, cook for 3-4 hours depending on the number of tamales that you
make.