A Journey Through Latin America’s Diverse and Delicious Tamales

Tamales may have Mesoamerican origins. But the food belongs to all of Latin America. The masa-heavy dish is most commonly known through its Nahuatl name and has existed since the pre-Columbian era. “We know that tamales were probably the earliest corn-based product made in Mesoamerica,” Claudia Alarcón – a food writer who’s had the pleasure of trying many of Latin America’s tamales – told me over the phone. Similarly, in South America, the indigenous populations also ate a tamal-like meal called humita.

While some of the elements of tamal have remained the same, the Spaniards also had a profound impact. “They’ve definitely changed,” Alarcón added. “Previous to the arrival of the Spaniards, there was no chicken, there was no pork, there was no lard. So tamales were made of the nixtamalized corn and water.” The introduction of lard made the masa softer. Previously, they resembled something closer to bread.

One of the tamal’s best qualities is how customizable they are. Made with everything from corn to plátanos to yuca and filled with almost anything you can imagine, they offer something for everyone. And because you can easily add or remove ingredients, it may be impossible to find someone who makes your preferred tamal just like your abuelita does. The outside of tamales are just as diverse as the inside. “There’s definitely a lot of variations on what to wrap tamales with depending on availability and environmental reasons, like whatever grows there, that’s what you use,” Alarcón said.

Tamales are also innumerable. Counting all of the versions that Latin America has to offer is a challenge. You’ll probably never do it. When Alarcón did field research in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, for example, she collected recipes for at least 75 different tamales.

Even though there’s seemingly so many things that set Latin America’s tamales apart from each other, for many, they conjure up similar memories. As Carmen Lomas Garza’s Tamalada painting so perfectly captures, making tamales is a family activity. So whether you’re Mexican or Venezuelan, you likely have memories of cleaning corn husks/plátano leaves, of doing your part to make the tamal-making process smoother.

Because it’s still tamal season, we’re looking at 10 that bring us joy during the holidays and throughout the year. If we left out your favorites, name them below in the comments and help us get one step closer to becoming a tamal encyclopedia.