Tamal Institute Hosts ‘Los Tamales de Nuestros Antepasados’ Free Virtual Series
October 15, 2020 - San Antonio
A Delicious Tradition. San Antonio UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy 2020 Tamal Institute event will kick off on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. The event is free and open to the public, where demonstrations of old tamale recipes will occur. Photo, Luis Vazquez
By Valeria Torrealba - Staff Intern, San Antonio Sentinel
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- San Antonio UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy 2020 Tamal Institute event will kick off on Friday, Oct. 16 2020 from noon-1 p.m.
- The event is free and open to the public, where demonstrations of old tamale recipes will occur, as well as new recipes and techniques shown.
The City of San Antonio World Heritage Office plans to present the San Antonio UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy 2020 Tamal Institute: Los Tamales de Nuestros Antepasados on Friday, Oct. 16, 2020 from noon-1 p.m. This event will be online and free to the public. To register, visit www.tamal-institute-utsa.eventbrite.com, where a link to the event will be provided.
“San Antonio, as a confluence of cultures, is home to many wonderful culinary traditions that are enjoyed and practiced every day by people of all backgrounds,” said Colleen Swain, Director of the World Heritage Office. “That’s the beautiful thing about food – it brings people together. We hope that through the Tamal Institute people will learn about tamales being more than a favorite holiday food, but a tradition and practice that dates back thousands of years.”
The event is a collaboration with UTSA Libraries Special Collections, Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center and The Culinary Institute of America. This will be the first in a series of free virtual events that will focus on the history, tradition and significance of tamales and tamaladas in San Antonio.
Tamales, a staple dish in Mexican cuisine, provide the ability to bring together families for the assembly of the dish. With many different ways to make the masa and the fillings, it is a typical Mexican tradition, especially around the holidays. A tamalada is a group event in which different families get together to assemble and prepare tamales.
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Attendees will discover ancient tamal recipes from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Mexican Cookbook Collection and new ways of preparing traditional tamales with a cooking demonstration by Dr. Lilliana Saldaña, UTSA Associate Professor of Mexican American Studies. A panel discussion will include Saldaña as well as Cristina Ballí, Executive Director of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center; Stephanie Noell, Special Collections Librarian with UTSA Libraries Special Collections; and moderated by Dean Hendrix, Dean of UTSA Libraries.
"Tamal making is a special way to honor Mexico’s culinary traditions and the Guadalupe is honored to see the Tamal Institute continue to teach our community the history and process of the tamal. It's a great way to tie us to our ancestors," Ballí said.
The virtual series will continue on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, where the discussion will focus on tamales as part of Día de los Muertos. In December, the Tamal Institute will continue the events with highlights over tamales and the holidays.
More information on the Tamal Institute is available on the newly-launched San Antonio UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy website, www.sacityofgastronomy.org. The website provides information on the designation, a community calendar of gastronomy-related events, profiles of local chefs, and more. Information on the World Heritage Office is available at www.sanantonio.gov/worldheritage.
Valeria Torrealba is an opinions columnist and public relations assistant at the University Star, a student publication of Texas State University. Email her at reporter@sasentinel.com.