Help Settle The Debate:Are Tamales Just A Texas Thing?

Here is a debate to help the folks at our radio station settle. Are tamales a Texas thing? We had this discussion at work the other day and part of the building said yes, we had never heard of them before moving to Texas! The other part, the latinos, Leo and myself said nope, they are more a cultural thing. I mean who are we to say? We are only Mexicans who grew up with parents who made them this time of year every single year without fail growing up!

I mean how does my friend Ariel who has lived in California and is a total surfer dude know about tamales? How did my cousins who have always lived in Denver crave our families tamales at Christmas-time every year? Leo said the same about his family from around the country. If they were only a 'Texas thing,' then we would be telling our relatives, not from Texas, all about them.

I've always known of tamales to be a Mexican thing, having grown up knowing about tamales my whole life. There was always the joke that at Christmas we would for sure have something to unwrap, a tamale. lol

Settle the debate and until then, these are a few ways I like my tamales:

• pork and mild are my thing-if they are spicy I'm in trouble lol
• my friend's mom makes green chile and cheese tamales-these are to die for!
• ketchup does NOT belong on tamales in my opinion
• my favorite part of a tamale is the 'masa'
• my family eats them every year on Christmas Eve

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