The secret to making a good tamale lies in the mixing and beating of the masa, the proper use of spices, and wrapping it in a banana leaf, says Jazmín Ochoa, a cook originally from the port of Veracruz, who has been selling Veracruz-style food in Cabo San Lucas for 18 years, specializing in traditional tamales.
For the second year in a row, Ochoa is participating in the Atole and Tamale Festival, an event where she expressed her gratitude for the invitation from Empresarios en Acción A.C., a civil association that supports the work of entrepreneurial cooks. She emphasized that these kinds of events allow them to showcase their product and strengthen their economic activity.
“I feel motivated because they are taking into account people like us who are entrepreneurial cooks,” she said. It allows us to showcase what we do, and thanks to my participation last year, I gained new clients, which is a great motivation to keep going. Jazmín Ochoa, tamale vendor
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Cooked tamale
The preparation of the Veracruz-style tamale has a special touch given by the hoja santa or acuyo leaf. / Photo: Verónica González / El Sudcaliforniano
The cook noted that she was drawn to the festival’s format, as it promotes traditional Mexican flavors and provides an opportunity to learn about the different types of tamales made throughout Mexico, as well as the special touch that each region and each cook brings to this emblematic dish.
She recalled that the previous edition saw a significant turnout of local families, as well as national and international tourists, making the event a special experience for both exhibitors and attendees.
With the goal of attracting a larger audience, Jazmín Ochoa has been promoting the festival through social media, inviting her customers to buy local products and support women entrepreneurs in the region.
For this edition, she hopes to repeat or surpass the success she had in 2025, when she sold 100 tamales in a short amount of time. This time, she plans to prepare at least 200: 100 chicken and 100 pork, all wrapped in banana leaves and with her signature touch, hoja santa, known in Veracruz as “acuyo.”
She indicated that a large turnout is expected because the festival will be held on a holiday, allowing more people to come out and enjoy the tamales and atole.
In addition, the cook mentioned that she took advantage of the event to sample tamales from other regions of the country, such as Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Yucatán, and the Choyera region, in order to learn about the diversity of flavors and preparations that exist in Mexico.
Regarding the preparation process, she explained that it is laborious, since the dough is prepared with various seasonings and requires pre-cooking before assembling the tamales; afterwards, they are cooked for approximately another hour.
Among her culinary offerings are also chicken tamales with mole sauce, tamales in green salsa, pineapple tamales, strawberry tamales, and a traditional one from Veracruz ranches known as “cabecita de perro” (little dog’s head), which combines pork rinds, anise, piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar), and cinnamon, achieving a balance between sweet and savory.
The Atole and Tamale Festival will take place on February 2nd at the esplanade of the Cabo San Lucas Marina, in front of the Tourist Assistance Center (CATAC) building, also known as the Nabor García Aguirre Republic Cultural Pavilion.
Source: oem
