Mexicans relish tamales, savoring tradition and nostalgia

At least three times a week, Mexico City bus driver Nicolás Cuatencos stops by a stand selling tamales to pick up a “guajolota,” or “turkey.” It’s a corn husk-wrapped corn dough and salsa delicacy slid into crusty bun, and it’s been his weakness since childhood.

“The flavor, the dough, all of that is really good,” a smiling Cuatencos said recently.

But tamales are not only delicious and a high caloric way to fuel the work day. They also invariably carry nostalgia for millions like Cuatencos, who remembers his grandmother preparing tamales for family celebrations and religious festivals like Candlemas Day on Feb. 2.

On that day, Mexican tradition has it that whoever found the baby Jesus figurine in the Rosca de Reyes cake eaten on Three Kings Day on Jan. 6 has to buy tamales for the family on Feb. 2.

Even outside that holiday, vendors set up stands across