Isabel Esparza, 2, blows on her hot chocolate Saturday with her mother, Ana Esparza, during La Gran Tamalada, a culinary tradition hosted by La Familia Cortez Restaurants and Market Square.
Logan Cooper, 11, Ross Cooper, Lily Cooper 16, and Jessica Cooper of San Antonio read along with “Camilla la Magica Makes Tamales” on Saturday at Historic Market Square.
Snow from a snow machine swirls around Nancy Willaford as she holds her 18-month-old grandson, Beau Eschete, on Saturday, Dec.
It was the couple’s first time at La Gran Tamalada — an annual tamal festival that was hosted by La Familia Cortez Restaurants and Market Square.
Though it has evolved through the years, La Gran Tamalada has been around since the early 2000s and was first hosted at its current location in 2017, chef and La Familia Cortez Restaurants event organizer Cariño Cortez said.
Corina Arrona, owner of the Corina’s Tacos stand that is often at Market Square, always makes it a point to be a part of La Gran Tamalada.
La Gran Tamalada was also an opportunity for people to hear Cortez read a book she wrote with sister Paloma Cortez titled “Camilla la Magica Makes Tamales.” The recently published children’s story follows a little girl who learns how to make her grandmother’s tamales.
The festival was one of the draws of making the trip to San Antonio for Sandra, 40, and Juan Mendez, 42, to San Antonio this weekend.
La Gran Tamalada is somewhat of a tradition for Melissa and Jacob Herrera, who have been coming since it was first moved to Market Square a few years ago.