Festival of Traditional Tamales and Atole

The Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares in Coyoacán fills with aromas associated with Mexico City when this festival celebrating tamales and atole (a thick, hot, corn-based beverage) is going on.

Inspired by the celebration of the Candelaria, a day marking the presentation of Jesus and purification of the Virgin Mary, for which tamales are traditionally eaten, this festival offers the chance to try tamales from all over Mexico. There are versions from Oaxaca, Estado de México, Michoacán, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, and guest countries, such as Colombia, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

Options run from tamales stuffed with red mole sauce, tomato with green chili peppers, rajas (sautéed strips of poblano pepper), or sweet ingredients, to more exotic flavors, like chicatana (ant) and spicy, slow-roasted cochinita pibil pork tamales, or even fillings made with chipilín greens, runner beans, and the cazuela version cooked in a pot. Choices also include the many variants of tamales, including zacahuil (mammoth tamales made with coarsely-ground corn), corundas (triangular and usually without filling), shrimp-stuffed barbones, and many more scrumptious versions.

And what better way to wash down tamales than with a cup of atole? Again, you can find everything from the most traditional versions of this hot beverage made with corn to the more offbeat ones. Flavors include pinole (made with toasted, ground corn), pineapple, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, guava, and blackberry. Or, indulge in rice pudding, a cup of chocolaty champurrado, or another mouth-watering treat.