Sister city hosts savory-sweet celebration

At the Plaza de Miguel Hidalgo, dozens of contestants presented creations ranging from sweet to savory.

Culinary students from CEUN – the Centro de Estudios Universitarios de Nuevo Occidente – doled out chocolate tamales, topped with a drizzle of sticky lechera. Other vendors advertised pork tamales wrapped in dark, slick plantain leaves.

The tamales ran out – fast.

Vendor Laura Sandoval turned to several customers that afternoon with bad news: Her tamales of beef, elote, and Philadelphia cheese had sold out.

“Ya,” she said with an apologetic smile, uncovering a large pot of thick, molten chocolate. “There’s only champurrado left.”

The festival, held by the IMFOCULTA cultural institue, CEUN and the City of Nogales, Sonora, lasted through Thursday with a contest for the most delicious, and the largest, tamales.