The Carmen Lomas Garza image that I chose to write about is Tamalada, created by Carmen Lomas Garza. I love this painting because it reminds me of my childhood. My family has always come together when it comes to making tamales for Christmas. My family was not very close but this was the one thing that we would do for our tamales. My grandmother would spend all day doing the chili while she would have my aunts and uncles spread the masa. The one thing that she would never do though was give away her recipe or let the other family members add the black olive. She had a very specific rule about only two olives per tamale and made it her job to ensure that. Years when family members would miss tamale making would be when there were rifts or arguments in my family that caused them to not want to be a part of the process. Usually though, if they didn’t come my grandmother would threaten to not give them their share of all the tamales or to give them the ones that weren’t as good since they didn’t earn it. I love this painting because it shows the way families engages with each other for this process. Tamale making is not something that is done on your own or in silence. It’s a moment for bonding and creating tasty food together while enjoying the company of your family despite the drama or chaos that might exist within.
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