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Local woman Elevinia Sanchez, 82, prepares 40 dozen tamales every Christmas

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By JACK PALMER

palmer@crescent-news.com

Tuesday and Wednesday were tamale-making days in the Elevinia Sanchez kitchen.

"I make 40 dozen for our family to eat every Christmas," said the longtime Defiance resident. "I' a family tradition and I enjoy doing it. I' fun to teach the little ones."

Tamales, a longtime Latino Christmas tradition, remains strong and very much alive among northwest Ohio residents of Mexican descent.

"Ther' something special about eating tamales on Christmas Eve," said Theresa Ordaz, Elevini' youngest daughter.

"Mom is a great cook," added Raul (Barney) Sanchez, Elevini' youngest son. "Her tamales are best when they are eaten right out of the pot, ther' no doubt."

Tamale making is clearly a four-generation group effort for the Sanchez family, ranging from the 82-year-old matriarch to her great-granddaughter, Rita Ordaz-Varisce. I' enough work so that no one tackles it alone, but enough fun to turn it into a little party.

"I' a generational thing," said Ordaz. "We all learned from watching mother."

No record exists of who invented tamales, but the Aztecs served them to the Spaniards in Mexico as early as the mid-1500s.

Elevinia learned from her own mother, who was born in Mexico.

"I was 6 years old when I made my first tamale," she recalled. "The most important part is the masa."

Masa, the Spanish word for "dough," is made from sun- or fried-dried corn kernels. After being cooked and then soaked in lime water, the wet corn is ground into masa.

"We used to make the masa from scratch," said Elevinia.

These days she and others purchase masa at a Mexican grocery, but the tamale-making process is still time consuming.

"It takes her a day and a half," said Ordaz. "She starts at seven in the morning the first day and works until about seven at night. She finishes up about noon the second day."

After a layer of the masa dough is spread onto a softened corn husk, Elevinia adds pork or bean filling. The outside of the tamale is wrapped in the husk, then placed in a big pot to be steamed for about 40 minutes before serving.

"The masa has to be spread on the smooth side of the husks," noted Raul. "Once the tamales are steamed, you do' want the masa embedded in the ridges of the husks."

The tedious process is well worth the time and effort, as every tamale is a delicious gift waiting to be unwrapped (the husks are discarded after unwrapping).

"I do' steam them all when I make them," said Elevinia, pointing to a smiling Raul. "If I did, there would' be any left for Christmas."

Elevinia Sanchez is one of 10 children of former Defiance residents Jose and Francisca Perez, who resided many years on Highland Street. Elevini' parents first moved to Ohio as migrant workers and continued to work in the fields until their retirement.

"Both my parents were migrant workers, too," said Ordaz. "Then Dad got hired in at GM."

Elevinia and her husband, Miguel, moved to Defiance in 1964. Their older four children are Miguel Jr., Robert, Delores Gamiere and Cecilia Castillo. There are 20 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

"All six of us kids still live around Defiance," said Ordaz. "Our family gets together at Mo' house every Sunday after church, and she makes brunch for everyone. Dad started that tradition. He died in 2000, but she has maintained it."

"On Sundays, I cook all day and they come and eat," Elevinia admitted.

"Sh' a great cook," added Raul. "Her Sunday brunches are traditional Mexican food including rice, beans and tortillas."

The tamales, however, are reserved for Christmas.

"We all come here for tamales after Mass on Christmas Eve," said Ordaz. "Then we come back on Christmas day and pick up where we left off. We eat turkey for Thanksgiving, but on Christmas i' tamales."