TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Tucson Tamale thrives during the holiday season.
Many families can't imagine a Christmas without tamales -- which is why Alejandra Valenzuela works hard to keep up production at Tucson Tamale's new and larger facility at 2545 E. Broadway.
"My mom used to make tamales. My grandma," she said. "My whole family used to make tamales."
Big batches -- but for more and more families -- life has gotten too busy to keep up with the tradition --
So tamales sold in packages are in demand.
Large vats and whirring machines now replace kitchen stoves, spoons, pots and pans.
But what hasn't changed is that tamales are assembled by skilled hands with employees socializing as they work in shifts.
The company doubled its production, from 3,000 to 6,000 a day at the new facility. By the end of the year, the company will have made more than 1.5 million tamales.
The eventual goal is to make 20 million tamales and ship them all across the country.
