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VIDEO: Unwrapping the history of tamales

MSU Denver celebrates the ancient culinary tradition with a cooking workshop as part of Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week.

Tamales aren’t just delicious; they’re an important culinary tradition dating back thousands of years.

“Tamales were really the first element that was made, along with tortillas, by the Indigenous peoples in pre-Columbia America,” said José Quintana, senior lecturer in Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Chicana/o Studies.

On Sept. 16, Mexican Independence Day, MSU Denver’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion celebrated this ancient custom with a tamale-making workshop as part of Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week.