The making of tamales starts with the preparation of the masa. Ground corn is mixed with an alkaline solution; the alkalinity helps to dissolve the hemicellulose, the major glue-like component of the corn cell walls. The prepared corn is then mixed with lard and seasoning. A simple test involves placing a small ball of masa in water to determine when sufficient lard has been added - a floating ball is a positive result. Slides 1 - 3 show the preparation of the masa.

The corn husks are washed, soaked to soften them, and drained. Slide 4 shows the preparation of the corn husks.

The masa is spread on the corn husks to a thickness of about ¼ inch. On Slide 5 Eloy demonstrates how to spread the masa on the corn husks, Slide 6 shows a tray of corn husks ready to be filled, and Slide 7 shows the pork filling being place on the corn husks. After the filling is added the husk is rolled, and the end without any masa is folded up. The final step involves steaming the tamales (Slide 8). About 40 dozen tamales (Slide 9) were prepared by the volunteers (Slide 10).

These tamales were the entree for the meal after the "Las Posadas" performance at First Lutheran Church, Edinburg, TX on December 19, 2015.