Cantina La Martina celebrates tamales at its annual Tamalada

Join local street vendors and small businesses for an afternoon of delicious food for sale, tradition, and the best tamale in town this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For the third year in a row, Cantina La Martina hosts La Tamalada, a celebration of tamales from ten different local street vendors, small businesses, and chefs, each offering their own interpretation of the Mexican specialty for sale and competing in a contest on a very special day for Mexican culture.

Chef Dionicio Jiménez and Mariangeli Alicea Saez opened Cantina La Martina in February 2022. From the start, they envisioned their restaurant as a space to share Mexican culture and tradition in Kensington. 

“We wanted to open a restaurant here, and we want it to be an essential part of what Kensington Avenue has to offer, and be a business that serves the community,” said Alicea Saez, “but also brings people from the outside and creates awareness of what’s going on in this area, while also bringing authentic Mexican food.”

In its short time open, Cantina La Martina has been considered one of the best restaurants in the city and has been nominated twice for the James Beard Award, all while continuing to serve its own community.“It’s a safe place for them, and it’s also a place that’s serving them quality food at a price that is accessible to them,” said Alicea Saez.

On a recent evening, Alicea Saez was serving tables, greeting customers with hugs. One table was celebrating a birthday, another was a group of coworkers, and at another sat a family with a baby. “She has been coming here since she was pregnant with that baby. And the baby’s about two years old now, and I was eating her rice and beans,” Alicea Saez said.

La Tamalada is a tradition that Jiménez and Alicea Saez created, but it originates in Mexico from Día de la Candelaria. This celebration is connected to the Rosca de Reyes or Three Kings Cake, eaten in January. Those who find a baby Jesus figurine in their slice of rosca are responsible for making tamales for friends and family on February 2, Día de la Candelaria.

And while the idea for La Tamalada began with the goal of educating those unfamiliar with the tradition and strengthening community bonds with those who already knew it, Alicea Saez said it also came from observing tamaleras selling tamales in South Philadelphia.

“Chef and I would go to South Philly, and I would always be looking for the vendors in the street… buying all the tamales we could, enjoying them with my kids and our family, and bringing them to the restaurant. So I was like, why don’t we invite these vendors to the restaurant, have them vend tamales, and host a tamalada?” she said.

She wanted to show her appreciation and highlight these women, whose work can be challenging. “Tamales are so hard to make, you know, and there’s so much of a technique and then there’s so much that could go wrong,” Alicea added.

Working the masa or dough for tamales requires practice, technique, and even a good mood. That’s why, as every year, in addition to discounted tamales and specialty drinks available at Cantina La Martina, at 2 p.m., the 10 vendors and chefs will compete in a tamale contest, where judges will select the top tamale of the day.

One of the judges is last year’s Tamalada winner and co-owner of La Ingrata, Karla Torres, who knows well the challenge of making tamales. 

“It’s an art because if you don’t handle your masa properly, it won’t turn out right. Just like bread has a process, so does masa. It’s not just throwing ingredients into a mixer… You have to take care of it, make sure your dough doesn’t break, keep tasting it for salt,” Torres said. “A tamale should be soft, juicy, and flavorful. It shouldn’t taste like dough. It should taste like the filling inside the tamale,” she added.

For this year’s winning tamale, Torres is looking for originality but also a special connection to the dish. Just as she was inspired by her grandparents, who ran a tamale business in Iztapalapa, Mexico City, and taught her how to make them. “To make a tamale, I believe it has to have meaning,” she said. 

Meanwhile, another judge, Roland Bui from Visit Philly, who will cast his vote alongside his Mexican-American wife, Sandy Bui, is looking for something new. “I’m looking for something a little out of the ordinary to be good. But as long as it retains the essence of what a tamale is and how it makes you feel.”

Another judge, Jay The Gentleman from Wooder Ice, is also looking for something a little different and tasty. “Just the consistency of the tamale. It seems like a simple thing to make, but again, I feel like—especially with Mexican food—it seems simple, but one thing can really mess it up,” he said. 

This year’s Tamalada promises to embody what makes Cantina La Martina special: an inclusive and diverse community. There will be tamales from different Latin American countries—including some made with plantains instead of corn—and different levels of spice. 

There will also be vendors at different stages of their journey in the industry. From women selling tamales on the street to chefs from renowned restaurants, all participating on the same level. In total, there will be five judges, one of which will be the audience. Anyone who attends La Tamalada will receive a ticket to cast their vote for the People’s Choice Award.

Everyone is invited to La Tamalada and to be part of Cantina La Martina’s community. 

“It can be really overwhelming when you think of changing the world, like in the big scheme of things and building community helps you see those changes in a smaller scale and gives you more hope about the future,” said Alicea Saez. “Events like La Tamalada or what our business means where we’re located in Kensington, it’s a beacon of that. It’s a beacon of change, hope, and building that community.”

Third Annual Tamalada

Sunday, February 2nd

11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Cantina La Martina at 2800 D Street

This event takes place outside in Cantina La Martina’s heated tent.

Tamales are $5 each

Pay-as-you-go. Some vendors will be cash-only (an ATM will be available on-site).