‘Tis the season for tamales! Here’s some masa-filled joy to celebrate

Just a heads up: Essential California will be taking a short break, but we’ll be back on Friday. Readers shared their own tamale tales, which we’ve edited for clarity and brevity “Every year, my family friends host a massive tamale party out in Whittier where they make around 1,000 tamales in a single night. It’s so popping that even the cops pull up … to eat tamales, rather than shut it down.” — Carrington Walsh, Venice “We have been making tamales as a family for at least thirty years. This year I am making the same exact tamales — except I’m replacing lard and shortening with beef tallow.” — Maria Borbon Looking to get your tamale on this week? If you prefer to buy yours premade, check out this 2023 guide to the best tamale makers in L.A. and O.C.. Today’s top stories More than 3.2 million people are expected to make their way through Los Angeles International Airport during the holidays More than 3.2 million passengers expected to travel through LAX this holiday season — still below pre-pandemic levels The airport expected a peak of roughly 215,000 passengers each day this past weekend, and again on Dec. 27 and Dec. 30.