Tamales are a beloved long-time Latin American dish rooted in tradition and cultural heritage.
For the first time in it's 23-year history, a pair of relatives who competed against one another in the annual Food City Tamale-Making Contest were crowned winners.
Diana Chacón won first place in the tamale contest while her son Luis Felix received third place in the Saturday event.
Dimas Toledo received second place in the tamale contest.
This year's winners were Chacón's pork salsa verde tamale, Felix's pork red chile tamale and Toledo's Chiapas-style tamale, which was a banana leaf-wrapped tamale with beef laid out on a masa mixed with chirpily.
Eight finalists from this year's 10-day tamale-making contest gathered outside a South Phoenix Food City and prepared tamales for a panel of judges, which included officials from Food City and the Arizona Cardinals along with journalists and TV personalities from various news organizations including Axios, NBC News and Telemundo.
The first-place winner received $1,000 in furniture from Del Sol Furniture and a $500 Food City gift card as well as two free tickets to see the Arizona Cardinals.
Husks full of pride and joy
Before the judges gathered to determine the winners of this year's tamale contest, the hosts asked them if they felt nervous. Most of the judges silently nodded their heads yes.
Right before the winners were announced, Susy Ferra, the PR Manager for Bashas,' Food City, AJ's Fine Foods and one of today's hosts, said this year's competition was extremely close.
Ferra said the scorecards indicated that each person won by just one point.
Not only was this the first year where relatives competed against one another but this was also Chacón and Felix's first year taking home the golden-colored plaques that certified them as winners of the Valley contest.
A Sinaloa-style banda played their brass and drums in celebratory fashion for all to hear when Chacón was named the winner of this year's tamale contest outside the South Phoenix Food City.
Originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, Chacón was overwhelmed with tears of joy when asked how she felt.
Both Felix and Chacón told the Arizona Republic they were extremely proud of one another for winning.
Chacón said she did not go into the contest with the mindset of winning.
When the hosts of the event asked Dimas Toledo and his family how they felt after winning second place, they all responded with one word: "feliz," meaning happy in Spanish.
Both Chacón and Felix said that the event didn't feel like a tense competition but a beautiful scene where everyone they competed against was very friendly. After the winners were announced, there was an atmosphere of support among the tamale competition contestants, each congratulating one another.
Events like these are held proudly "for culture, traditions and family," -- something Valley Latino residents fully understand.