A video on making tamales for christmas in Costa Rica. How we did our part by getting leaves from the yuti growing in our yard.

We were lucky enough this year to have some friends invite us over to make tamales, which is a Christmas tradition here in Costa Rica. Our involvement was to bring yuti leaves from our farm. We have several patches of yuti that we have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get rid of since we moved in. Up until this month we had no idea that they were used for anything. They share the same traits of a banana but have a million little black seeds in each one, so basically useless unless you are using them as a windbreak or in our case as a tamale wrapper. The leaves leave no residual flavor so they are perfect for this task.

 

Ticos put decorations on their houses, have trees and spend the holidays with family just like most people we know. The only difference is that children are putting out tamales for Santa instead of cookies. The recipe is easy.

 

This is a house in our little town of San Miguel decorated with wreaths and bows for Christmas. Most houses have lights which makes driving at night a lot more fun. Fireworks are shot off by municipalities as well as businesses to celebrate the season.