The Brief

If you’re lucky, an L.A. Christmas means you’re unwrapping some incredible tamales.

And if you’re really savvy, you probably have your go-to tamal lady.

If you’re both, you probably already know about Yesenia Trujillo Carranza.

“December is tamales season,” Carranza tells The LA Local. “It’s much busier for me, but I love it. I love anyone who really gets joy from my tamales.”

Carranza has been feeding the Boyle Heights community hot tamales, champurrado and café de olla for 20 years.

“I have a lot of enthusiasm for feeding the community,” she said from her tamales cart, located across the road from Roosevelt High School at the intersection of South Fickett and Fourth streets.

Carranza makes her Guerrero-style corn-husk tamales fresh each day — preparing about 50 pounds of masa and offering sweet tamales, classic chicken, pork and queso con rajas.

The stand-out is definitely the tamales de pollo served with a vibrant green salsa that has just the perfect hit of spice to make you shout, “It’s a wonderful life!” this Christmas.

But Carranza isn’t alone on these streets.

Some of the best chefs and eateries in Los Angeles are elevating the portable masa meal to Michelin levels.

Don’t get us wrong, tamales like the ones Carranza and your favorite tamales lady sell do not need the glow up.

But these tamal makers offer a unique and adventurous take on the ancient masa masterpiece.

Komal

3655 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, Historic South Central

A tamal rojo from Komal.

(

Marina Peña

/

The LA Local

)

Komal opened in September 2024 at Mercado La Paloma and immediately made headlines for being LA’s first craft molino, which basically means it makes some of the best masa this side of the border.

That masa excellence is on full display in their pretty and plump chuchito tamal, a staple on the menu. The chuchito is a ball of masa stuffed with pork and topped with roasted peppers, tomato sauce, and pickled vegetables.

“The chuchito is from Guatemala, and it represents my team. Most of the people who work with me in the kitchen are from Guatemala, so this dish is a way to represent them,” says Komal’s chef and co-owner, Fátima Juárez. “Without them, we truly wouldn’t be what we are today.”

The flavors feel like a heartfelt nod to traditional dishes found in Mexico City and Oaxaca. The tamales are made with Indigenous corn sourced directly from farmers in Mexico and nixtamalized on site.

“In general, the masa and its consistency make the tamal very light. It melts in your mouth, almost as if you were eating a savory or sweet cake. It’s not very dense; it’s juicy and has a lot of flavor,” Juarez says. “A big part of that has to do with how the masa is made, we don’t use lard; we use olive oil and grape-seed oil.”

For the holidays, Juárez has added some beautiful seasonal tamales. There’s a rojo that’s bursting at the seams with sweet corn and calabacitas, topped with a spicy red sauce. Komal also features a tamal verde with chicken and tomatillo sauce, along with a sweet tamal de leche made with oranges and strawberry jam.

Guelaguetza

3014 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, Koreatown

A mole tamal from Guelaguetza.

(

Courtesy Guelaguetza

)

Guelaguetza’s tamales are simply stunning to look at. Opening one is as close to unwrapping a Christmas present as it gets.

Founded by husband and wife Fernando Lopez and Maria Monterrubio in 1994, this ode to Oaxacan cuisine has become one of the most lauded restaurants in the country, thanks in large part to the late Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold, who once called Guelaguetza “the most accomplished Oaxacan restaurant in the United States.”

The tamales come carefully wrapped in a large banana leaf so that there is just enough of an opening to decorate the masa with the Lopez family’s legendary black mole. Inside, you will find a treasure of juicy chicken breast meat.

Lugya’h by Poncho’s Tlayudas

4301 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, West Adams

Lugya’h by Poncho’s Tlayudas features a savory amarillo sauce.

(

Erick Galindo

/

The LA Local

)

When the humble culinary genius Alfonso “Poncho” Martinez sunsetted his weekend pop-up Poncho’s Tlayudas for a six-day-a-week brick and mortar shop called Lugya’h inside the swanky Maydan Market, LA’s street food lovers both rejoiced and shed a tear. There was nothing like Friday nights feasting on Poncho’s tlayudas. But now we can get them all week long, and there are some added benefits like access to his beautiful Zapotec-inspired tamales.

“In the hills of Oaxaca, we wrap tamales with whatever kind of leaves we can find,” he tells The LA Local.

Lugya’h’s tamales are quite beautiful to look at, but they are also quite lovely to devour. They are turkey tamales wrapped in banana leaves and feature Poncho’s savory amarillo sauce, a blend of hot peppers, tomatoes and turkey broth.

A Tí

1498 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, Echo Park

A Tí serves a sweet dessert tamal.

(

Erick Galindo

/

The LA Local

)

Chef Andrew Ponce says he opened his fine dining-style Mexican restaurant A Tí as a tribute to his father. “My father worked his whole life and still had time to make it to my little league games,” he explained. “So this is for him.”

Ponce admits he was never great at baseball, but he hit it out of the park with his dessert tamal. Ponce uses blue masa quebrada — a crumbly, more coarse masa from Kernel of Truth Organics — whipped butter and a blend of seasonal squash from the farmers market.

“It can be from kabocha green and red squash or red curry squash and honey nut squash,” Ponce tells The LA Local. “And I season it with piloncillo and warm spices.”

The sweet tamal is topped with soft whipped cream and a pecan crumble.

Tamales La Güera

Southeast corner of Broadway and West Vernon Avenue in Historic South Central

The guajolota by Tamales La Güera.

(

Kevin Martinez

/

The LA Local

)

LA Local community engagement director Kevin Martinez swears by Elisa Chaparro Garcia’s guajolota — a hot tamal stuffed inside a bolillo, creating a thick tamal torta — because it’s the closest thing to a Mexico City tamal experience you can find in Los Angeles.

The combination creates a perfect balance between the melty ephemerality of the tamal and the sweet stickiness of the bread. The tamales are served with pork, chicken, queso con rajas, strawberry, pineapple or mole.

“The bolillo allows the tamal to linger a little longer in the mouth,” Martinez explains. “It’s not too soggy, not too dry, creating the perfect bite.”

Tamales La Güera has been serving her Mexico City-style tamales in South Central for more than 20 years and has become so popular that she opened a second stand across the street.

La Flor de Yucatán

1800 Hoover St., Los Angeles, Pico Union

The colado from La Flor de Yucatán.

(

Marina Peña

/

The LA Local

)

This family-owned fixture in Pico Union specializes in Mayan-style, banana leaf tamales.

“Our tamales come from a family recipe from the Yucatán because that’s where our specialty is. We chose bits and pieces from aunts and uncles and made it our own,” says Annie Burgos, co-owner of the bakery.

La Flor de Yucatán has been in the neighborhood for more than 50 years, serving homestyle baked goods like hojaldra — a flaky, sugar-topped pastry with ham and cheese — and regional tamales.

Her parents, Antonio and Rosa Burgos, started the business after baking in their home kitchen in Pasadena in the late 1960s, with Antonio selling the goods door to door and from his vehicle.

“Yucatán is so far down in Mexico, so our tamales have more in common with those from Central America and the Caribbean,” Burgos says. “The consistency of the dough is different, the flavoring is different because you get some of the flavoring from the banana leaf itself, and the tamales tend to be moist.”

Today, they offer three classic Yucatecan tamales wrapped in banana leaves: the colado, a moist, fluffy tamal filled with chicken and pork; the tortiado, a hand-patted tamal with chicken and pork; and the dzotobichay, a chaya leaf tamal often filled with pepper jack cheese.

“My favorite would be the tortiado, but in all the pop-ups that we do, everywhere that we go, the one that reigns supreme is the colado,” Burgos says. “You can scoop into the colado, the other tamales you have to cut into.”

By law, the Justice Department has until Friday to release files related to the life and death of Jeffrey Epstein.

Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed by President Trump last month, the attorney general is directed to "make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorneys' Offices" related to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

More specifically, the law targets the release of information about individuals affiliated with Epstein's criminal activities, any decisions not to charge Epstein and his associates and "entities (corporate, nonprofit, academic, or governmental) with known or alleged ties to Epstein's trafficking or financial networks."

The files include "more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence" in the FBI's custody and internal Justice Department records from criminal cases against Epstein. Some files include photos and videos of Epstein's accusers, including minors, and other depictions of abuse that will be withheld.

The text of the law that passed Congress with near-unanimous support also reads that "no record shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary."

Ahead of the release, some members of Congress have expressed concern about what may be shared and when. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a co-sponsor of the bill pushing for the release of Epstein files, shared a 14-minute video online Thursday explaining his expectations.

Massie said that he spoke with lawyers for some of Epstein's victims who allege that "there are at least 20 names of men who are accused of sex crimes in the possession of the FBI."

"So if we get a large production on December 19th and it does not contain a single name of any male who's accused of a sex crime or sex trafficking or rape or any of these things, then we know they haven't produced all the documents," he said. "It's that simple."

While the law gives the Justice Department 30 days after Trump signed it to publish the files, there is notably no mechanism to enforce the deadline or seek punishment if the deadline is not met or if lawmakers argue some redactions are improper.

There's also language in the law that allows redactions for classified national security or foreign policy purposes as well as anything "that would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution."

Politics at play

But in recent weeks, Trump called on the Justice Department to investigate Democrats and financial institutions that have been mentioned in Epstein's private communications that have been released by the House Oversight Committee, complicating potential disclosures.

The attorney general is supposed to submit to the House and Senate a report listing the categories of records released and withheld, a summary of redactions made and "a list of all government officials and politically exposed persons named or referenced in the released materials" without redactions.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday that Democrats "expect compliance" with Friday's deadline.

"But if the Department of Justice does not comply with what is federal law at this point, there will be strong bipartisan pushback," he said.

In the meantime, there has been a steady drip of releases by Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee of documents from Epstein's private files, handed over by his estate under a subpoena.

The way the Trump administration has handled the Epstein files — including downplaying the information for much of the year — means that this release likely won't be the end of the story.

Democrats have used the files and Trump's changing message as one of the few levers of power they have to go after the Republican Party, which controls Congress and the White House.

Before returning to office, Trump and other key figures vowed to release the Epstein files as proof that a cabal of child predators was being protected by the government and working to undermine Trump. Now, some of Trump's base believes that he himself is part of the cover-up.

Throughout all of this, Epstein and Maxwell's accusers say they're disappointed that their allegations of abuse have been used as a political cudgel wielded by politicians in Washington.

"It's time that we put the political agendas and party affiliations to the side," Haley Robson, one accuser, said in a Nov. 18 press conference outside the Capitol. "This is a human issue. This is about children. There is no place in society for exploitation, sexual crimes, or exploitation of women in society."

Copyright 2025 NPR

To those barreling through city streets: Your days of speeding are numbered.

Automatic speed cameras will start issuing tickets along Long Beach’s most nefarious roadways next year, in a bid to curb rising traffic fatalities and injuries.

This comes after the Long Beach City Council on Tuesday approved two plans that outline the locations for the cameras, explain their placement, chart the expected cost of the program and govern how data will be collected.

Officials expect to install the cameras in the spring and begin issuing warning citations for 60 days through the summer. Speeding drivers will begin receiving fines in the fall.

How will it work?

The 18 camera locations were chosen for their high rates of street racing, speeding and pedestrian collisions. Most locations are also in or near a school zone.

Cameras had to be placed within either a federally designated safety corridor, school zone or an area that has received calls for enforcement for four separate incidents within the last two years.

A screenshot from a City Council presentation shows the locations for speed cameras.

There is some overlap. Long Beach Boulevard, for example, will have cameras installed at three locations, each for different reasons: one between E. San Antonio Drive and 45th Street, due to being a high-injury network and a bustling truck route; another between Victoria and Market Street for its rampant street racing despite being a school zone; and a third one covering Artesia Boulevard to 70th Street, due to having the highest rate of street racing in the city. It is also a common route for trucks.

There will be warnings you’re approaching a speed camera, said Public Works Director Josh Hickman. Signage will be posted within 500 feet of the pole-mounted devices with “Photo Enforced” in bold below, with other signage posted further back to allow drivers a chance to decelerate.

The only data collected will be a photograph of a driver’s rear license plate. Using that, Public Works employees will issue tickets to their registered owners, who could be a different person than the driver. Cameras will not photograph people’s faces, and license plate data will not be shared with any law enforcement.

Drivers will have time to adjust. Tickets issued in the first 60 days will come only with a warning. Afterwards, owners of any car speeding over 11 mph face a fine of $50, with a cost escalator up to $500 for those driving 100 mph.

Tickets can be paid, negotiated down as much as 80% based on income level or swapped for community service. Data is erased once the ticket is resolved.

The program will cost $835,000 in the first year, with an annual operating cost of about $1.6 million. Over the five-year period it’s expected to run, officials estimate it will cost a total of $8.9 million, covered wholly by citations issued.

Any additional profits from citations will be used to pay for traffic calming improvements, like speed bumps, flashing beacons and lane narrowing.

How’d we get here?

This comes two years after the city was approved to join a state pilot for speed cameras alongside six other cities. But so far, only one, San Francisco, has launched the program, while others continue to lag behind.

Since the bill authorizing the pilot was signed in October 2023, there have been more than 3,200 crashes in Long Beach — of those, more than 20% resulted from speeding, according to state collision data. Of the nearly 3,000 people injured in traffic collisions in 2024, speed was the leading factor in a quarter of the crashes.

According to a 2025 report released last week by the Southern California Association of Governments. The city from 2014 to 2024 saw more than 400 people killed and another 40,000 injured by collisions.

Long Beach’s 55 traffic fatal collisions this year have outpaced homicides and exceeded last year’s total of 36 killed in crashes.

Erin Hoops, with the pro-street-safety group Carlite Long Beach, said this has been “the deadliest year since before the 1990s.”

What’s next?

The pilot will be deemed a success if it can bring a 20% reduction in excessive speeding or repeat offenses at the chosen locations, officials said.

“I know there’s a lot of enthusiasm here, on the public side, the City Council side, I think the timing couldn’t be better,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “The traffic safety, the incidents of vehicle fatalities have increased post-pandemic and also fluctuate wildly.”

Depending on the pilot’s success, council members said they plan to push California legislators to bring additional cameras to nearby state roads, including Pacific Coast Highway.

Recent legislation will allow Caltrans to install 35 cameras to ticket drivers speeding through construction and maintenance zones along PCH. Signed in October, it will run through 2032.

How does the public feel?

Despite the public concern over fatalities, the camera’s introduction was received with mixed results. Surveys that ran from October to November found 48% of respondents opposed the cameras, while 41% supported them. Ninety-five of the 98 responses received focused on the city’s impact report, though officials were scant on details of what was said in the responses.

No changes were made as a result of the public engagement, officials said.

Yes, our Northern California wine behemoth neighbors are usually top of mind as we shop for wines. But there are L.A. winemakers making magic locally, using grapes from Malibu's coastal hills, or century-old vines in Cucamonga, or small family vineyards in Agua Dulce.

It's more of a revival than an innovation, since L.A. was once the center of a booming wine industry. But after decades of disease, Prohibition and suburban sprawl, by the 1950s, the bulk of production had moved north to Napa and Sonoma.

Today, in Chinatown, Highland Park, Moorpark and Redlands, winemakers offer tasting rooms where you can try a particular pour and see what you like. Or you can just go with recommendations, like our guide below. Either way, grab a bottle or two to share this holiday. Most of these wines are priced from $20 to $50, and you’re not only getting something festive — you’re also supporting local businesses.

Angeleno Wine Company (Chinatown)

This Chinatown tasting room is only open Friday and the weekends — because on the other days it’s used to crush and bottle grapes grown in the SoCal region. "This entire area becomes our production space during the week," says Amy Luftig, who co-founded the company with Jasper Dickson.

One of their key partnerships is with Alonso Family Vineyard in Agua Dulce, just 45 minutes from downtown. Owner Juan Alonso started the vineyard in 1995, growing French and Spanish varietals, ignoring everyone who said the region couldn't produce quality grapes. You can spot a mural of him in the Angeleno Wine Co. tasting room.

"Juan is the heart and soul of Angeleno," Dickson says. "The character of his vineyard is what shines through in our wines."

What to try:

(

Courtesy Angeleno Wine Company

)

• Alicante Bouschet, Alonso Family Vineyard or Galleano Vineyards ($35-40) - Alicante Bouschet is one of the few red grapes with red flesh inside, popular during Prohibition for its intensely dark color. Both versions of their alicante bouche are easy picks for holiday meals while also paying tribute to L.A. wine history.

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

• Gold Line, orange wine, Alonso Family Vineyards ($35) Orange wine: it’s on all the hip menus. But what exactly is it? Orange wine is white wine made like red wine — white grapes fermented with their skins on (called "skin contact"), giving the wine an orange or amber color, more tannins, and bolder flavors. The Gold Line is one of the brightest and sweetest oranges I've tasted, perfect for those 80-degree winter days in SoCal. (And yes, it is named after the metro line).

• Bike Path, Alonso Family Vineyards($35) - Another Alonso Family Vineyard classic, and my personal favorite. As a red wine loyalist, I rarely reach for whites. But with chilled reds, I feel like I can have it with anything, even fish and chicken. It’s fresh and crisp while maintaining a body, perfect for lighter meals.

AJA Vineyards (Santa Monica)

If you find yourself in Santa Monica, skip the crowds at the pier and Ocean Avenue sports bars and head to AJA Vineyards tasting room. You may be greeted by the founders’ daughter, Amanda Rubin who can tell you about each wine with pride and enthusiasm.

Named for the originators of the winery Todd and Heather Greenbaum's three children, Alec, Jack and Amanda, AJA Vineyards farms 2 acres in the Malibu hills and also sources grapes from up and down the Malibu Coast.

Tasting flights of five wines start at $35, and Rubin makes it clear: no wine expertise required. "We really want to create a welcoming space so that when people come through the door, they don't feel intimidated. They don't feel like they have to be an expert on wine."

What to try:

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

• 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Eds’ Vineyard, Malibu ($37) Eds’ Vineyard, named for Amanda's grandfathers Edward and Edwin. Vibrant tropical fruit notes with perfect ripeness and acidity. Finished in neutral French oak, giving it deeper notes of smokey vanilla — an ideal fall white. For a brighter summer sipper, try the 2023 vintage.

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

• 2019 FIVE Red Wine, Malibu ($65) Noted as Todd Greenbaum's favorite. A Bordeaux-inspired blend from their flagship vineyard in Malibu (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc). Rich and tannic, silky and warm. If you need a steak dinner wine, this is your pick

Cavaletti Vineyards (Moorpark)

Although Cavaletti Vineyards tasting room is in Moorpark in Ventura County, it's a staple in the L.A. wine scene — founder Patrick Kelley is a key part of the L.A. Vintners Association. They source grapes from unique, often overlooked vineyards primarily in Ventura, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara Counties, focusing on organic farming and cool-climate sites near the coast or at high altitudes.

Co-winemaker Sterling Andrews describes one of their key sources, the Lopez Vineyard, as a hidden gem. Drive down the 210 freeway past Rancho Cucamonga: "You would never know," he says —100-year-old vines tucked behind commercial sprawl.

What to try:

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

• Lopez Vineyard Zinfandel, Rancho Cucamonga ($40) A great dessert-style wine, an entry-level class for those who skip the wine for dinner and save it for after a nice meal.

• Arianna Syrah, Ventura ($58) Named after owner Patrick Kelley's wife, and one that was recommended to me by Amanda Rubin from AJA. I had to give it a try. I took it to my family holiday party to share with a relative named Arianna who is married to a Josh. She was relieved to see her name on a bottle for a change, and delighted after tasting its deep fruit flavors.

Herrmann York Wine (Redlands)

Co-owner Garrett York and his brother Taylor started making wine in their garage with friend Dustin Hermann in 2020. "We learned by making mistakes rather than following advice," York says. "The lessons are more durable that way."

They practice minimal intervention winemaking, meaning they let the grapes do their thing — little to no additives, and trusting the fruit to become wine naturally. They source grapes from small, family-owned vineyards across SoCal, particularly the Inland Empire. "We believe the most exciting thing is allowing a place and variety to contribute something accidental and unique," York says.

These three wines below are included on their “Starchy Meal Deal”, discounted at $91 and curated to pair with your holiday meals.

What to try:

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

• 2024 Il Burino ($28) White blend of Clairette, Grenache Blanc, and Fiano from across Southern California. York says it’s reminiscent of whites from the Roussillon region of France.

• 2024 Los Empleados ($28) Light red blend of Grenache Blanc, Grenache Noir, Zinfandel, and Barbera. Juicy and herby, great chilled or at room temperature.

(

Brandon Killman

/

LAist

)

• 2023 Lopez Ranch Zinfandel ($33) - From the legendary Lopez Ranch in Cucamonga. Old vine, own-rooted, unirrigated, granite soils. Ripe but refined and sourced from a local legend.

Byron Blatty Wines (Highland Park)

Owner Mark Blatty brings Hollywood credentials to Highland Park winemaking — he's a producer for The Real Housewives franchise. I gifted the 2022 Rosé to my mom, an avid Bravo TV fan but not as much of an avid wine drinker like me. Tasting the wine with her, she described it as "lightweight" and "refreshing"— her kind of wine for a casual evening.

Blatty sources grapes from various family-owned, sustainably farmed vineyards throughout Los Angeles County, including sites in the Malibu Coast, Sierra Pelona Valley, and the high-elevation Leona Valley.

My personal favorite was the Tremor. The earthy scent on the nose had me intrigued immediately. "From the Antelope Valley, right up on the San Andreas Fault line — hence the name," says tasting room manager Al Amendola. "There tends to be more minerals in the soil."

What to try:

(

Courtesy Byron Blatty Wines

)

• 2022 Rosé, Alonso Vineyards, Sierra Pelona Valley ($40) Perfect for Bravo fans and casual wine drinkers alike.
• 2019 Tremor, Antelope Valley / Malibu Coast ($60) 55% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 10% Petit Verdot. Spicy, smooth, with an earthy scent right away. This is one I'm saving for a special evening.
• 2022 Evenfall, Smith & Swayze Vineyards, Antelope Valley ($60) One of the most drinkable reds I've tasted — smooth with full-body flavors of dark cherry and raspberry. Pair it with a steak dinner.
  

Last Sunday, I took out my big 16 quart-pot to make a batch of ponche for my family, friends, and a few LAist colleagues.  It’s something I’ve made regularly over the years — a warm fruit punch simmered for five hours that’s popular from Central America to the U.S. The nine days before Christmas, through Jan. 6 are traditionally peak ponche-making days.

Fruit-filled ponche is simmered for about five hours.

(

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

/

LAist

)

My recipe, one of many variations, includes guayabas (guavas), apples, tamarind, cinnamon sticks, raw sugar cane, piloncillo (unrefined sugar), prunes, tejocotes (Hawthorn apples), raisins, and cloves.

Smelling the result of the long simmering of these ingredients makes me play a game: What fruit aromas do I recognize, and which ones are blends of multiple ingredients?

(You can find the full recipe at the end of the article. Feel free to modify as you please).

My strongest ponche memories are from my teens and 20s, going to my aunt’s house in Tijuana during the Christmas season and on trips to Mexico in December. Many of those relatives have since died or have moved far away. 

LAist correspondent Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, as a young boy in Mexico during the holidays.

(

Courtesy Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

)

When I moved to L.A. County, at 31, leaving behind my immediate family in San Diego,  I reached out to my Mexican relatives to get their ponche recipes. I wanted to recover those supportive feelings of family conversations, relatives who'd known me since I was a kid, and talks with cousins about being Mexican away from Mexico.

What I found is that making ponche in my new home over the years did much more than that. It’s become a way to create new, good memories with my wife and children, friends and colleagues.

Ponche is a melding of traditions

By some accounts, ponche’s origins are embedded in the name, which is said to be rooted in the word in India for five, a reference to the five ingredients in a drink Europeans brought back to their countries hundreds of years ago — alcohol, lemon, sugar, water and spices.

That drink was brought to what is now Mexico and Central America, where people incorporated what was grown locally.

Whole cinnamon is an essential part of ponche, the simmered drink from Mexico and Central America.

(

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

/

LAist

)

Which may explain why the drink has such an eclectic set of ingredients today. Think about the trek those fruits and spices have made: prunes originally from Asia, raisins from the Middle East and guavas from Southern Mexico and Central America, to name a few.

The annual challenge

When I set out to make this year’s batch of ponche, I immediately encountered the usual challenge: finding ripe, fragrant guavas at the end of December. Supermarket guavas, more often than not, are sold green and don’t give my ponche the zing I look for. 

The search for ripe guavas pushed me to foraging in recent years. There were guava trees in front yards in my neighborhood and I’d pick the fruit and freeze it about a month before making ponche.

But now one of those trees has been cut down and the other is barely a stump. So this year, I felt like I had no choice but to buy supermarket guavas.

I was on my way to Gonzalez supermarket in Long Beach, when, a block away,  I spotted a different guava tree in someone’s front yard. I parked and talked to the man sitting on the porch. He told me he was originally from Mexico, is a landscaper and says he waters and gives the tree vitamins. He was gracious and picked a bagful for me to take. He said people come and take the fruit but he likes it when people ask.

A warm hug

Armed with peak guava, I began my prep on Sunday morning, washing and chopping the apples and guavas and painstakingly peeling the tamarind. By the afternoon I was ready to welcome guests, like my colleague Yusra Farzan, who covers Orange County.

Ponche drinkers, (L) Yusra Farzan, Adolfo Guzman-Lopez and Marcos Weinstein

(

Gab Chabrán

/

LAist

)

“This ponche is like a warm hug. I'm feeling it in my fingers, in my toes,” she said, adding that she liked chewing on the sugar cane slivers in the drink.

Gab Chabran, LAist's food and culture writer, grew up in a Latino household but didn’t try ponche until he was an adult, because his parents aren’t big fans of warm drinks. Still, he said there was something distinctively familiar about it.

“It was the flavors of cinnamon and apple, which reminded me of the holidays, mixed with the tropical nature of the guavas and the tejocotes along with the tamarind,” he said. “Something about them mixed together, it's just so comforting and warm. I feel like I could drink it all year long.”

For others it was a new spin on an old tradition. “It's different from what I make,” said Erwin Cox, who grew up in Guatemala. The ponche he drank as a kid had a pineapple base, instead of guavas. He liked mine — I want to try making his.

As for the food that went with it — for many years when I was growing up, ponche went along with tamales.  But now some of my traditions have changed. On Sunday I made latkes to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, part of the Jewish traditions I’ve adopted from my wife and her mother and father’s families. 

And there was ponche, accompanying me along the way, seeing time pass and changing along with me.