Mexicana will sell tamales at Super Bowl LVII

With Mexican tamales but adapted even to Japanese and Indian tastes, the immigrant Imelda Hartley came this year to Super Bowl LVII as the official supplier of pre-match events on February 12 at the Sovkhoz stadium.

“I am very proud that my tamales will be present at such an important event”the Mexican, originally from Culiacan, Sinaloa, told EFE.

A victim of violence both in her country and in the US, Imelda Hartley is now the owner “Happy Tamales”, a small company that will take its products to the most important sports final in the country.which will be held in Glendale, Arizona.

Fragrances Happy Tamales

Having started selling tamales on the street in front of a laundromat in Phoenix, the businesswoman is now known for her variety of tamales with over twenty international flavors.

He says his handmade blends are not “traditional” Mexican blends, but rather combinations of Latin American flavors and other cultures such as India and Japan.

“I have 22 varieties of tamales, many of which are inspired by me, such as curried shrimp tamales with coconut milk.”, he explained.

He remembers that inspiration came to him when he was responding to requests from his clients. Some told him they were vegetarians so he came up with nopal tamales, and others that combine spinach and cream cheese.

“I have Guatemalan-inspired tamales from Honduras; I also make them from different types of dough, like rice,” the 52-year-old businesswoman explained.

However, he clarified that the typical Mexican tamale cannot be missing. “El Sinaloense” with meat, potatoes, carrots and pumpkin, which will also participate in the Super Bowl, what this year Philadelphia Eagles And Kansas City Chiefs.

Imelda Hartley was selected as one of the official Super Bowl purveyors. within Business Connect, the program NFL it helps small business owners, especially women and minorities.

The Mexican says that each of her tamales has hopeful and inspiring names like “Hope”, “Friendship”, “New Beginning” and “Winner”.

He even says that the name of his company “Happy Tamales” carries the same positive message.

She assures that the life of a woman who endures violence is very “sad” and she is always bitter; That’s why, with her tamales, she strives to convey a message of change and happiness.

How many tamales will he take to the Super Bowl?

For Super Bowl Mexican cooks 5000 tamalesand for this she rented space in an industrial kitchen east of Mesa, Arizona, where she is assisted by other women and their children.

tamales with reason

Imelda Hartley founded her business in 2015 after participating in entrepreneurship programs to get help and tools to grow her business. Later, she managed to become part of the Mexican government’s Consular Entrepreneurship Program for Mexicans Abroad.

also Spaniard supports women who, like her, have suffered from domestic violence.

“I help them by paying for a taxi to safety, sometimes paying for a hotel room. In other cases, they even lived with me in my house or helped them look for work,” she said.

“But I don’t just want to give them a job; I want a place where we can organize day care for your children, we can give them therapy to overcome domestic violence. I really hope that this opportunity that the NFL gives me will serve to achieve it, ”he stressed.

He remembers that at the age of 12 he was sexually abused by a person close to his family, and two years later he fled and ended up in the United States almost by accident.

“I arrived at the border in Baja California. I was walking along the beach when I saw a lot of people wanting to buy coconut water. I went there and suddenly someone told me that I was already in the United States. Of course, at that time there was no wall, there were other times,” he said, smiling.

However, in San Diego, California, she was abused for two decades by her partner, with whom she had five children.

“I have been subjected to domestic violence for 20 years. It was the most traumatic and painful experience of my life.”said.

Her new life as a businesswoman began in Phoenix, where she moved with her children and where she began making tamales to feed them and then to survive by selling them on the street.

The cheapest Super Bowl ticket between the Eagles and Chiefs is over $4,000.

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