It's festival season in Yuma County, when it's not ungodly hot and most every weekend on the calendar has some festival or gala or holiday party or maybe two.
Ask any Yuma County resident, either full-time or winter visitor, and a no-doubt highlight every year is the Somerton Tamale Festival.
Like clockwork, every year you can count on Main Street in the 85350 filling up. It's what I call "Somerton's Super Bowl."
This year, more than 30,000 people lined up for hot tamales, cold beer and stayed for a tamale eating contest, youth performing arts groups and live music including Yuma native Tanner Gomes, who competed on "The Voice", and regional Mexican band Voz De Mando.
The event, held since 2007, has always been a fundraiser for the El Diablito ASU Alumni Club for area students attending Arizona State University.
Click the blue tab above to listen to my interview with Gladys Anaya, a Somerton Tamale Festival organizer and Somerton's First Lady. Below are some images from the Dec. 16 event.
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9b0222a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F78%2Fa6%2F0342d7b44ffdb0179e35abb25531%2Fimg-0234.jpeg)
![Araceli Meza has sold tamales at every Somerton Tamale Festival since 2007.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f7a17f3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Feb%2F70%2Fe567c3854fd5a0ddc85bbb5dd30f%2Fimg-0250.jpeg)
![One of the 2023 Somerton Tamale Festival winners is announced on the main stage. Among the judges were U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for the U.S. Senate, and Somerton Police Chief Araceli Juarez.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0e7e8b4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd9%2F2e%2Febf1d1f447f6920a1006579b2f12%2Fimg-0242.jpeg)
![The Somerton High School Toro mascot and two cheerleaders from the school that opened this past fall.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/87f3051/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024x4032+0+0/resize/880x1173!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fd8%2Ff3%2Fabce50ca42b5b662e1ecb4021f54%2Fimg-0239.jpeg)
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0858de3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x3024+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0f%2Fc6%2F44c7cbcc4fcf9666dcdf4f5d10f3%2Fimg-0238.jpeg)
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