During the weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year’s, tens of thousands of people will flock to Amapola Market in the Los Angeles area to buy freshly produced masa for making tamales, a cherished holiday tradition for Latin American families. On a Tuesday just a few days before Christmas, hundreds were waiting in line when doors opened 6 a.m. at the store's Downey location. Amapola Market, a local institution that has been around for 64 years, calls it the annual “masa pilgrimage.”
