It all started in 1992 with an idea by Dave Hernandez, a member of the Downtown Indio Merchants Association.
The rich heritage of the tamale, consistent community support and hard working tamale makers have created the festival’s tremendous success.

Recently, the Food Network-TV ranked the Indio International Tamale Festival® in the top 10 “All-American Food Festivals” in the nation!

Festival’s Guinness World Records:
The World’s largest Tamale-over 1 foot in diameter and 40 feet in length, Dec. 4, 1999. The World’s largest tamale festival-with 120,000 in attendance, Dec. 2-3, 2000.