City of Indio
INCORPORATED 1930

Mayor’s Welcome

Dear Tamale Festival Fans!

It is my pleasure to officially welcome you to the 17th Annual Indio International Tamale Festival, a holiday tradition started in 1992, celebrating the rich heritage of the tamale.

The festival is a special occasion that kicks off the holiday season and brings the entire community together, while attracting many Californians and fans from all over the great United States.

The popularity of the tamale festival continues to soar and gain national interest. Recently, the Food Network-TV showed its 70 million viewers Indio’s International Tamale Festival, and ranked the festival in the top 10 “All-American Food Festivals” in the nation. And as you might imagine, we are deeply proud and grinning ear to ear.

Every year, we are very grateful to the business community for sponsoring the festival, appreciative of the steadfast community support, and honored by the hard working tamale makers who have created the festival’s tremendous success!

We are especially thankful to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino for being the official presenting sponsor since 1999!

As Mayor, I am proud that our City Staff is doing everything possible to make this year’s festival memorable and entertaining for all festival fans. Join us in Downtown Indio the first weekend in December every year and taste the experience! It’s free admission and parking, how can you beat that?

See you there…



Lupe Ramos Watson,
Mayor