Lanier Students cook Tamales to be a part of a record Culinary Show

If you were one among the students to be a part of the culinary magnet programme at Lanier   High School then you would have certainly been a part of the record. Thousands of volunteers helped in making tamales   in the school premises. The sweet smell of tamales wafted through the halls of Lanier High School.

In 10 hours, students and community volunteers made 2,420.9 pounds of tamales — eclipsing their goal of 2,204.6 pounds, or 1,000 kilograms.

That gives the school a good chance of setting the record in a new category: greatest amount of tamales made in 10 hours. Each volunteer was allowed to take home a dozen tamales or donate them to Haven for Hope, the local homeless shelter. Thelma Rodriguez Lanier's culinary teacher, said the tamales would be delivered to the shelter today. The record even saw the school alumni  Anita Espinoza 79 years , and her husband Alfonso Espinoza 80 years  who were  1950 s time graduates of the school.

As Anita  Espinoza pointed out that  she cajoled her husband  stating they would be there for a few hours but ended being there for the entire day as they  enjoyed the camaradie  with lot of people.

Among the thousands of student and community volunteers gathered in the band hall to help spread the masa and fill the tamales were State Rep. Joaquin   Castro and SAISD Superintendent Durion .The event even triggered the attention of a few state bureaucrats too.

Even a visiting AmeriCorps group from Denver was wrangled into the community fun.

Nathalie  Besse   who was a part of the group that travels to different cities for weeks of community service, said that after hearing about the attempt at a record, she and nine fellow volunteers arrived at Lanier at 7:30 a.m. and stayed all day. Besse who hailed from Minnesota had never made  tamale before nor  eaten one.

Besse and a handful of students from Lanier's business and finance magnet program weighed and counted the tamales, converting from grams to pounds. By the time it became evening   the efforts done during the day proved they were worth it. Students and community members   had prepared 17,106 tamales weighing 2420 pounds  achieved in less than 12 hours.

The most number of tamales made counted to 17,106 and was set by the students and members of Lanier High School at Austin, Texas, United States of America on April 8, 2012.