Narrator: Every year, communities across Milpa Alta, Mexico,
come together to cook a massive feast called the junta.
For 48 hours, 500 volunteers work around the clock,
often without sleep,
to prepare over 3,000 kilograms of tamales,
mole, and rice.
And there's a lot riding on this feast.
If all goes well, the community will raise enough money
to support an important religious pilgrimage to Chalma.
We visited Milpa Alta to see how these volunteers
make food for the junta in such big batches.
The first day of cooking begins
with washing and shucking 300 bunches of dried corn husks
so they can be used to wrap tamales the next day.
Yesenia González Lemus is one of the dedicated volunteers
with many years of experience
making tamales for the junta.
Narrator: While some groups wash the leaves,
others strain black beans that have been soaking overnight
and transfer them into buckets.
These buckets are then poured into two giant pots,
where the beans are boiled in water
with onions, garlic, and lard.
The cooked beans are then sent to a mill
to be ground into a paste.
Across the kitchen, butchers are busy cutting and cleaning
1,200 kilograms of pork and beef.
On the second day, large bags of ground beans
and masa, a nixtamalized corn mix, arrive from the mill.
The masa and black beans are poured onto large tables,
where they're mixed with water, lard, salt, and tequesquite,
a mineral salt that has been used in Mexico
since pre-Columbian times.
Once mixed, the masa is taken to another table,
where it's spread into a flat layer,
then topped with black beans.
Then workers cut the mix into squares with their fingers
and roll them up.
These rolls are then passed to another table,
where they're stuffed inside of the corn husks
to become tamales.
Narrator: Volunteers pile the rolled tamales into crates
and carry them to the cooking area.
Here, they pour the tamales into 68 oil drums
that are lined with paper bags.
They fill every drum to the top
before wrapping it in a plastic bag,
which helps steam the tamales.
After they tie the bags,
they light wood fires under each drum.
The tamales start cooking in the early afternoon
and are left until early morning.
The next order of business is making mole,
a thick, rich sauce made with a blend of ground chilies,
spices, and chocolate.
The ground mole arrives in 50-kilogram bags,
which need to be sifted to remove clumps before cooking.
Then the mole is added into giant pots of boiling water,
where it's left with expert mole cookers, known as moleros.
Gustavo Álvarez Jurado, who is the head molero,
has been helping make this dish for over 26 years.
Narrator: Mole flavor varies across Mexico.
In Milpa Alta, a sweeter taste is preferred,
so sugar is added to the mixture.
Making this mole requires constant attention and stirring,
so it doesn't burn or stick to the pot.
Hector Quintín Meza is one of Milpa Alta's
most experienced moleros.
Narrator: While the mole cooks,
another massive pot is filled with water
and brought to a boil.
This pot is what's used to boil all of the meat
that was cut the day before.
At 2 a.m., the rice is ready to be made.
White rice, carrots, fresh tomatoes,
parsley, and spices are all mixed together and boiled.
This year, the kitchen is using 25 pots
that can cook 200 kilograms of rice in 30 minutes.
And by the end of the night, they'll cook 800 kilograms.
Central to these processes is the mayordomo,
a role that is responsible for securing
all of the ingredients and utensils needed
to make the feast possible.
This year, the responsibility is being shared
by Paulina Jardines and her brother, Isaac.
Narrator: Like mayordomos before, Paulina and her brother
have been waiting over 20 years to receive this position
and follow in the footsteps of their mother, Alejandra,
who served as a mayordomo in 2001.
Narrator: At 6 a.m., everyone takes a short break
to attend a mass.
After the mass, the priest goes around the kitchen
and blesses all of the food.
In a tent, guests check in and write their names on cards
to indicate how much money they're going to donate
to the mayordomo for the pilgrimage to Chalma.
Everyone who pledges money
receives a corresponding amount of food,
which is indicated on their card.
But really, the meal is for anyone and everyone
who donates their time, money, or goods for the event.
Instead of eating in the kitchen, many people bring
their own containers from home and take the food away.
Narrator: Chalma is a major pilgrimage site
for Catholics in Mexico,
who make the pilgrimage on foot
from various parts of the country.
The site is also known for miraculous healing powers,
and people from all over
come to seek blessings and miracles.
Narrator: Before the Spanish conquest,
Indigenous deities with magical powers were worshipped here.
When the missionaries arrived, they brought their faith
and proclaimed a miracle had taken place in Chalma,
cementing it as a religious site
for Roman Catholics all over Mexico.