People prepare tamales for Tamale Fair in Mexico City

People prepare tamales to be sold on Candlemas Day, in Mexico City, Mexico, Jan. 30, 2018. Each year at this time, a Tamale Fair kicks off the annual agricultural cycle in Mexico, and highlights the fusion over centuries between the country's pre-Columbian civilizations and European traditions brought over by the Spanish conquistadors. Like many of Mexico's foods, the tamale traces its origins to pre-Hispanic times. For hundreds of years before the arrival of the Spanish, Mexico's indigenous communities relished this dietary staple, made of cornmeal stuffed with meats and sauces, then wrapped and steamed in corn husks. (Xinhua/Francisco Canedo)