For Venezuelans, hallacas are a nostalgic taste of home

By Christina Morales, The New York Times

In 2015, the first year Héctor Arguinzones celebrated Christmas in the United States, he longed to share his mother’s hallacas with his wife, Niurka Meléndez, and their son, Samuel.

Hallacas, similar to tamales, are a signature dish of the holiday in Venezuela, where he and his family had emigrated from, but the only ones he could find in America were made with ketchup. So he spent the next couple of years learning how to replicate his mother’s recipe, taking cooking classes and having her decipher her vague measurements over long-distance calls until he finally nailed the filling.

For Venezuelans at home and living in the United States, hallacas are a Christmas staple. Families spend several days making and assembling them, stuffing the guiso — the stewlike filling made from chicken, pork and beef and stained deep red from annatto — into corn masa. The hallacas look like presents when they’re wr...