This story was co-published by Puente News Collaborative, a bilingual nonprofit newsroom and funder dedicated to high-quality, fact-based news and information from the U.S.-Mexico border and in partnership with palabra.
For five years, Ana Melba and her husband, Jairo Antonio Acosta, blended hope and determination into the masa they wrapped with green banana leaves and steamed into tamales they sold in suburban Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Every morning was infused by the scent of spices and cooked corn. Workdays were framed by long hours of tamale prep and distribution to a string of faithful customers…