At the Casa Blanca Restaurant in Desert Hot Springs, 43-year-old Consuelo Arredondo makes the tamales that earned her awards at last year's Indio International Tamale Festival.

With gloved hands, Arredondo holds a couple of flimsy corn husks. She filled the husks with a fiery orange corn mixture.

Then, she added a scoop of bright green cactus and sprinkled shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top. She carefully wrapped the cactus tamales that she will bring to the festival next week.

Arredondo won Best Overall Tamale at last year's festival. Twenty vendors entered that competition, said Jim Curtis, city human services supervisor/special events.

Interested tamale vendors will submit 10 tamales to 10 judges for tasting, Curtis said.

Vendors can enter five categories — traditional nonprofit, traditional commercial, gourmet nonprofit, gourmet commercial and best overall tamale, Curtis said.

Traditional tamales contain basic flavors like beef or pork, Curtis said. Gourmet tamales have more unique flavors like chocolate and cactus.

Tamales are scored based on presentation, texture and taste, Curtis said. Winners receive trophies, and first place winners receive $100 each.

Cardenas Market's Indio store was last year's commercial winner. Store director Armando Moran said he entered pork, chicken, meat and strawberry tamales.

“The quality and clean sanitation in the production led to a good tamale,” he said.

The festival was a success for Cardenas Market, which sold more than 5,000 tamales, Moran said. The strawberry tamale was especially popular.

Moran said the market will bring its basic tamales this year, along with “a few surprises” to enter into the contest.

Arredondo, who grew up in Mexico, said she learned how to make tamales from her mother when she was 13 years old.

She started coming to the Casa Blanca Restaurant in 2004 because she liked the Mexican food there and offered to make tamales at the restaurant.

A friend who tasted Arredondo's tamales suggested that she enter the contest in Indio. She said she was nervous at first and didn't want to enter.

Then, Arredondo won her first competition in 2006, which made her want to do more and get better. She was thrilled to win the best overall tamale title last year.

“This is a big signification that my tamale is one of the best tamales out there,” she said.

Arredondo said she plans to bring pork, chicken, cactus, cheese and jalapeño, and pineapple tamales to the upcoming festival, which she loves to go to every year.

“Hispanic culture came alive in this festival, and it was a time for me and my family to enjoy,” she said.