Hundreds line up at Amapola Market in Downey for tamale masa

DOWNEY, Calif. () — For millions of people across Southern California, it wouldn’t be Christmas without tamales.

On Monday, hundreds of people lined up at Amapola Deli and Market in Downey to get their hands on the store’s famous masa, a key ingredient in tamales.

The Los Angeles area market is known for having very long lines of customers days before Christmas to buy masa.

The price of masa is up this year, but the president of Amapola says they’re trying to keep costs for customers the same.

Amapola Market has two other locations in the L.A. area.