Tacos and Tamales Day 2: Rain Doesn’t Stop Las Vegas’ Hustle

People cloaked themselves in ponchos, jackets and blankets -- holding tacos, elotes and more -- while strolling around the Tacos and Tamales 2024 Festival on Sunday.

The two-day food festival wrapped up on Sunday evening. And although the rain and wind did cause a few "flyaway-tent" scares, nothing stopped the peddle of tacos, tamales, pupusas, elotes, aguas and much more.

As stated before, the rain glazed the event a few times. But, there was beauty in this scene: Imagine the carnival lights twinkling, the clamoring of spatulas hitting griddles and the stunning music from Mariachi Acero playing in the drizzling rain.

The food vendors simply adapted to the weather. Even in the rain, people were still lining up for the amazing empanadas from the Empanada Factory. Tacos stands and quesadilla booths were always busy, pushing out hot food.

It was a sight to see people gobble up tacos in rain ponchos. In fact, it's quite symbolic about the power behind tacos. Even in bad weather, nothing can stop us from eating a good taco.

Due to high winds yesterday, the spray paint competition titled "The Battle" was canceled. Today, the competition resumed with all four spray painters competing with each other.

Originally, the competition was set up to be "duels" with two painters in each round facing head-to-head. But due to the slight schedule change, everyone had to compete simultaneously.

It was hypnotizing to watch each artist shake their spray paint cans, turning blobs of colors and shapeless features into full masterpieces in just an hour. The entire process of creating these spray paint murals were fascinating.

At first, you couldn't tell what the canvas would transform into. But then, the artist would add a particular color, dimension or texture. And suddenly that little addition threads the entire masterpiece together to create a full painting.

The winner of the battle was FUZE! He's a muralist and graffiti artist. He's created murals for many businesses in the Las Vegas Valley. Check out his Instagram by clicking here. You may have seen his work around town, in your barbershop, favorite store, etc.

Once again, thank you to the Las Vegas community for coming to the event. We hope you had an amazing time and left with full bellies and fun moments.

People danced to the plethora of music at Tacos and Tamales that included genres of ska, reggae, punk, cumbia, and regional Mexican music. Our city pulsates with talent, great culinary creations and vibrant culture.

We hope to see you next year at Tacos and Tamales 2025!