For Catherine Contreras, tamales aren’t just food, they’re family, tradition, and some of her most treasured childhood memories.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, that tradition took on new meaning. As a Latina mom raising five children, including a daughter with autism, Contreras wanted her kids to feel connected to their culture while also supporting their sensory needs. When her family began hosting virtual tamaladas, her young kids wanted to join in, but the real thing wasn’t quite accessible.
So she improvised something that changed everything.
Contreras grabbed Play-Dough, a corn husk, and let her kids “make tamales” their own way. What started as a simple sensory-friendly activity quickly became something much bigger.
Alongside her mother, Marie Bauml, a retired schoolteacher, Contreras co-founded Fresh Masa, a small business creating sensory-friendly pretend-play kits inspired by Latino food traditions. Each kit includes colorful Play-Dough and child-friendly wooden tools, allowing kids to shape “masa” into tamales, tortillas, tacos, or pan dulce through sets like Tiny Tamalada, Teeny Taco, and My Favorite Panadería.
The goal is connection, to culture, to play, and to kids who learn and experience the world differently.
Fresh Masa remains a self-funded, small operation, selling primarily through its website and popping up at local shops and markets around San Antonio. It’s a hustle, but one rooted in love.
What began as a way to support one child’s sensory needs has grown into a joyful invitation for families everywhere to play, learn, and celebrate cultura, one tiny tamale at a time.
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