“They are the heroes, and they deserve the best tamales in the world, which are my mom’s tamales,” the daughter of Margarita Montañez said.

Back in April, 73-year-old Margarita Montañez got sick with COVID-19. The grandmother, and resident of San Fernando Valley, was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she remained for 20 days. Thankfully, despite being in the ICU and on a ventilator, Montañez survived. 

On Dec. 17, Montañez and her daughter went back to Cedars-Sinai to show their gratitude to healthcare workers who saved her life. The grandmother of 12 children took 800 tamales to feed medical personnel. She said it only took her five days to make them. 

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“I appreciate the doctors and nurses because they helped me,” Montañez said to KTLA

Her daughter Cindy told the news station that taking her mother to the hospital in April was one of the “most frightening days” of her life. 

“People may not remember her, but she remembers the medical staff every single day because of what they did to save her life and the lives of literally thousands of people. So they are the heroes, and they deserve the best tamales in the world, which are my mom’s tamales,” Cindy said. 

Cindy added that her mom makes tamales every year for the holidays, and this year she wanted to share that tradition with the staff at Cedars-Sinai. 

Montañez told Primer Impacto that it was while she was still hospitalized that she promised the staff at Cedars-Sinai that if she survived, she’d bring them back some of her famous tamales. 

And for those wondering what kind of tamales she made, Montañez said she delivered two batches of tamales: one with cheese and roasted peppers, and the other was chicken and red chile.