We used to have many tamale ladies and I would buy their wares because I get the work that goes into it and want to support them for keeping tradition alive, but Lord, tamales aint my thing.
Some of the Mex stores have backroom tamale kitchens in defiance of local health codes. Once you’ve been vetted it’s a good source.
One of them I went to was out for the day but the owner made a phone call and told me to wait in the parking lot. 5 minutes later a car pulls up and the woman in the passenger seat had a pot full of tamales on the floor. I bought a dozen from her. Felt like a drug deal in plain sight.