SOUTH CHICAGO — When Maria Estela Parra moved her family to Chicago overnight on Christmas Day 1985, there were few clues that the skilled chef, matriarch and general sports agnostic would play a key role in the city’s sports history.

Months later, in the summer of 1986 — soon after the Chicago Bulls wrapped a subpar season marred by young Michael Jordan’s broken foot — Parra’s relative offered her a job at W.G.N. Flag and Decorating Company, 7984 S. South Chicago Ave.

“All this kind of work was new to me,” Parra, who had little sewing or career experience prior to taking the position at W.G.N., said in Spanish. “It was [a gradual process], because I didn’t know the job. Little by little, I learned.”

Learn, she did. Parra’s hiring kicked off a four-decade career that’s seen her work, quite literally, reach the upper echelon of Chicago professional sports.

Parra has helped create nearly every banner now hanging from the United Center’s rafters, from those honoring the retired numbers of legends like Jordan and Scottie Pippen to the championship banners earned by the Bulls and Blackhawks in dynastic stretches from the ’90s through the 2010s.

The latest unveiling of a Parra-led creation came last weekend, as Englewood’s own Derrick Rose saw his No. 1 retired and raised to the rafters.

Rose’s honor capped a months-long project by Parra, her sister-in-law Guadalupe Rinconeño and the rest of the W.G.N. team to perfect the banner for permanent display — including the stitching of eight rose petals in the banner for each year of his Bulls tenure.

Rose was the first Bull to have his number retired in two decades, but Parra and Rinconeño stayed plenty busy during the interim.

Orders for “Bear Down” flags and decorations for everything from the Blackhawks to local transportation agencies, police, universities and sports leagues stream into W.G.N. The two sisters and coworkers have played key roles in virtually every project.

Parra, who is nearing retirement age, has largely rebuffed her own family’s urgings to retire and settle down. She loves her work and intends to continue fulfilling the shop’s orders for the foreseeable future, she said.

“I’m 64 this year, and I don’t want to retire yet,” Parra said. “Whether it’s soon or later, I don’t know. But for now, that’s it.”

Guadalupe Rinconeño and Maria Estela Parra pose for a portrait with a flag they made for Derrick Rose (1) at W.G.N Flag and Decorating, 7984 S. South Chicago Ave. in the South Chicago neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Derrick Rose’s banner (#1, at left) is highlighted during Rose’s number retirement ceremony on Jan. 24, among other numbers retired by the Bulls including Jerry Sloan’s #4, Bob Love’s #10, Michael Jordan’s #23 and Scottie Pippen’s #33. María Estela Parra and her colleagues at W.G.N. Flag and Decorating have created “nearly every banner that hangs in the United Center’s rafter,” a team spokesperson said.

“Seamstress” is a fitting, if narrow, description for Parra’s work at W.G.N. After decades as a jack-of-all-trades employee on par with her other coworkers, she has for the past five years taken the lead on projects at the shop.

Parra will typically finalize the numerous flags and decorations commissioned by W.G.N.’s clients. Her work varies in difficulty, from the meticulously designed banners on permanent display at the United Center to the common and relatively simple Chicago flags that Parra once told WTTW she could make in her sleep.

“There’s no specific title, but I can do everything,” Parra said. The workload “depends on the orders we get. … There’s a lot of work; then, let’s see, things calm down and suddenly there’s nothing to do. The next day, we have to get moving again.”

Parra is joined in W.G.N.’s workroom by Rinconeño, a Southeast Sider for four decades. Flag- and banner-making is theoretically possible as a one-person job, but teamwork makes the job much easier, said Rinconeño, whose hometown is Tarimoro, Guanajuato, in Mexico.

Rinconeño tends to prepare the fabric, arrange text and ensure double-sided flags and banners are perfectly aligned, and then Parra fine-tunes the final product.

“Sometimes [Parra] can do everything, but then she says, ‘Help me,’ and I go and help her stamp and stuff,” Rinconeño said. “Many [projects] are being made here.”

“The plain truth” is that Parra has no idea how many banners she’s created alongside Rinconeño and coworkers past, she said.

Prior to Rose’s ceremony, Scottie Pippen’s No. 33 was the last number to be retired by the Bulls in 2005, while other noteworthy moments in Parra’s career include creating the banners for the Blackhawks’ 2010, 2013 and 2015 Stanley Cup titles.

Parra and Rinconeño even helped repair the six Bulls title banners they created that were damaged by heat in a concert mishap last year and temporarily removed from the stadium.

It was “as if nothing had happened,” Parra said of the restored banners. “They were perfect, I think.”

A 2005 photo shows Maria Estela Parra with a Scottie Pippen banner at W.G.N Flag and Decorating. Pippen was the last Bull to have his number retired before Derrick Rose’s ceremony on Jan. 24, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Parra never expected the fame and virality that came after a video that was shown to more than 20,000 fans at the United Center during Rose’s jersey retirement ceremony last weekend, she said.

“Yes, I’ve had a lot of compliments over the years,” Parra said. “But for [media to reach out]; for [the video profiling her work to be played] at the stadium; or for someone to say, ‘Oh, look, you made this, and how beautiful [it is]?’ … I’m just in shock.”

The online response to the video celebrated Parra, but some viewers questioned why the team hadn’t given her courtside seats to see her work raised to the rafters.

Parra, through a family member, declined questions prior to her interview about her attendance at the ceremony or at any past games where her work has been unveiled.

The Bulls have invited W.G.N. Flag and Decorating employees “to attend a Bulls game to see the banner this season,” spokesperson Caroline Mattingly said.

Maria Estela Parra works on a Chicago Blackhawks banner at W.G.N Flag and Decorating, 7984 S. South Chicago Ave. in the South Chicago neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Parra’s hometown is Guadalajara, Mexico. She later moved to Mexicali, followed by the Los Angeles metro area for several months, before making her way to Chicago.

Parra, who lives in South Chicago, flashed a sly grin as she spoke about her skill in the kitchen, as cooking is her favorite hobby outside of work. Her family, neighbors and coworkers know her talent well, as she’ll cook for large gatherings or bring eggs and chorizo to share on the job.

“Pozole, tacos, enchiladas, gorditas, quesadillas, birria — whatever you want, I’ll cook it for you,” Parra said.

Parra is proud of her heritage as a Mexican American, her status as an immigrant and the life she’s built for herself without a formal education, she said.

However, Parra doesn’t see herself as a spokesperson for any particular identity or community. Her time in the spotlight should draw attention to the common experiences of immigrant workers, rather than distinguish her experience as an exceptional one, she said.

“I consider myself like everybody else” in her communities, Parra said. Her story is important “because I came from abroad and I’ve had this job for 40 years; I don’t have a degree or any qualifications. [I am] here as an immigrant, like many of us who came here and are still here.”

Maria Estela Parra and Guadalupe Rinconeño work at W.G.N. Flag and Decorating, 7934 S. South Chicago Ave. in the South Chicago neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

Still ‘Fascinated’ By Banner-Making

Former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who celebrated with Rose at last weekend’s banner-raising, is well-known for grinding long shifts out of his best players.

Rose played 37 minutes, or more than three quarters, per game during his MVP season in 2010-’11, while missing only one match. His teammate, Luol Deng, played 39 minutes per game that year — fourth-most in the league — without a single absence.

Parra has had no such experience with her own work. Her boss, Carl “Gus” Porter III — great-grandson of W.G.N. founder and namesake William George Newbould — doesn’t “pressure us,” she said.

Not that he needs to, as Parra would place plenty of pressure on herself to perform — especially once she took on more responsibilities at the shop several years ago, she said. However, as Parra has settled into her role as a project leader, she’s learned to ease up on herself while maintaining an artisanal quality.

“The responsibility for the [sewing] table has been mine [for more than] five years,” she said. “I feel more relaxed now.”

An old news clipping shows Estela Parra and Guadalupe Rinconceño at W.G.N Flag and Decorating, 7934 S. South Chicago Ave. in the South Chicago neighborhood on Jan. 28, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

After decades of relative anonymity, Parra’s recent nights have been sleepless since the Bulls shared the video of her work — a sleeplessness borne from “happiness and of not believing” the attention she’s received, she said.

But that attention has changed little about Parra’s focus on her work.

She has balanced media appearances with her regular work days. Moments after completing her interviews and photo shoots on Wednesday, Parra joined Rinconeño in their familiar stations, facing each other as they sewed their latest projects at the entrance to W.G.N.’s workroom.

“I love my job. I love it, I’m fascinated by it,” Parra said, thanks “mainly to God and to my children.”

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