Mixed feelings about postponing festivities<\/strong><\/p>\nThe extended Mexican Independence Day celebrations reflect the size and vitality of Chicago\u2019s Mexican American community. Mexicans make up more than one-fifth of the city\u2019s total population and about 74% of its Latino residents, according to 2022 U.S. Census estimates.<\/p>\n
Parade and festival organizers have been divided over whether to move forward with precautions or postpone, in hopes that it will feel safer for many participants to have a true celebration in several months’ time. In Pilsen, organizers said this week that community safety should be prioritized. A downtown Mexican Independence Day festival set for next weekend, though, was postponed this week by organizers, who said the decision was made to protect people.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut also we just refuse to let our festival be a pawn in this political game,\u201d said Germ\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez, an organizer of El Grito Chicago.<\/p>\n
In Pilsen and Little Village, two of the city’s best-known neighborhoods with restaurants, businesses and cultural ties to Mexican culture, residents expressed disappointment that the potential federal intervention instilled such fear and anxiety in the community. It comes at a time of year usually characterized by joy, togetherness and celebration of Mexican American heritage.<\/p>\n
Watching for ICE<\/strong><\/p>\nOn Saturday morning, some paradegoers grabbed free, bright-orange whistles and flyers from volunteers standing outside the Lozano Branch of the Chicago Public Library. \u201cBlow the whistle on ICE!\u201d the flyers read, encouraging a nonviolent tactic to raise alarm if agents appear at the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump 2.0 is definitely more undisguised and more vicious than Trump 1.0,\u201d said Leo Pargo of communist organization Revcom Corps.<\/p>\n
Magdalena Alvarado, who lived in Little Village for 30 years, took an orange whistle. \u201cMy heart is like pounding a little bit because I don\u2019t know what to expect today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Alvarado saw some lowrider cars, often decked out with Mexican flags, with imagery supporting the police. She wondered to herself whether they were intentionally added to garner goodwill with the law enforcement present.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tend to be very patriotic and proud of our culture, and this year I feel that we\u2019re not as free to express it,\u201d Alvarado said.<\/p>\n
Celebrating, but with precautions<\/strong><\/p>\nFor Galiela Mendez, the decision to postpone El Grito Chicago was both heartbreaking and understandable.<\/p>\n
While the nation’s third-largest city has its problems, including persistent gun violence in some areas, Mendez said Trump and his supporters are maligning Chicago for political gain while disrupting festivities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like a slap in the face,\u201d the 25-year-old said. \u201cI think we are all on edge because it\u2019s the same people that describes our home this way, but they never come here and see it for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vianney Alarcon, 42, said she expects people to be targeted by immigration officials regardless of their legal status.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re just going to catch and ask questions later,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But in an act of defiance, she’ll be taking part in the festivities, while bringing along her passport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still going to celebrate my heritage,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I know for a fact that a lot of the people I know and the people commenting on Facebook are going to show up, too. What are they going to do? We\u2019re not being disruptive if we\u2019re celebrating properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
An air of uncertainty<\/strong><\/p>\nFabio Fernandez, 39, owner of an art and T-shirt company with a residency at a Pilsen streetwear shop, called it \u201ctroubling\u201d and \u201cdisheartening\u201d that potential federal intervention was impacting Mexican Independence Day celebrations.<\/p>\n
He said there’s a mood of anxiety in the neighborhood, which has translated to lower sales and reduced foot traffic for local businesses like his, Fernandez said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe small businesses here can feel it, and other business owners will say the same thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fernandez said there are simple ways to support local Latino-owned shops and restaurants.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome back to 18th Street. Support small businesses here. They\u2019re still working hard as hell to keep their businesses alive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Alejandro Vences, 30, became a U.S. citizen this year, \u201cwhich gives me some comfort during this time,\u201d he said while eating pozole verde at a local Mexican restaurant.<\/p>\n
Still, he said the anxiety is palpable.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, our Independence Day has always been a celebration of our culture,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s always been a celebration of who we are. It feels like we don\u2019t get to celebrate our culture in the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n
_<\/p>\n
\u2022 Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia. Associated Press writer Morgan Lee in Santa Fe contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Participants wave flags during the 2025 Pilsen Mexican Independence Day parade Saturday in Chicago. AP CHICAGO \u2014 President…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":206522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[1578,960,3974,5386,1818,3973,61197,50],"class_list":{"0":"post-206521","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-associated-press","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-content-providers","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-illinois","13":"tag-nation-and-world","14":"tag-nation-and-world-politics","15":"tag-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115160662941464319","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}