Little Village Community Council welcomes Venezuelan refugees with open arms, stresses need for mental health services
By Brenda Ordoñez Medill Reports A Chicago organization with strong Mexican roots is proving it doesn’t take a big village to make a difference. TRANSCRIPT: Inside the Little Village Community Council edifice awaits a beige-colored room lined with tables disguised by donations. Standing in the center of the room is the council’s community organizer, Kristian Armendariz. […]
Rodriguez wins 22nd Ward seat in decisive victory
By Chris Schulz Medill Reports Democrat Michael Rodriguez won the 22nd Ward aldermanic seat Tuesday, with 63.9 percent of the vote, defeating three other candidates. Rodriguez succeeds longtime Alderman Ricardo Muñoz. After representing the 22nd ward for 25 years, Muñoz announced in July that he would not seek reelection and endorsed Rodriguez’s candidacy. Rodriguez also […]
The heirloom of Mariachi music passes down through the generations
By Alexa Mencia When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra welcomed Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, known internationally as the “World’s Best Mariachi,” last month, orchestra hall sold out. Throughout the performance, audience members would let out a joyful, high-pitched yell in excitement—a signature of mariachi music known as a grito. The ensemble itself traces its history back […]
A vote of faith: Converting Latinos to registered voters
By Alex Ortiz Just before the end of 1:30 p.m. mass at St. Agnes of Bohemia in Little Village Sunday, the congregation participated in a blessing for the Society of St. Toribio Romo, named for the patron saint of immigrants. The group is on a mission — not to convert others to the faith — […]
Chicago’s Dress Shop Economy
By Harry Huggins Hilda Sanchez sits at her desk with a street view of one of Chicago’s biggest retail corridors. Nearby are three rows of dresses in a rainbow of vibrant colors with skirts that billow out at least two feet from the mannequins that wear them. Sanchez’s dress shop is one of many lining […]
Little Village residents welcome diversity, fear rising rents
By Harry Huggins Residents of Chicago’s largely Hispanic Little Village neighborhood are excited to greet their increasingly diverse neighbors, but the area’s popularity comes at the expense of long-time tenants who grew up in a community with more affordable housing. Jesus Zamudio was born and raised in Little Village, which is just west of Pilsen […]
