Activists and business leaders come together to combat gentrification in Pilsen
By Jessica Villagomez On a cold autumn evening on November 30, La Catrina Café, located in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen, transformed into a space meant for discussion. The café, which has a spacious lounge for customers to eat and drink traditional Mexican treats, reinvented itself in the span of half an hour. Small tables […]
Día de los Muertos in Pilsen commemorates the dead and commits to fighting social injustices
By Pat Nabong People with faces painted to resemble skulls and hair adorned with flowers marched around Pilsen on the night when spirits are believed to visit the living. Photos of deceased loved ones and famous human rights advocates embellished the “ofrenda” or altar. Under the rain, children twirled to the beat of drums. Día […]
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 — […]
Pilsen gallery workshop creates grassroots artwork with a political twist
By Xiao Lyu Artist Ellen Gradman held a special workshop that combined art with activism in Uri-Eichen Gallery in the East Pilsen Sunday Afternoon. Dubbed as “Paper Protest”, the workshop taught people the technique of collage to translate their political ideas into artwork with simple tools and materials such as newspapers, art clips and computer […]
