Members of the AfriCaribe Performing Ensemble dance and play
instruments outside of their office on Division Street to celebrate
along with the Puerto Rican People's Parade, which started
at the intersection of Western Ave and Division in Chicago.
For the first time since it was launched 48 years ago, the Puerto Rican Day Parade was held Saturday away from Chicago’s downtown, though the stream of dignitaries, beauty queens and motorcycle riders passing along the new route on the city’s Northwest Side was just as vibrant as in years past.
Thousands stood shoulder-to-shoulder on Division Street between Western Avenue and California Avenue watching the parade’s floats pass by.
Many said they were not bothered by a decision by the Puerto Rican Parade Committee of Chicago to move the parade away from Grant Park, though that announcement in April sparked some controversy between Puerto Rican community leaders.
“We don’t care,” said Juan Rivera, 62, as he sat in a golf cart decorated with Puerto Rican flags. “They could send us to the moon, we gonna be there. No matter where we are, we gonna be proud.”
The change in venues sparked criticism from some community leaders, who argued the move away from downtown decreases the visibility of the Puerto Rican community in the city.
Parade Committee leaders said holding the event downtown would be too expensive for the cash-strapped nonprofit organization. The organization joined forces with another neighborhood group — the Puerto Rican Cultural Center — that has long held a “People’s Parade” in the West Town and Humboldt Park neighborhoods where many Puerto Ricans still live.
Amid the controversy, a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court seeks to oust the Parade Committee president, Angel Medina, alleging that he mishandled the committee’s money and circumvented regulations that would have forced him to leave his post.
Medina has argued that he has been trying to rescue the organization after years of financial difficulties — efforts that include nearly $200,000 in loans to the parade committee from his wife, Carmen Martinez.
Many parade goers seemed unbothered by the controversy Saturday, saying that, though they had some concerns about security, they didn’t mind the change of location.
Erika Gomez, 26, who for five years has taken her nieces and nephews to Grant Park to watch the parade, initially was skeptical about a Division Street celebration.
She had worried that fewer people might attend the parade and that there could be more violence, Gomez said.
But by the end of the festivities, she felt reassured.
“Overall, it turned out good, a great turnout,” Gomez said.
Initially, a rainy morning threatened a good turnout.
But the clouds gave way just in time for a spectacle of characters to roll through.
A band of motorcycle drivers outfitted in black leather jackets revved their engines. Beauty competition winners in shiny dresses waved to the crowd on top of a white staircase float. A marching band strolled down the street to their own music.
And at every turn, parade goers waved the Puerto Rican Flag.
Jocelyn Santana, 36, who has been coming to the parade since her parents brought her as a kid, drove an hour from DeKalb to bring her three young children to the festivities.
As a handful of people danced on top of a passing float to the song “Que Bonita Bandera,” Santiago reflected on that heritage.
“That's probably my favorite part, hearing that song, because it translates to ‘what a beautiful flag, what a beautiful flag,’” she said.
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