Parade grand marshal blazed a path in Aurora

For the past two weeks, Mary Lou Chapa has been working on her "Queen's wave."

She hopes to perfect it by Saturday morning.

Chapa, known as Aurora's first Hispanic Realtor and a longtime community volunteer, will serve as Aurora's first Hispanic grand marshal of the city's Fourth of July Parade.

"My friends and family have been teasing me that I don't flick my wrists quick enough when waving, but I'll have it down in time," Chapa said. "My son also suggested I wear a tiara but I'm not one to wear hats."

Mayor Tom Weisner said he was happy to see someone with Chapa's volunteer record get nominated.

"We have a tradition here in Aurora that each year we accept nominations from the public for the honor of being named the Fourth of July Parade grand marshal," Weisner said. "Mary Lou has had just an extreme amount of involvement in our community over the past several decades. She was someone who really blazed a path in this community as both a woman and a minority."

Chapa, the mother of Democratic State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, said sexism and racism constantly stared her in the face as she tried to open her own real estate office in 1969.

"People told me I was nuts to try to open my own business as a Hispanic woman and that I would never succeed," she said. "Forty years later I'm still here and just now thinking about retiring and slowing down. So I try every day to let young folks know that they can do anything they want if they're willing to work for it."

Chapa also has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including Mutual Ground, which assists victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, the Visiting Nurses Association and the Salvation Army.

"This community has been very good to me and always given me a chance," she said. "Even now by letting me lead the parade, they're letting me go out with a bang before I retire."

Aurora's Independence Day Parade steps off at 10 a.m. from Benton and River streets, then proceeds to Broadway, Galena Boulevard, Stolp Avenue and Downer Place to dispersal at Middle Avenue.