'This is definitely what we need': Festival of the Monarch Butterfly in Glendale Heights to celebrate Latino community
Cristobal Cavazos had never organized a festival of this scale before, but he knew he had created something that would last when he reunited with an old high school friend he hadn't seen in years.
The man was watching dancers perform in full regalia, a representation of his Latino heritage that left him openly weeping at the inaugural Festival of the Monarch Butterfly last year in Glendale Heights.
"He was watching the performance of his ancestors," Cavazos said. "He was just breaking down crying. And after the performance he gave me a big hug."
Those kind of poignant moments will play out again at the festival in Camera Park Sunday, as Cavazos and other organizers from Immigrant Solidarity DuPage seek to renew the Latino community in the suburbs through a celebration of traditional art, music and food.
"This is definitely what we need, a coming together," said Cavazos, who founded the Wheaton-based advocacy group in 2007.
The festival will take on added meaning after a week of fears and anguish over the mass shooting in El Paso that killed 22 people. Authorities have said the gunman told police he had targeted Mexicans.
"So we're trying to break this fear in the people because fear paralyzes us," Cavazos said. "And when we're paralyzed, that's the opposite of what we as community organizers want to do, which is bring people together, share the love, celebrate our community and create community here."
The festival namesake refers to a long-held symbol of the immigrant rights movement. Monarch butterflies migrate freely each year, crossing borders from their winter nesting grounds in Michoacan, Mexico, to Texas and eventually the Midwest region, where they enjoy three generations.
"The symbol of the monarch butterfly shows how interconnected we all are, because you have this insect that comes from Mexico that comes and pollinates for everyone, for humans and for animals and for other insects here," Cavazos said. "And this is very indicative of the Latino community everywhere we're at. We work. We're working diligently wherever we are."
As an extension of the festival, a group of about 30 volunteers last year restored a site behind the Glenside Public Library as a sanctuary for monarch butterflies and native plants.
The group is working on the project's second phase: Adding interpretive signs in English and Spanish throughout the garden. They will kick off the project with a screening of a butterfly documentary at the library 7 p.m. Aug. 14.
Immigrant Solidarity DuPage helps immigrants know their rights in the workplace and in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"We get calls on immigrant cases almost every day," Cavazos said.
Festival of the Monarch Butterfly: A Latino Celebration
Who: Sponsored by Immigrant Solidarity DuPage
When: 3 to 10 p.m. Sunday
Where: Camera Park, 101 E Fullerton Ave., Glendale Heights
Info: <a href="https://www.immigrantsolidarityofdupage.org/">Immigrantsolidarityofdupage.org</a>