West Chicago celebrating Mexican Independence Day Sept. 16-17
The Mexican Independence Day Celebration returns on Sept. 16-17 with a weekend of traditional and regional Mexican food, cultural music and dance, children's projects and games, and a 13-foot piñata filled with candy and toys to be dropped from a crane.
This annual event, organized by the Mexican Cultural Center-DuPage in coordination with the City of West Chicago, is a celebration of Mexican heritage and diversity in West Chicago.
The two-day festival is designed to build Mexican Cultural Awareness for the month of September. It will be 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday in the city's downtown area.
Food vendors and local businesses and organizations will be located on Galena and Main streets.
In addition, the festival will have a series of events, activities, and live music acts.
On Saturday, there will be a Steamroller Printing public art demonstration at 1 p.m.
The music stage will open with Chicago-based Mexican American singer-songwriter Rosalba Valdez at 5 p.m. It will be followed at 7 p.m. by Calaveras LD, a Latin big band from Chicago, performing a mix of salsa, merengue, jazz, mariachi, pop, fusion, rock, funk, ska, cumbia, and soul. A Mariachi band will close out the first day of the festival starting at 8 p.m.
On Sunday, "El Grito de la Independencia" ceremony will be at 2 p.m.
It will be followed by recognitions for the Vanguardia Award (Sara Phalen, director/curator at the West Chicago City Museum), Lifetime Achievement Awards (Luzma Fuentes and Ed Fuentes), and the 2023 Community Service Award (Casa Michoacan) at 2:30 p.m.
Ballet Folklorico Nueva Era will perform at 3 p.m., followed by Danza de Michoacan at 4 p.m.
The festival will close out with the popular dropping of the 13-foot piñata from a crane at 5:30 p.m.
Admission is free. For information, visit www.facebook.com/MexicanCulturalCenterDuPage.
Parade canceled
Due to the current safety guidelines and limitations on parade staging areas, the Mexican Cultural Center-DuPage had to reconsider the format for this year's Mexican Independence Day parade set for Sept. 17.
"It saddens us to announce the inability to proceed with the parade in its traditional manner," according to a post on the center's Facebook page. "While this decision was difficult, our commitment to the safety and enjoyment of our community is paramount. We're optimistic about the future and eager to work with our partners to uphold the legacy and tradition of our beloved parades in the years to come.