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Cinco de Mayo celebrations continue across Chicago — but Little Village parade canceled again
Cinco de Mayo celebrations are happening across Chicago, but Little Village’s longtime parade is canceled for a second year. Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce President Hector Escobar explains the history behind the holiday, the concerns driving the decision, and the impact on local businesses. Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas also joins festivities downtown, highlighting the city’s continued celebration.
CHICAGO - Every year, 26th Street in Little Village becomes one of Chicago’s loudest intersections on May 5. This year, it isn’t.
The parade is canceled, families are staying home, and a neighborhood that built one of the city’s most celebrated cultural traditions is marking Cinco de Mayo in silence.
It’s the second straight year that’s happened. And the reason is the same.
Fear of immigration enforcement has changed the way Little Village celebrates, what businesses earn and what the holiday feels like in one of Chicago’s most densely Mexican communities.
What the holiday actually marks
Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. That date is Sept. 16.
May 5 marks something else: the moment a vastly outnumbered Mexican army defeated French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, handing a stunning loss to what was then the most powerful military in the world.
Hector Escobar, president of the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce and Casa Puebla, said that history is the whole point.
"At that point, France was the most powerful army in the world," Escobar said. "But the Mexicans stopped them."
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Little Village cancels Cinco de Mayo parade again amid community concerns
Community leaders discuss the cultural meaning of Cinco de Mayo, the parade’s cancellation in Little Village, and the impact on local businesses and residents.
The cost of a quiet street
26th Street is one of the most commercially active corridors in Chicago. Parade weekend alone generates between $6 million and $8 million for local businesses, according to the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce. Restaurants, vendors, importers and suppliers all feel it when the crowds don’t come.
This is the second year they haven’t.
"Businesses are losing," Escobar said. "Producers, importers, they sell less products. Everyone loses here."
The enforcement operations that rattled Little Village earlier this year have shifted in tactics, Escobar said, but not in presence.
"They’re not driving around the neighborhoods anymore," he said. "They’re going to the alleys. They’re grabbing our people."
Chicago is not alone. Cities across the country called off Cinco de Mayo parades and festivals this year. In each case, organizers pointed to the same concern: large public gatherings put immigrant residents at risk.
The holiday goes on
Escobar isn’t telling people to stay home. He’s telling them to be careful.
"Go eat at Mexican restaurants," he said. "Celebrate. But be very careful. Things are not changing. Things are getting worse."
Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas held a public celebration Tuesday morning outside the Cook County Building, featuring Friesian horses, mariachi music and an art exhibit by Chicago-based Mexican artist Oscar Javier Esquivel Romero.