-
-
Ad Space
(728 x 90)
-
-
Ad Space
(120 x 240)
-
Taste of Humboldt Park
FLAG ’em Left, on Saturday 17, there will be parades both downtown, and in Humboldt Park, right.With an estimated 1.8 million attendees last year, the six-day-long Puerto Rican Festival in Humboldt Park is outranked only by the Taste of Chicago as the city’s largest festival. The salsa beats and reggaeton rhythms of the Fiestas Puertorriqueñas, which started on June 13 and runs through Sunday 18 in Humboldt Park, draws a crowd far beyond the Chicago-area’s 150,000 Puerto Ricans. The grassroots People’s Parade along Division Street on Saturday 17, after the downtown parade earlier that day, operates separately from the fest. The festival is also widely attended by Dominicans, Central and South Americans, and Cubans, says Cesar Rolon of the Puerto Rican Parade Committee. “No other ethnicity has this kind of festival.”
Then
Puerto Ricans have been immigrating to Chicago since the 1920s, but unlike other immigrants, Puerto Ricans are full-fledged American citizens, as the island is a U.S. commonwealth. In the early 1960s, a Chicago group of Puerto Rican civic leaders—called Los Caballeros de San Juan—organized the first unofficial Puerto Rican parade on 63rd Street in the Woodlawn neighborhood. In 1981, organizers turned the party up a notch and joined with the Chicago Park District to host a weeklong festival of Boricua art, music, food and culture in Humboldt Park. What, exactly, is being commemorated? In Puerto Rico, residents traditionally hold a weeklong fiesta around the feast day of their town’s patron saint. The feast day for San Juan, the patron saint of the island’s capital and largest city, falls on June 24, so U.S. residents of Puerto Rican heritage chose that time of year to celebrate.Now
The Fiestas Puertorriqueñas is alcohol-free, but the 300,000-plus crowd that shows up daily doesn’t come to drink: They come for the steady flow of internationally-known tropical artists. This year’s lineup includes salsa crooners Frankie Negrón and Hector Tricoche; reggaeton up-and-comers Trebol Clan and Polaco; Latin house and freestyle DJ White Knight; and performers of bomba y plena, a folkloric forerunner of modern-day salsa. Food booths dish out a mix of fresh-cooked Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican and Brazilian dishes or the virgin piña coladas, served in pineapples. The festival also features the city’s largest carnival-style amusement with game booths and rides.This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Division Street Riots. On June 12, 1966, a young Puerto Rican man was shot in the leg by a Chicago police officer. According to People’s Parade coordinator Leony Calderon, police said he was armed; witnesses said he wasn’t. The shooting spurred three days of neighborhood riots—but ultimately led to massive neighborhood development, Calderon says, leading to the creation of educational, housing and cultural institutions that remain in Humboldt Park to this day.
On Friday 16, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center will bring together local activists, as well as U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, to reflect on the four decades of post-riot progress at a symposium called “The Case of Puerto Rican Chicago From 1966 to the Present.” The event takes place at 6pm at the PRCC Auditorium at 2700 W Haddon Street.
Future
The Puerto Rican community has moved in and out of different neighborhoods, including Lincoln Park, throughout the years. While the fest has been held for the last 25 years in Humboldt Park—a neighborhood marked by huge steel Puerto Rican flags erected in 1995 along Division Street between Western and California Avenues—gentrification has caused many Puerto Ricans to move further northwest into the city’s Belmont-Cragin neighborhood, or into suburbs like Cicero and Elgin. Each year, rumors abound that the Puerto Rican festival is going to move out of Humboldt Park, but that’s not true, say festival organizers. “We’re guaranteed for the next 10 years,” says Rolon, who says organizers have signed a contract with the Chicago Park District. As further proof that they’re here to stay, the Puerto Rican Parade Committee plans to start this winter on a massive expansion of the Casa Puertorriqueña, a community center and the festival headquarters on California Avenue, across from the park. The new center will feature space for 2,000 people, an outdoor deck, a small business center and a youth-run community radio station.
Time Out Chicago / Issue 68 : Jun 15–21, 2006
Leave a comment
-
-
- Subscribe now and save 87%!
- For just $19.99 a year, you'll get hundreds of listings and free events each week, plus our special issues and guides, including Cheap Eats, Great Spas, Fall Preview, Holiday Gift Guide and more!
-
- Time Out Chicago respects your privacy. We will only use your e-mail address in order to contact you regarding to your subscription and to send you our weekly e-newsletter. We will not share this information with anyone.
-
-
Ad Space
(320 x 53)
Ad Space
(300 x 250)
-
Most viewed in Out There
-
Ad Space
(160 x 600)
Ad Space
(160 x 600)
-
- Visit our sister sites:
- Time Out Chicago Kids
- Time Out New York
- Time Out New York Kids
- Time Out London
- Time Out Worldwide
Puerto Ricans have great Pride and love and I hope that they will always be around here. Boricua Love!!!!!
I went to Puerto Rican Fest for the first time this year. What a great time it was. the music and food was unbelieveable., unlike anything I have experienced before. Ilive in a little hick town in Wisconsin about 100 miles north of Milwaukee, Wi and traveled to Chi just to attend this festival with some friends, needless to say we are planning on going again next year.
riggoberto and Pancho must be two Mexicans that are hateing on us Puerto Rican's you see us hi haterz!!lol its Boriqua baby!!!!!!!!! Ha!
I grew up not far from the park , I'm 100% Italian.. My girlfriend & I wouldn't miss this fest for anything!!! The food if OUT OF THIS WORLD!! I usually get there during the day, & leave before sun down , because we do bring our children! The culture & just watching how this is all brought on together is great!! Go Puerto Rico!!
im proud 2 B puerto rican its in my blood NUESTRA COSA all the way MI GENTE
I look forward to attending for the first time....I drive by every morning and night and cant wait to celebrate with everyone..plus, I'm damn hungry for some good food.
Our Motorcycle Association comes from the Bronx New York, and They (in N.Y.) are amazed at the way we celebrate in Chicago! The Puerto Rican Community should be proud of it's festivities here in Chicago. So everyone please go and checkout the great food, music and people this week. We've earned it! Party on Boriqua!!!!!!!
yes! but if you really want to show white people you're here to stay, you've got to do something about it. like buy my stupid condo xD
i cnt believe that you ppl say its boring and a waste of time!!!!!!!!!!! r u kiding me its to continue to show the white ppl that we arent ging anywhere. they are trying to take over our hood and send us away packing. ahhhh i dnt think so we are standing strong together!!!!!! and we aint going anywhere love,gina(a puerto rican and proud)
Hey ppl. For everyone that doesnt know when the Puerto Rican Parade starts in chicago;it starts June 16 (tuesday) and ends June 21 (sunday). On the 16th Tony Vega will perform. on the 17th Alexis y fido will perform. && on he 21st DLG && Victor Manuelle will perform. Wooot Woot! Puerto Rico... Have funnn && be safeee.!
date and time for victor manuelle and tony vega performances. thank you!!!
when is the parade and when does the event start at the park in chicago
Let us celebrate this Taste of Humboldt Park with peace, love and pride. May God bless Puerto Rico forever. and may all Puerto Ricans around the world celebrate our Heritage, our honor.
Wen dose it start this year!
bueno pa toda mi gente , por si no losaben ese desfile y festival Puertorriqueno es bien chevere y tambien hay mas paises de Latinoamerica y si no sabes papa no opines bobolon, y va estar Victor Manuel,Alexis y Fido y mas cantantes que vienen de la isla so if you want to go there its gonna be really awesome ya tu sabes!!!!
when is this puerto rican parade 2009 wat day it start
I"d would like to know who coming to play in the park ( muisc ) thank you sabu.
The Puerto Rican day parade has been a LONG standing tradition in NY and Chicago to celebrate OUR culture and bring the community together (hence the floats that originally represented social organizations geared towards the empowerment/betterment of ALL Latinos. I wish you idiots knew that. FURTHERMORE, why is it that whenever MINORITIES have gatherings and violence occurs we are demonized by WHITES and some of our OWN idiotic MINORITIES??? VIOLENCE occurs in ALL large festivals!! ST PATS DAY
yea well i just wanna say that the puertoriccan fest is not stuipid we celebrate our culture and heritage. BORIQUA BABY!!!!
someone took my puerto rico banana seat and my flag off my bike!! i want it back
i got arrested when my sarong blew open!!
i went to the bathroom in my pants just now!!!
you guys are so stupid for saying dat stuff!! boriqua!!
Riggerberto and pancho ...... you both have the right idea ...where the heck is puerto rico anyway?
what a joke bro...i agree with riggoberto but its way TOO long homie!!!
so, kind of a long celebration...seen a lot of fights and alcohol being consumed from paper bags in the area.
the fest is stupid and way to long
the puerto rican festival is fun
print
http://puertoricanpower.net/events/index.htm I found the dates and the line up at that site, you have to scroll down it's near the bottom.
http://puertoricanpower.net/events/index.htm
Does anyone know the line up for the fest this year?
how do i find out whos going to perform at the park...what singers can u help me with that...thank you
when is the puerto rican fest for 2008?
so when is the parade this yr 2007
WHEN IS THE CARNIVAL THIS YEAR? (2008)
This year (2008) will be my first year attending, and I'm soooooo excited!
i cant wait til next week!! im bringing a friend of mine this year cuz i told her i go every year and she said she wanted to come this year to see how it is. even though i moved out of chicago, my dad still lives there and he is going to take me and my friend katee. i would definitely tell someone who hasnt gone that they should go at least one day just to see how it is and to see our beautiful culture that we have. i gurantee they will have fun and enjoy the food. VIVA LAS PIEDRAS, PUERTO RICO!
Hi, I manage a record label and have 2 hip-hop artist that I would like to perform. Parkay has a hot new single on rotation "Hit it girl" with over one thousand spins so far.
Hi I manage a record label and have 2 hip-hop artist I would like to perform. Parkay has a hot new single "Hit it Girl" on rotation and currently has over one thousand spins. you can check out our websites www.myspace.com/forillarecords www.myspace.com/thebuttaboy www.myspace.com/gvgchico. please let me know what we need to do. I am also interested in renting a booth, to sell and give out product. thank you so much for your time. 773-827-7600
Hello I was wondering how to get in contact with someone who does booking for the festival. I have a great Brazilian funk folk band that would love to play at the festival in the future. If someone would get back to me with some info it would be gretly appreciated.
l0vin da drama in humbolt park cuz yo soy 100% puertorican