One year after a Mexican Independence Day Parade with smaller turnout amidst immigration crackdowns, Little Village’s streets crowded once again for a roaring celebration of cultural history and community in Chicago.
This Sunday marked the 55th anniversary of the parade, which stepped off at the Little Village Arch on Albany Avenue and continued down 26th Street to Kostner Avenue. Streets for over a mile were packed with waving Mexican flags, DJs and children blowing kazoos. According to the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, an estimated 400,000 people were expected to attend the parade, led by singer-songwriter Adriel Favela as the Grand Marshal.
Festivalgoers this year spoke of feeling hesitantly optimistic after a difficult 2025 characterized by fear as immigration officers targeted the majority-Latino community.
“I know last year, the parade was a little bit gloomy,” said Ricardo Flores, general manager of the Little Village restaurant Mi Tierra En La Villita. “This year, it’s not still at its full potential, I would say, but at least … morale is there.”
Flores said about 70% of his restaurant’s clientele is Mexican, and the business temporarily lost at least half its customers during the height of 2025’s immigration operations.
“It really discouraged everyone. Even people who have (legal) status weren’t really going out, because they just didn’t want to be harassed,” he said.
The restaurant hosted a breakfast sponsored by the Little Village Chamber of Commerce before the parade, and Flores said both Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker attended. Pritzker also walked in the parade behind a float advertising his November reelection campaign.
Joining in the parade were horse riders, trumpeters and dancers wearing traditional outfits accentuated by feather headpieces. Chicago White Sox mascot Southpaw waved a Mexican flag from a float, while a band on another yelled “Long live Mexico” in Spanish, followed by erupting cheers from the crowd.
Jonathan Zamora heard people blasting music from speakers while heading to Mass around 7 a.m. Zamora, 18, watched the parade with his dog Zeus, a chihuahua mix with a lightning bolt embroidered on his back harness.
The annual parade is a family tradition, he said, and he even had the opportunity to walk in it a few years ago as part of a mariachi program.
On Sunday afternoon, Zamora and Zeus stood in front of their door, waiting for floats to pass by. “I’m sure it’s going to get loud when that happens,” he said.
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Also Sunday were El Grito Chicago, the Mexican Independence festival downtown in Grant Park that was postponed last year amid threats of increased immigration enforcement, and the South Chicago Mexican Independence parade along Commercial Avenue.
Yesi Murillo grew up in Little Village and said this year’s parade made her glad to see people getting back into their traditions, although she said the neighborhood used to be “a little bit better.”
“I feel like recently there’s been more things going on, not just with the neighborhood itself, but also with ICE agents. There’s been a lot of fear,” she said.
There seemed to be more police present at Sunday’s parade than in previous years, Murillo, 20, said. She said she was glad to see this, due to recent gang violence in the neighborhood.
Before the parade kicked off at noon, there was a 5-kilometer run at 9 a.m. New Life Centers, a Little Village nonprofit that organized the run, reported that over 1,600 people participated. There was also a kids dash at 8:30 a.m. with more than 95 kids participating, according to the organization.
Ferran Huerta drove to Little Village from Aurora with two friends he met at a run club. He said the Little Village run was a “straight shot,” and they even thought about going for personal records. Huerta said he and his friends wanted to both celebrate their Mexican heritage and do something good for their bodies in Chicago.
“I honestly wanted to come out here and enjoy something healthy versus coming out for all the craziness and the drunkenness,” he said, although the group claimed there would be a “lot of madness” present as well.
Mexican Independence Day recognizes Mexico’s revolt against Spanish rule on Sept. 16, 1810. On that day, Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla gave a speech from the pulpit urging Mexicans to rebel against the colonial government and remedy social injustices. The uprising that followed was defeated, but others would continue the fight for independence, which was ultimately achieved in 1821.