Chicago's Mexican Independence Day festivities kick off this weekend. Watch for these road closures.
CHICAGO (CBS) – Big changes are coming ahead of Mexican Independence Day, with the City of Chicago strategizing to keep crowds, and traffic, moving after previous years had downtown gridlocked with car caravans for hours.
Still, the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications said anyone planning to come downtown this weekend should expect lots of traffic and delays through Monday.
The celebration of Mexican Independence Day in past years came with traffic gridlock downtown. With that in mind, OEMC said, if needed, there will be street closures in the Central Business District. Those living or working in the area will be allowed to enter only at the specific points:
- Halsted and Division streets
- Halsted Street and Chicago Avenue
- Halsted Street and Washington Boulevard
- Halsted and Madison streets
- Halsted Street and Jackson Boulevard
- Division Street and LaSalle Boulevard
- Roosevelt Road and Canal Street
- Roosevelt Road and Desplaines Street
- 18th and State streets
- 18th Street and Michigan Avenue
- 18th Street and Indiana Avenue.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), the head of the City Council Public Safety Committee, said new Chicago Police helicopters will be used to manage traffic.
"And it'll be commanding the troops on the ground, telling them where to anticipate the traffic gridlock to allow for intervention where we can actually channel the traffic in a way to prevent the gridlock from happening," Hopkins said.
On Friday night, some car and motorcycle caravans were spotted along Michigan Avenue downtown, but most downtown streets remained quiet.
CBS News Chicago is told there will be moving closures and changes through the weekend. The city will publish those updates when they happen.
Updates are available through the NotifyChicago text alert system.
Caravans are "just really a party"
While the traffic may be tough to navigate, Netza Roldan with Casa Mexico USA—an immigration and legal support center and a program of the Binational Institute of Human Development—explained why the car caravans seen as part of the celebrations are so significant.
"The caravans is part of the culture," he said. "It's not an aggression at all. It is a celebration. It is the only way people can demonstrate their pride of their heritage—and it's just really a party."
Caravans are also part of the Mexican Independence Day celebration in Mexico, and are part of other big events too.
"For a wedding. for a quinceañera, for a graduation, you have lots of cars going, and you know, screaming and yelling with the festivities," Roldan said.
Jessica Mendez participates in the Mexican Independence Day caravan in Chicago every year.
"I want to make sure that I remind myself where I came from," she said, "and then with my kids—I have three kids—I want to make sure they understand our culture."
Mendez brings her family too.
"Going into the caravans, I feel like we bring Mexico to the U.S.," she said, "at the very least, that's the little part we feel that we're in Mexico for those days."
Festival, parade planned
Sept. 16 is the day Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain. But even before that, El Grito kicks off Friday in Grant Park.
"The festival in Grant Park will attract at least 12,000 people," said Hopkins. "If it does, that's 12,000 people that won't be creating a traffic jam."
It will function as an attempt to get people out of their cars and walking around the cultural festival—one of the city's strategies for preventing the kind of scene witnessed in the past on downtown streets.
"You can buy, you know, merch, flags, ceramics, and everything in between," said El Grito organizer German Gonzalez.
For the first time in 10 years, El Grito Festival will take place at Butler Field in Grant Park. The event has something for all ages. The family-friendly event will feature live music, authentic Mexican food and an artisan market.
"We're super excited to bring El Grito back after a decade and what people can expect you know is great musical talent from local bands to international talent from Mexico in addition to amazing food vendors," said Gonzalez.
The festival will also come with its own street closures.
Jackson Boulevard will be closed from Columbus Drive to DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Visitors' best option to get to downtown will be using public transportation like the CTA and Metra or ride-sharing options like Uber and Lyft.
Gonzalez called the event a citywide effort and a safe celebration of Mexican independence.
"Look at this park. It's beautiful! It's iconic!" he said. "We wanted to be a part of the solution and have people celebrating in a safe and family inclusive manner."
With safety in mind, light poles along Columbus Drive near the event will feature numbers. In the event someone needs to call 911, they can reference the numbers for first responders to more easily find them.
"People want to be out there and celebrate, and I think it's having an outlet like El Grito," said Gonzalez.
Michael Edwards, president and chief executive officer of the Chicago Loop Alliance, released this statement about the plans for Mexican Independence Day festivities downtown:
"Mexican Independence Day offers an opportunity for many Chicagoans to safely celebrate their history, culture, and community in neighborhoods across the city, including this year's new El Grito festival downtown in Grant Park. As everyone's neighborhood, we welcome the influx of visitors to our businesses, parks, and cultural attractions. For months, our team has met with city officials, CPD, and downtown businesses to properly prepare for this year's events, including adjusting our ambassador and security patrols appropriately. We want to ensure that residents, workers, and guests of Loop businesses and attractions can safely access the Loop throughout the weekend with minimal disruption. Given the expected influx in visitors, we encourage our guests to use public transit and make plans with sufficient time to travel downtown."
El Grito runs Saturday and Sunday. For more information on El Grito Chicago, visit ElGritoChicago.com.
Festivity all around Chicago
Meanwhile southwest of downtown, the Little Village neighborhood is the center for so much of Chicago's Mexican culture. Organizers at the Little Village Chamber of Commerce say their staff of four are ready to welcome 400,000 people to the neighborhood on the biggest weekend of the year.
"We start prepping, almost as soon as it's over, for next year's parade," said Jennifer Aguilar, executive director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce.
But changes are also coming to this year's 26th Street Mexican Independence Day Parade, which struggled with massive crowds in past years when they tried to reopen the street.
"It did open for a bit, but then it was closed back up again," Aguilar said. "I do know that this year, we'll be closed after the parade."
The chamber has handed out fliers to businesses ahead of the Sunday noon kick-off. The parade will head down a stretch of 26th Street from Albany Avenue to Kostner Avenue.
Out northwest in Logan Square, Café Con Leche at 2714 N. Milwaukee Ave. started making special margaritas Friday night—in the colors of the Mexican flag.
"Cucumber, which is a green margarita; coconut, which is a white margarita; and hibiscus, which makes the red color," said Café Con Leche general manager Waldo Andrade.
Andrade said he is expecting a 30% bump in business the next few days thanks to Mexican Independence Day revelers. He has beefed up staff to handle more customers.
"We usually always have a couple more people on the front of the house, and also the kitchen," Andrade said.
Andrade also said caravans hold a special meaning, for those in the car and out.
"When you see those people driving around with the flags, you know, it makes you feel proud of being Mexican," he said.
The Mexican Consulate is urging people to celebrate responsibly. The OEMC also put out a bilingual message ahead of the weekend, asking people to keep the streets clear and make way for first responders.
Aguilar says the city has strategized to host cultural events around the city, pointing to the return of El Grito back in Grant Park.
"There was a big intentional move through the city's part, and as well as community organizations, to create many options for people to celebrate—and in their own neighborhoods," said Aguilar.
The 26th Street parade starts Sunday at noon.
Other events planned for the weekend include the 2024 El Grito Family Run/Walk 5K, will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday—before the parade—at 26th Street and Kostner Avenue in Little Village. Another parade will, the Annual Mexican Patriotic Parade, will be held on Commercial Avenue between 87th and 99th streets in the South Chicago and Vet's Park neighborhoods.
