Editor’s note: This article was updated to correct that the Pilsen El Grito event is separate from the Grant Park festival.
A celebration to honor El Grito will be held in Pilsen after the popular Mexican Independence Day celebration was postponed last week due to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.
El Comité Cultural Mexicano de Chicago is moving forward with a new event, El Grito de Independencia de Mexico in the spirit of the yearly El Grito festival held in Grant Park. It will be held 5 p.m. Monday — the evening before the beloved holiday — at St. Paul Catholic Church.
“Canceling is not an option,” said Teresa Fraga, president of El Comité Cultural Mexicano de Chicago. “We are committed to celebrating our history.”
While the El Grito de Independencia de Mexico event is in the spirit of the two-day festival, it is separate from the yearly El Grito festival, organizers said.
“It is unrelated to El Grito Chicago,” said Germán González, an organizer for El Grito. “This is a different scale.”
Organizers of the downsized Pilsen event were invited by parishioners to host the celebration at the church to encourage residents to feel safe.
“Our beautiful church is over 130 years old, and it’s still standing. Because it is sturdy. It’s as strong as our people are. Our people are strong people, and we need to continue to show that strength,” said Rita Aguilar, a church parishioner.
Organizers encouraged residents to join in the festivities, but urged those who did not feel safe to celebrate from the safety of their homes.
The announcement comes amid President Donald Trump’s long-promised deportation campaign in Chicago. Dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” the Trump administration has said federal agents are ramping up immigration enforcement across Illinois.
“We live in dark times in our country, but I tell you that here in Chicago, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” said 25th Ward Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez.
“I’m honored to represent this community, a hardworking community that is being attacked and terrorized by the federal government,” Sigcho-Lopez continued. “We will still continue to use civil disobedience to protect our neighbors. And here we will celebrate our traditions, just like we did this last weekend with no incident. We had a beautiful parade, and I’m proud to support El Grito.”