Between the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade and Pride month, June is an exciting time for Brianna Vanschoyck.
“It’s like the best time of year,” said Vanschoyck, 29, of Humboldt Park, where the parade has been hosted by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center since 1978. She attended Saturday with her friends, family and bearded dragon, Gertie, who had a Puerto Rican flag tucked into her harness.
“I just feel so proud, and I love celebrating and being in the community,” Vanschoyck said.
There were rainbow flags and a rainbow float in the parade, which included 100 participants and drew tens of thousands to the neighborhood. Organizers said they wanted to honor LGBTQ+ leaders, including Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th), who walked in the parade, and Miguel Méndez Pérez, the first openly gay mayor of Isabela, Puerto Rico. Fuentes shared the spotlight with a host of others, including business people, school representatives, bike club members, bomba dancers with colorful skirts and, oddly enough, a truck driver hauling what appeared to be a giant potato.
The event also coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Division Street uprising in 1966, and the cultural center’s efforts to honor a similar rebellion that happened in 1977. Both events sparked change for the local Puerto Rican community. Overall, it was a day of celebrating pride and progress.
“We have had to knock down doors in order to enter,” said José E. López, executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center. “We began to create our own parallel institutions that, right now, are models in our community.”
López was present during the 1966 event, which involved clashes between Puerto Ricans and police following the parade, which was then held downtown. At one point, an officer shot a young Puerto Rican man, Cruz Arcelis, in the leg. Years later, in 1977, Chicago Police killed two Puerto Rican men, Rafael Cruz and Julio Osorio.
“I was very frustrated,” López said. “I saw this disdainful attitude in the cops’ demeanor. You could see it in the way they reacted so violently. There were significant changes between 1966 and 1977, particularly around issues of social justice, but not enough.”
Last week, two honorary street signs recognizing Cruz and Osorio were unveiled at California and Evergreen avenues.
Today, community concerns, such as access to quality education and healthcare, have been addressed, López said. But he worries about the effects of other issues, including gentrification.
And other Humboldt residents say police interactions are still a problem.
“You just always feel that energy here,” Vanschoyck said. “There’s so much police presence in the neighborhood.”
While Vanschoyck said she knew about the 1966 and 1977 uprisings, other parade-watchers were not as familiar.
“To be honest, that was not my era,” said Pablo Cabo, 33, who lives in the neighborhood. “That was more like my dad and my uncles. I heard a little something, but not enough for me to speak on it.”
Yet Puerto Rican history is everywhere you walk in Humboldt Park. The parade itself kicked off at West Division Street and North Campbell Avenue, where there is an honorary sign dedicated to Pedro Albizu Campos. In a culmination of decades-long community efforts, the political activist will be honored with a monument in Humboldt Park within the next 18 months, according to the Chicago Park District.
“Pedro de Campos was the most iconic Puerto Rican political leader of the 20th century, and he was extremely important in making sure Puerto Ricans fought for their independence,” López said.
Though they may not know all of these historical figures and details, the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade attendees expressed an appreciation for the struggle that led to some of today’s freedoms. That includes the license to display the Puerto Rican flag, which was once illegal.
“I love our culture, and [recognize] how hard we had to work to have the rights to our flag,” said Humboldt Park resident Megan Solis, 29, who attended with her 5-month-old son, Jalen.
“I wanted to show him our culture and how proud we are of being Puerto Rican.”