We here at Catalyst Ranch love to celebrate the many varied peoples that call Chicago home. It’s a city where different communities intersect and overlap, much in the way visitors interact in our meeting space.
In our Hispanic communities, art, music and dance play a huge role in our lives. Chicagoans encounter them every day: pride festivals with different national flags waving, murals on the walls of Hispanic businesses, food trucks that introduce us to authentic Latin cooking you can’t find anywhere else. These are among the many vibrant threads in the multicultural fabric of Chicago.
With opportunities like Hispanic Heritage Month, we get to engage more deeply with a certain population which itself is complex and multi-faceted. In the same way our city provides entry points of art, food and events to a culture outside of their own, we enjoy filling our space with art, objects and diverse clients’ public events which connect guests to different backgrounds. And those interactions build community and broaden one’s perspective.
Scenes in Pilsen (above) and Humboldt Park, two Chicago boroughs with vibrant Latine communities
During Hispanic Heritage Month, we are reminded that Latine folks make up nearly a third of the city’s population. With large Mexican and Puerto Rican communities among many different Latin American and Hispanic-rooted peoples, the city is rich with immigrant stories from these communities and enduring influence on Chicago culture.
There are numerous events being held in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and beyond. Here are just a sampling:
The National Museum of Mexican Art
This free museum in Pilsen has plenty on display, including their ongoing exhibit, Nuestras Historias: Stories of Mexican Identity from the Permanent Collection, as well as a Día de Muertos exhibit through December 8. You can also appreciate the Day of the Dead customs from the Huasteca region of the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí, during their October 18 event, Xantolo Comes Alive in Chicago. Learn more here.
The National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
Chicago is lucky to be home to the only Museum in the country dedicated exclusively to Puerto Rican arts and culture. Visit this cultural center in the Humboldt Park neighborhood to see their current exhibitions, including liminal: LGBTQ+ Chicago – Boricua Imaginings. And on October 19 and 20, as part of the Open House Chicago festival, the museum hosts free activations with docent-led tours, art workshops and salsa dance lessons. Learn more here.
Destinos: 7th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival
The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance produces this festival of live performances from September 20 to November 17. Artists from Chicago, the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean converge to celebrate Latine voices, stories and artistry. A vast variety of entertainments play at historic Chicago storefront venues and include the musicals, plays, drag, magic, physical theatre and more. Learn more here.
