>>> ABOUT 20% OF CHICAGOANS EXPLAIN MX AND MEXICAN HERITAGE THAT THE DISTINCTION THAT MAKES ITS SELF ESPECIALLY -- WHEN MEXICANS CELEBRATE MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY.

PRAISE AND FESTIVAL CELEBRATING MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE HAVE LONG BEEN A PART OF CHICAGO'S HERITAGE TOO.

IN RECENT YEARS THE CELEBRATIONS HAVE GONE BEYOND ORGANIZED EVENTS AS CARAVANS FULL OF -- HAVE FILLED THE STREETS.

EVENT THE CITY HAS STRUGGLED TO CONTROL.

JOINING US ART TERESSA OF THE MEXICAN CULTURAL COMEDY OF CHICAGO , JENNIFER AGUILAR, GIFT OF DIRECTOR OF LITTLE VILLAGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE , CO-CHAIR OF THE ILLINOIS LATINO AGENDA .

WE ALSO INVITED THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS AND SPECIAL EVENTS TO SEND A REPRESENTATIVE BUT THEY DECLINED.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.

THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING TOPIC AS WE KNOW, WE JUST CELEBRATED MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY AND WE SAW THE CARAVANS.

A COUPLE OF DAYS.

I WANT TO START WITH YOU, TERESA.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS ONE THEY WERE ACTUALLY DOWNTOWN?

>> ACTUALLY, THAT WAS QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO .

THE FIRST TIME I PARTICIPATED WAS IN 1974 AND THEY HAD ALREADY BEEN HAPPENING.

THEY ORGANIZED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PARADE DOWNTOWN ON STATE STREET.

IT WOULD THEN TURN DOWN TO 18 STREET , NOT ALL THE FLOWS, BUT MOST OF THEM WOULD TURN ON THE EMERGING MEXICAN COMMUNITY.

I HAVE SOME PICTURES THAT ARE THE PICTURES OF THOSE FLOATS.

THAT WERE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HISTORY AND THAT REPRESENTATION OF THE REAL REASON THAT WE CELEBRATE A MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE.

>> JENNIFER, THIS YEAR WE CELEBRATE THE 54th PARADE ON 26th STREET , HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT ORGANIZING THAT?

>> IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK.

WE ALREADY FINISHED THE PARADE AND WE STARTED PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR IMMEDIATELY.

IT'S A LOT OF COORDINATION.

OUR TEAM IS VERY SMALL , A TEAM OF THREE PEOPLE.

THEY ARE VERY EXPERIENCED IN DOING THE PARADE AND PUTTING EVERYTHING TOGETHER.

AND WORKING WITH THE CITY TO MAKE SURE WE ARE MEETING ALL OF THE REQUIRED GUIDELINES, BUT IT IS A WORK OF THE TEAM.

>> THAT IS INCREDIBLE.

JOSE, GOING WITH YOU, YOU WROTE AN OP-ED ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE DURING THE CELEBRATIONS ON INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE?

>> YES, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

MY OP-ED WAS ABOUT TWO THINGS.

THE FIRST WAS ABOUT PROTECTING OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES.

THE CITY SET UP CHECKPOINTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF CHICAGO .

KEEPING INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE SHOWING UP FOR FESTIVITIES GOING INTO THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

I FUNDAMENTALLY BELIEVE THAT NO PERSON OF COLOR, NO MEXICAN SHOULD GO THROUGH THE CITY OF CHICAGO HAVE TO SHOW I.D.

OR BE SEARCHED REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE CITY.

THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN ANYWHERE.

CHICAGO IS ALREADY ONE OF THE MOST SEGREGATED CITIES IN THE WORLD.

WE DON'T NEED TO HAVE CHECKS BETWEEN COMMUNITIES.

>> THE SECOND THING WAS THE IMPORTANCE OF --.

YOU MENTIONED CHICAGO IDENTIFIED AND THAT CULTURAL DESERVES TO BE CELEBRATED.

>> IS OKAY JUST ELABORATE LIKE THAT IN DOWNTOWN STREET LIKE WE DO EVERY YEAR?

>> FIRST WE NEED TO HAVE SOME EVENTS THAT ARE ORGANIZED AND PUT TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY OF CHICAGO TO REALLY WELCOME AND EMBRACE FOLKS IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO.

SEPARATIONS LIKE THE ONES WE HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.

THE POPULATION OF MEXICANS , WE ARE ALL OVER THE CITY.

THE CITY NEEDS TO START TREATING MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH THE SAME RESPECT AND ENTHUSIASM IT DOES WITH OTHER MAJOR EVENTS LIKE ST. PATRICK'S DAY, PRIDE MONTH, AND THE TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT , THAT EVEN HAD HER TREATMENT.

IT WASN'T DRIVABLE.

THEY WERE WELCOMED AND CELEBRATED.

WE NEED TO HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF RESPECT FOR MEXICANS DURING MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY.

>> THAT BRINGS ME TO THE FOLLOWING .. YOU MENTIONED THAT ONE OF THE MISSING ELEMENTS OF THE CELEBRATION IS -- WHICH WE KNOW THAT'S HOUTMAN DIXON INDEPENDENCE DAY WAS BORN IN 1810 WITH .

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT?

>> EL GRITO LOOKS WAS CELEBRATED DOWNTOWN .

EL GRITO.

AND THAT IT KIND OF STOPPED BECAUSE THE ORGANIZATION WHO ORGANIZED EL GRITO , I GUESS RESOURCES , THINGS HAPPEN.

>> IN OTHER CITIES, THE MEXICAN CONSULATE IS THE ONE THAT ORGANIZES THOSE EVENTS.

DO THINK THAT SHOULD HAPPEN HERE IN CHICAGO?

>> IT ALREADY HAPPENS HERE IN CHICAGO.

IN 2014, CARLOS JIMENEZ CALLED 135 MEXICAN LEADERS FROM THE CHICAGO AND METROPOLITAN AREA INCLUDING ELECTED OFFICIALS AND STARTED AT THAT MEETING NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS WERE HELD.

TO FORM , WHICH I PRESIDE FOR THE LAST SEVEN YEARS AND SINCE THEN WE HAVE BEEN CELEBRATING MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE WITH EL GRITO EXCEPT FOR THE TWO YEARS OF THE PANDEMIC.

THERE IS A COMMITTEE THAT DOESN'T.

WE HAVE EL GRITO THIS YEAR .

AT BONITO HORAS HEISKELL.

A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT COME FROM THAT METROPOLITAN AREA COULD NOT GET TO THE EVENT BECAUSE OF THE CARAVANS.

>> WOULD IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE IF EL GRITO WAS DOWNTOWN?

>> DEFINITELY.

WE AS A CITY NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT DEMOGRAPHICS HAVE CHANGED.

THERE ARE 1,000,000 1/2 MEXICANS, MEXICAN AMERICANS IN THE METRO AREA.

AND THAT WE DO NOT HAVE A MAJOR CELEBRATION DOWNTOWN SUCH AS EL GRITO OR EVEN A PARADE.

>> NOW, I WANT TO GO BACK WITH YOU JENNIFER .

DO YOU THINK THE CITY SHOULD TRY TO STOP DOWNTOWN CELEBRATIONS?

OR MAKE AN OFFICIAL EVENT DOWNTOWN AND MAYBE THAT WOULD HELP IN SOME WAY TO STOP THE CARAVANS THAT HAVE BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS?

>> I THINK THAT THEY SHOULD NOT TRY TO STOP IT.

THE MORE THEY TRY TO STOP IT OR PREVENT IT, THE MORE PEOPLE WILL COME OUT.

THAT IS HOW THE EVENTS AND GOING AROUND CRUISING GOT MORE POPULAR DURING THE PAST YEARS.

I DO BELIEVE HAVING AN EVENT DOWNTOWN SUCH AS EL GRITO WHAT PROVIDE A SAFE DOWNTOWN FOR MEXICANS TO CELEBRATE.

>> EVERYONE SHOULD COME IN DURING THE DAY AND WEEKEND TO CELEBRATE MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE.

A HUGE OFFICIAL EVENT FOR THE CITY AND LEAVE IT AT THAT .

SAME QUESTION TO YOU, JOSE, DO THINK THE CITY SHOULD TRY TO MAKE THE OFFICIAL EVENT DOWNTOWN TO AVOID A COUPLE OF REPEATED DAYS OF CARAVANS?

>> I THINK THE CITY SHOULD HAVE AN OFFICIAL EVENT , NOT ONE EVENT , THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF CHICAGO INCLUDING THE DOWNTOWN AREA.

THEY SHOULD NOT TRY TO STOP INDIVIDUALS FROM CELEBRATING.

WE SHOULD BE EMBRACING YOUNG PEOPLE THAT WANT TO CELEBRATE THEIR CULTURE.

WE SHOULD WORK WITH THEM TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CELEBRATE PEACEFULLY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY OF CHICAGO.

>> WE COULD KEEP TALKING ABOUT THIS TOPIC FOR A FULL SHOW.

THERE IS A LOT TO TALK ABOUT