CHICAGO — Large crowds gathered in the city’s Humboldt Park neighborhood for the return of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, a large celebration of the city’s rich Puerto Rican culture.
People came from Indiana, Florida and San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico itself to celebrate the parade on Chicago’s West Side.
“I’m coming from Puerto Rico to come see the parade over here,” one paradegoer said.
Despite a year made incredibly difficult by the COVID-19 pandemic that devastated the Puerto Rican community, residents banded together in a show of resilience in harder times, as well as celebration of heritage and culture.
The vibrancy of the event and community served as a celebration for a new beginning and new return to normalcy, working together to move out of a difficult time.