The smell of tamales and elotes filled the air as a dense crowd of parade goers cheered together Saturday along Division Street as the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade returned to Humboldt Park.
Attendees embraced the sunny, warm weather while staying cool by setting up folding chairs in the shade and sharing shaved ice purchased from vendors that lined the nearly mile-long parade route.
Parade goers dance Saturday during the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
The 45th parade was a family affair for many, even calling home relatives who had left Chicago — but found Chicago hadn’t left them.
“It brings back memories of my childhood of being here with my parents,” said Eddie Correa, who grew up in the West Side neighborhood but now lives in Tennessee. “I’m just enjoying every minute of it.”
Joined by his nephew and grandnephew, Correa said it was his first time attending the parade in a decade and said he felt happy to “be part of the community” again.
“Embrace the culture, embrace the people and have a really good time,” he advised anyone attending for the first time.
Eddie Correa (right) poses with his nephew Noel and grandnephew Jacob at the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade Saturday in Humboldt Park.
Violet Miller/Sun-Times
One of them was Kyra Navarrete, a lifelong Chicagoan who currently lives in Lake View.
Navarrete said her family religiously attended the the Fiestas Patronales Puertorriqueñas, a festival dedicated to Puerto Rican culture that the parade is a part of. But they never actually made the parade, which she blamed on her family’s chronic tardiness.
This year, however, she managed to make it, as well as bring along her sister, Vanessa, and her dad, Manny, who was in town from Buffalo, New York.
“The spirit, the camaraderie, being with people who are likewise to yourself; just celebrating the culture,” Navarrete said of her favorite part. “That’s the most important thing to me, just showing my sister where we come from.”
She said she planned to “go crazier with the outfit” next year, noting the red and blue theme that covered everything from hand fans to sports jerseys.
She settled for a set of earrings and a necklace she bought from a vendor, but said she hopes to find the cropped shirt emblazoned with “Puerto Rican Princess” that she used to wear when she would attend the festival years ago.
Kyra Navarrete (left) poses with her father Manny and sister Vanessa on Saturday at the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade in Humboldt Park.
Violet Miller/Sun-Times
Leslie Rupp, a Palmer Square resident who has attended the parade since she was a teenager, said seeing everyone’s Puerto Rican-themed ensembles was a main draw of the parade.
“Everyone spends months planning their outfits,” said Rupp, adding that her friends would sometimes even dye their eyebrows to match their clothing.
It was all about celebrating the influence of Puerto Rican culture on the city.
“Being Puerto Rican is Chicago culture,” she said.
A vendor holds a hand fan with the Puerto Rican flag printed on it during the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade Saturday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Lorna Vando (left), the parade’s “cacica,” Joshuan Aponte (center), the “cacique,” and Valeria Méndez (in blue), the “cacica honorary, ride a float Saturday during the Puerto Rican Day Parade on West Division Street in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
A parade goer in a lowrider car waves a rainbow flag during the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade Saturday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Ayleen Torres, 1, wears a ribbon with a Puerto Rican flag design during the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade Saturday in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
A cyclist rides near Humboldt Park’s Puerto Rican flag during the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade on Saturday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Dancers perform during the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade Saturday in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
People eating on a patio watch the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade on Saturday in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
A parade goer laughs while watching the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade on Saturday in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
A parade goer dances and smiles during the Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade on Saturday in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times