Joliet eyes future of city’s Mexican Independence Day Parade

A Joliet City Council committee plans to look into a local Mexican Independence Day tradition that went unmarked this year.

There was no Mexican Independence Day Parade this year unlike the past 60 years, council member Cesar Guerrero noted at a meeting Tuesday.

“There has been such an outpouring of feedback and questions being asked,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero chairs the council’s Diversity and Community Relations Committee. He said the Mexican Independence Day Parade will be on the agenda for the next meeting, which has not yet been scheduled.

One question to answer, Guerrero said, is who organizes the parade.

“The city of Joliet is not the entity that is the event organizer for the parade,” Guerrero said.

The city provides police and authorizes the parade route.

But the parade itself has always been a volunteer effort organized by local Joliet residents of Mexican descent to honor their heritage.

Often a big parade, staging the event has been iffy at times because of the time and effort it takes. But the parade typically went on until this year.

One reason it didn’t happen this year was because construction work earlier this summer on Collins Street, the traditional parade route, raised questions about whether the street would be available, Guerrero said.

The parade was held downtown on Chicago Street last year, but Chicago Street is torn up and partially closed down for construction.

While noting that the city is not likely to take on the parade, Guerrero said he hopes the council committee can bring people together to revive the event for 2025.

“We need that collaboration,” Guerrero said. “We need that input to make this event come back bigger and better than ever.”

Although there was no parade, there was a Latino-themed celebration in Joliet the weekend ahead of Mexican Independence Day, which was Monday.

The Latino Economic Development Association held its annual food and music festival Sept. 14 celebrating Latino culture at Bicentennial Park.

Guerrero in his comments at the council meeting noted that Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 to mark a period when numerous Central American and South American nations, in addition to Mexico, celebrate independence days.