On the night of Friday, November 6, in the community space of Pilsen’s Casa Michoacán, in front of an American flag, a Mexican flag, and a Day of the Dead shrine, a crowd of about fifty has gathered for the first official public event of the newly formed immigrants rights organization Chicago Community and Workers Rights (CCWR). Behind a long table in front of the stage, five leaders from Chicago’s Mexican-American community speak and take questions from the crowd on how to protect their legal rights in the wake of changing government policies on the right to work. Formerly part of the Chicago Workers Collaborative, the directors of CCWR started the new organization in order to, as stated in a letter to supporters, “focus its efforts on organizing and defending the immigrant community.” Read the rest of this entry »

Vegetarian Mexican food is something of an anomaly, right up there with flying pigs and Bat Boy. Which is why the cuisine at El Faro, Little Village’s only expressly vegetarian-oriented Mexican restaurant, is as much an experience as a meal. The experience begins upon walking through the door and absorbing the décor, which draws its inspiration as much from the waiting room of a dentist’s office as from the typical fast food restaurant. A plethora of fake plants are situated on booth dividers and in corners, and the Pepto Bismol-pink of the walls recall the heyday of ‘80s interior design. Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a time, the singer of a garage rock band (the DC Snipers, if you’re curious) decided to pursue an anonymous solo project centered around echoing vocals, massively distorted guitars, and a crummy drum machine. It would also be perfectly acceptable to say that it revolved around one or two decent hooks per song, a sneer, and a practiced vacancy. By 2007, Blank Dogs had captured the hearts of record collectors, hip bloggers, and college radio music directors alike, and spawned at least a dozen varyingly interesting imitators. Alabama’s Wizzard Sleeve is one of the longer-lasting gloom-besotted synthpunk revivalists, and they’re coming to the Mortville warehouse in Little Village this Friday to release their first LP on local punk powerhouse HoZac Records. Read the rest of this entry »

The story of Chicago’s Southwest Side is a classically American one. Immigrants—Poles, Lithuanians, Italians, Germans, Czechs—flocked to the area in the early 20th century after the extension of streetcar lines made it an easy commute. Railroads and stockyards—including the famous Union Stock Yard portrayed in Upton Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle”—brought an abundance of jobs to neighborhoods such as Brighton Park and New City. For the next half-century, the primarily residential area thrived, until the industry it relied on began to disappear. In the latter part of the 20th century, the Southwest Side experienced a decline in population and prosperity that coincided with increasingly tense race relations in neighborhoods like Gage and Marquette Parks, where school desegregation met fierce opposition from white residents who feared plummeting property values. Residents in some neighborhoods formed community associations to help cope with the conflict—often successfully, as in the case of diverse, middle-class Gage Park. Today, a growing number of Southwest Side residents are Hispanic—approximately 80 percent in Gage Park and in Little Village, where nearly half that number is foreign-born. The area appears to be on the upswing, thanks in part the construction of the Orange Line connecting Midway Airport to downtown, which has been a boon for property values and the local economy. Read the rest of this entry »

It was two days after a racial melee outside Little Village Lawndale High School led to arrests when an English teacher at the school’s Social Justice High School campus asked her students a question: “What gives you hope?” The most common answer: “Nothing.” Not the success of a 19-day hunger strike in 2001 that persuaded the city to build the school after years of delays and the disappearance of $30 million set aside for it. Not the four campuses built in response to local petitioning for emphasis on different subjects. Not SJHS’s gleaming new architecture featuring symbolic 19-degree angles and dozens of murals and mosaics. Not even the social justice curriculum, subject of a multitude of exegetic flow charts, vision statements, and back mapping curriculum frameworks. Read the rest of this entry »

The Black Hole, located near the corner of Sacramento and 26th Street, is billed as a “family entertainment center.” Paintings on the windows depict the wholesome entertainment to be had within: a dignified and mustachioed man plays pool with his son, while mom and sis face off on the next table. Sportsmanship permeates the air and, from the looks of youthful wonder on the children’s faces, it is clear that this painted scene has captured an important moment of character building. Family ties are being strengthened and the children are being kept off the streets. Of course, stupid family time gets old quickly and The Black Hole is equipped for some real fun when that happens. Next to the pool tables is a full video arcade where children can learn how to kill each other as quickly as possible on a limited budget, while mom and dad sip cans of Miller Light at the bar. Read the rest of this entry »

Chicago’s Little Village is brimming with artistic talent. For a time, however, the medium of choice was spray paint and the canvas, a wall. Last weekend’s Little Village Arts Fest is part of the community’s effort to find new places to display artwork and bring exposure to its burgeoning art scene. For the past year, local artists have attended monthly workshops known as the Artists’ Café, allowing them to get to know each other and collaborate. The idea for the festival was born of the realization that many of them had work on display in every neighborhood except their own. Read the rest of this entry »