Little Village
Village Voices
Three blocks from the Kedzie Pink Line station I’m brought to a halt by a giant stop sign that reads ARTE. The bright red banner in the window of Yoli Furniture indicates that art can be found in this unlikely setting, inviting curious passersby in with a handwritten sign on the door directing... »
Best of the South Side 2010
Bienvenidos a Little Village—the pink gate over 26th Street welcomes its inhabitants and visitors. It’s hard to believe that fifty years ago this area, nicknamed the “Mexico of the Midwest,” was home to mostly Czech immigrants. A few remnants of those days remain in the neighborhood, like the unlit “Ciznek Men’s Wear” sign... »
Power Struggle
Into the inferno. In go the orange earplugs, and we step into the belly of the beast. The guide shouts to us over the roar of the furnace, but even with our ear protection in the place is clamorous—a coal plant is a noisy place. More than anything else, though, the heat is intolerable.... »
It takes a village
“W-Y!” Michelle High, a third-year at the University of Chicago, yelled into the cafeteria half-full of middle school girls and their UofC mentors. “S-E!” the girls shouted back in unison, voices filling the whole room. The cheer kicked off Communities Day, an April 30th celebration of community organizations from South Lawndale, a neighborhood in... »
El Pueblo Unido: A new organization in Little Village defends immigrant rights
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... »
Tacos de Soya: El Faro serves hard-to-find veg-friendly Mexican cuisine
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... »
The Glue Wave: Mortville hosts blankdoggers Wizzard Sleeve
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... »
Best of the South Side 2009: Southwest Side
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... »
