Exiting Empire

Cultural Resistance in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago

I recently left the border to join my family for a long-weekend in Chicago. It was a wonderful trip, but after a few days I found myself craving  contact with the Mexican culture. I started looking around for Latino neighborhoods in Chicago and after reading this New York Times article, my dad and I headed to Pilsen.

We visited the National Museum of Mexican Art. It was stunning. If you are in Chicago, check out this feisty museum located in the heart of Mexican community. It  It has some great exhibits. The annual Latino Film Festival was also in town, but I didn’t have time to catch any screenings.

It was the first time I have been able to recognize subtle cultural themes. I spent four years studying Latin America in college, but it was only after moving to the border that I was able to really identify with Las Posadas and the Dia de los Muertos. Even more exciting was realizing how intimate my connection to Mexico has become. National figures like Benito Juarez and Porfirio Diaz are now an everyday reality infused into life on the border.