Mexican Independence Day

Mexican immigrants have deep roots in Chicago, dating back well over a century. And since at least 1924, they have commemorated Mexican Independence Day through fiestas, altars to Mexico’s heroes of independence from Spain, speeches from the Mexican consul and attendance of other Latin American dignitaries and officials. Mayor Richard J. Daley regularly attended official festivities in the 1960s, and Catholic Cardinal Alfred Meyer even celebrated mass in honor of the day in 1961. Over the years, the celebrations of Mexico’s ​“Fourth of July” have ranged from modest neighborhood dances to more formal, lavish galas at upscale hotels.