Yesenia Sanchez was in awe of seeing a replica of the Angel of Independence set up Saturday in Elgin’s Festival Park.
“It’s like bringing Mexico to Elgin,” Sanchez said. “It’s beautiful. Thank you, Elgin.”
Sanchez and her husband, Uriel Orozco, took their daughters, Yaretzi, 16, and Aaliayah, 11, to see the replica, commissioned by the city of Elgin as part of this weekend’s Fiesta de Elgin. The original is located in Mexico City.
Elgin’s Fiesta was held in honor of Mexican Independence Day. It started Friday at Gail Borden Public Library and carried over to a daylong party on Saturday. The actual holiday in Mexico is Sept. 16, but celebrations often are held the weekend before in the U.S.
Among the myriad activities was a mariachi band and folkloric dancers performing at the Elgin Civic Center Plaza. A reenactment of El Grito, the rallying cry of Father Miguel Hidalgo for independence against Spain in 1810, was also performed and Xitalali Garcia, known as “La Chaparrita de Oro,” sang several traditional Mexican songs joined by Grupo de Danza Folkloricia Quetzaly.
Sylvia Martinez recruited her daughters Friday to be part of the scene depicting a typical day in a Mexican plaza. It featured families enjoying paletas, playing the Mexican loteria and strolling around an outdoor market as a singer performed a song about missing his hometown.
Martinez wanted to be part of the library’s program so people could learn about her culture.
“It’s very important to me to have these types of events to get the whole community unified. Unity is what makes a community,” Martinez said.
Fiesta de Elgin also featured a caravan of cars and motorcycles, food vendors, live bands performing different genres of Mexican music, children’s activities and fireworks at Festival Park.
This is the second year the festival has been held as the city of Elgin strives to create more diverse special events. Among them was the debut this year of the Michelada Festival, which brought about 5,000 people downtown, officials said.
“I’m very proud of being Mexican,” said Sanchez, who tries to show her children that pride but fears their generation losing the connection to the culture. An event like Fiesta de Mexico creates opportunities to strengthen it, she said.
While she hasn’t been to Mexico since she was a child, seeing Festival Park transformed into a piece of Mexico was heartwarming, she said. It was an opportunity to showcase Mexican culture, its colors, its diversity and its joy, she said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
