The 45th Puerto Rican People’s Festival, also known as Fiestas Patronales Puertorriqueñas, is returning to Humboldt Park this weekend. The four-day celebration will feature over 100 local vendors, live art, painting sessions, a mini carnival, domino games, cooking demos, food, and live music.

Festival Details

Melissa and Michelle Gomez, sisters and co-owners of Dynamic Productions, have put on the fest for five years and are also behind efforts to start a community center called Tu Casa in the neighborhood. The fest will include musical performances from artists including Fulanito, Brenda K. Starr, and Carlos Garcia.

New festivities this year include a free movie screening of ‘Humboldt Park Riots,’ a 2025 documentary by local filmmaker Javier Vargas examining the Puerto Rican community settling in Humboldt Park and the riots of 1966. There will be a 7:15 p.m. discussion panel before the 8:15 p.m. screening.

Latino-owned Goya Foods will also host a 90th anniversary celebration and culinary activation at the fest. Returning activities include the Boricuas Got Talent showcase, a Somos Arte family-friendly art area, and expanded fashion show programming, per the organizers.

Parade and Artwork

The parade and festival will take over a stretch of Division Street dubbed Puerto Rico Town in 2024. On Saturday, a new mobile artwork piece by Colombian artist Iván Argote and curated by Carla Acevedo-Yates will debut at the parade. The piece showcases large-scale concrete letters that spell ‘DIGNIDAD,’ Spanish for dignity, that will drive through the city on the back of a flatbed truck.

The project was developed after over two years of engagement with Humboldt Park residents and Argote to collectively decide on what public artwork would be the best reflection of the community to offer a broader message of resistance and visibility.

Original reporting: Block Club Chicago — read the source article.