CHICAGO – For Tatiana Soto and her family, this year’s Mexican Independence Day Caravan was pure joy.
Soto, her daughter, granddaughters and granddaughter’s boyfriend were among the thousands who filled downtown streets to celebrate Mexico’s independence on Sept. 16, honking horns and waving Mexican flags, connecting with their culture.
“It was a beautiful moment to see fireworks in the middle of Michigan Avenue, people with their cultural masks and flags and their cultural clothing, even the kids there enjoying it,” Soto said.
But the experience took a turn for the worse a few weeks later, when Soto received tickets in the mail to join the joyous caravan.
Police cracked down on traffic violations during this year’s celebration, issuing late tickets to people for waving Mexican flags from their cars like Soto.
Police also ticketed Soto and others for passengers hanging out of their cars. In both cases, police said they were impeding or interfering with traffic and in violation of city ordinances: “driving while appearing impaired” and “driving or operating a vehicle while in an unsafe condition.”
The caravan caused a gridlock downtown along South Michigan Avenue, with cars stuck in traffic for several hours.
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoPolice spokeswoman Margaret Huynh could not say how many people were ticketed for traffic violations at this year’s celebration, prompting a Block Club reporter to file a Freedom of Information Act request.
Huynh said police have ticketed drivers for violations at past celebrations and “regularly enforce these and all city ordinances.”
But those who received tickets in the mail in the weeks since the incident are angry and distraught. Mexican and Latino Chicagoans attended the downtown celebration to revel in their heritage, not realizing they were breaking any laws by doing so, they said.
“You should be able to celebrate your culture. They made it a negative situation,” Soto said.
Soto is Puerto Rican, but her granddaughter is half Mexican and her granddaughter’s boyfriend is Mexican. She said her niece’s boyfriend, 19, took it particularly hard.
“He was like, ‘I literally just wanted to help celebrate my family that’s fighting in Mexico right now, to feel the love and feel the freedom,'” Soto said. “Now he says he doesn’t feel safe doing it this again next year.”
As a single mother, Soto said she’s also worried about paying the fines associated with the tickets. Fines are not listed on the two tickets Soto received, one for waving Mexican flags from the car and another for a passenger sitting in its trunk. The police told her to wait for an official notification in the mail.
But typically, tickets for driving with an obstructed view carry fines of $300 to $1,000, said Rose Tibayan, spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Finance.
“I’m already on a payment plan for my tickets because I’m struggling financially with the bills, and to see two more tickets coming in, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to be on the shoe list again.'” Soto said.
Credit: Bob Clarified / Block Club ChicagoTanya V., who is first generation Mexican American, attended the Downtown Caravan with her friend and cousin. Their car was wearing three Mexican flags – two on the back and a large one on the front, she said.
“It was nothing but a party,” she said. “I had people by my side who had speakers. People would get out of their cars and dance.”
Like Soto, Tanya V. said she was horrified to find a ticket in her mailbox a week later, especially because police officers stationed along the caravan route didn’t indicate the flags were a problem.
“We passed several police cars and no one pointed out to me that the flags were taken down or the flags were taken down,” said Tanya V.. “If that had been the case, I would have definitely agreed.”
Soto said the officers were cheering and celebrating alongside them, which made the tickets sting even more.
Mexican Independence Day is the recognition of Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1810.
In Chicago, many people fly Mexican flags from their homes and cars in a show of solidarity and pride.
The downtown caravan sprung up in recent years in response to Donald Trump’s presidency. It has become an important expression of the holiday, said Tanya V..
“The thing that I miss in the conversation, at least for myself, is that I grew up in Logan Square and I remember being about 8 or 9 years old, going to the corner. [to celebrate]; I had my flag. But now that our neighborhoods are venerable, we don’t have that community there anymore,” she said.
“A lot of people, especially on the north side, don’t have a center anymore because we’ve all been spread out in different areas. The city center has become that center for us.”
While Tanya V. is “really gutted” by the ticket, she said it won’t stop her from attending next year’s festivities – this time, “as a form of challenge”.
“I think the city does a really good job of saying they want diversity and equality and inclusion, and then they do things like that that make me feel like my culture isn’t being celebrated and accepted,” she said. “I think they want diversity, equality and inclusion in their own, very strict way.”
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