Chicago The City of Culture
I have always been interested in the city of Chicago, with is tall skyscrapers, historic architecture, and variety of culture it makes it easy to fall in love with this city. Culture plays a significant role in shaping Chicago and creating a diverse community in such a densely populated area and it has always been important to market cities to all cultures and communities by having diverse communities in those cities to attract people to visit. From Pilsen to Uptown there is a neighborhood for people of any culture.
Chicago is known for many types of cultures, Food culture, sports culture, Peoples culture and many more. This variety can be shown by each neighborhood in Chicago, with 77 total neighborhoods in Chicago it won’t be too difficult to find the right place for you. Being able to spend time walking and experiencing these cultures was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I am thankful for being able to study in one of the world’s greatest cities and I’ve had the opportunity to connect with the people of distinct neighborhoods and learn about their culture and what makes them unique. When I think of Chicago I think of its culture and how it has shaped the city into a place where it is easy to feel included and where people can try some of the best food from any culture imaginable.
The sports culture in Chicago is very prevalent, just walking around any area in Chicago you will see restaurants and bars playing the game and they rep the Chicago teams whether they win or lose. You can also see people in the streets wearing their favorite team’s merchandise. With 5 iconic sports teams, Chicago is a hub for sports fans looking to catch a game. Every team’s stadium is located sparsely across the city which helps differentiate where you are at, and it makes each stadiums neighborhood a popular spot to go during the games. A popular neighborhood that has one of the strongest sports cultures I’ve seen is Wrigleyville, everything in the area has some type of correlation with the Cubs and it creates an environment where people can interact with each other about their favorite sports team. While some of the hometown teams haven’t been playing well recently, they have a history of having championship capable teams every couple of years.
One of the coolest experiences I’ve had with experiencing sports culture happened when I went into a restaurant in the loop during the evening and the Sox vs. Astros ALDS game 3 happened to be playing on the Television and the people were going crazy when the Sox beat the Astros 12 points to 6 points, and it was interesting being able to see all of the passionate fans enjoying the game and bonding with each other over the sports team. I’ve also seen plenty of homes near stadiums with their team’s flag and team inspired decorations which shows the loyalty Chicagoans have towards their beloved sports teams.
One of the neighborhoods that I saw a strong sense of culture was Pilsen, I have heard of Pilsen before, but I have never visited until I came to DePaul. I noticed right away that the community consisted of mainly Mexicans and Latinos, 81% to be exact. One of the things that best showed their culture was their beautifully articulated murals which ranged from Mexican heritage to food inspired art. Coming off the pink line train on 18th street I was greeted by some very detailed murals with Mexican designs that made this station distinct from other stations. This gave me a sense of Pilsen’s proudness towards their culture and heritage and the artists did a great job expressing their culture through murals and words. While walking around I noticed that many of the people were talking in Spanish, and this showed how prevalent the Latino culture was.
I also started noticing that all the storefronts and they were all written in Spanish which makes sense because of the large Latino population in the area. This got me thinking about the people that want to visit Pilsen but don’t understand Spanish, what were they supposed to do when they can’t understand what the storefronts said? I started looking closer at many of the storefronts and noticed that many of them had pictures or illustrations of what they sold so it would be easier to know what they had to offer if they didn’t understand Spanish. It’s a shame that some people don’t visit Pilsen because of the language barrier that intrudes with those positive interactions between them and the locals.
On my way back to the pink line, I saw a good-looking taco spot and I knew I had to stop by and get tacos. I could smell their food from the block over and it reminded me of the food that I’ve tasted while in Mexico, so I had to go and try their food. As I was waiting for my tacos a long started to form and it seemed like the locals enjoyed this restaurants food because they knew exactly what to order and they seemed like regular customers. The food really made feel like I was in Mexico because the taste was so similar, and I enjoyed tasting some of their culture.
One of the best murals that I thought best represented Pilsen’s culture was a house mural named ‘Gulliver in Wonderland’, which was located on 1900 W Cullerton Street. This was a complex mural with a lot of hidden significances about the situation that many Mexican immigrants faced when moving to this county. This mural showed the story of resilience and hardships that was faced by many, and this is shown by the barbed wire holding the man down that represents the struggle that many Mexican immigrants had when moving to this country because they were being tied down and discriminated by employers and the locals that lived there previously.
While driving with my friends near the Lower West side I saw that the road ahead was full of parked cars which was very odd to me considering it was a road that is operating, so we decided to pull over and see what all the commotion was about. The second I stepped out of the car I could smell the scent of burnt rubber and I could hear tire screeches in the distance, this could only mean 1 thing, it was a car takeover on this street!
While at the meet I talked to one of the people that set the takeover up and he explained that the car culture in Chicago is one of the largest in the US and people come from all over Illinois to watch people go fast and do tricks in some of the most exclusive cars that aren’t seen every day.
I got to talk to a driver of a Dodge Hellcat which is the fastest muscle car in the world, and he was telling me about the passion that he has had for cars since he was a kid and it was inspiring to hear about how he had the opportunity to buy this expensive car by working hard as a teenager being able to opening his own mechanic shop in Cicero a couple of years ago. This showed how the culture of cars changed his life for the better and he is an inspiration to many of the teenagers that are into cars.
You can tell that these people really care about their cars and are willing to spend thousands of dollars on parts for their cars. This culture was very prevalent because strangers had the opportunity to talk to other likeminded people that have the same passions as them and the energy was very positive. There was no drama or beef, only cars and positivity. This was an experience that I would have never witnessed if it weren’t for the road being blocked and the smell of burnt rubber in the air.
Throughout my walks in Chicago, I felt the presence of culture everywhere I went and while walking I gained a new perspective of the city and the people that live here. Before I moved here thought that Chicago consisted of only the loop and a few surrounding neighborhoods, but I never imagined the immensity of the city and the culture that is dispersed throughout the city. It is important for a city to be cultured because it creates unity and community between people, and with culture comes a variety of neighborhoods and foods that positively show diversity. Walking Chicago has changed the way I observe the world and changed my perspective on other cities because there is no clear definition of a city, it is all created through the experiences and places that one goes through. This course gave me a head start on my goal of experiencing all areas in Chicago and in my first quarter I have learned a lot about this wonderful city, and I will continue to walk and explore the city as a flaneur.
