Mexican Independence Day Parade

One of the largest parades in the Midwest, drawing hundreds of thousands to 26th Street to mark Mexican Independence. It steps off at the Little Village Arch (26th & Albany) and runs west through La Villita with floats, mariachi, folklórico dancers, and charros on horseback, flags flying the whole route. The energy on 26th Street that day is hard to overstate — the neighborhood at its proudest and loudest.