The Little Village neighborhood is located southeast of Chicago. The area, known as home to thousands of Latino familiesespecially of Mexican origin, extends along 26th Street.
In the late 1800s, immigrants from Eastern Europe, Poles and Bohemians lived here, who named the neighborhood Lawndale. However, by 1960, with the predominance of Hispanic families, the name Little Village became popular, giving rise to the area as we know it today.
The leader of the organization that seeks to support, promote and enhance the growth and success of local businesses, is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and has spent her entire life in Little Village.
Jennifer considers 26th Street to be a heart of local commerce, where the impact of commerce on the community stands out. “I can see the power we have as a Mexican community here in the United States“, highlighted the graduate in political science and history from DePaul University in an interview with Javier Solórzano for The Herald USA.
According to Jennifer Aguilar, there are more than a thousand businesses and a hundred restaurants in La Villita.
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The commercial importance of the Mexican community in Chicago
According to the executive director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, the commercial corridor on 26th Street is completely occupied. “We have more than 1,000 businesses and 100 restaurants,” says Jennifer Aguilar.who highlights the success of this commercial area led by migrants.
“We are fortunate to be one of the largest shopping streets here in Chicago. We were the second largest tax generating area, but following recent changes due to COVID-19, many big box stores on Main Street (Michigan Avenue) closed. In the case of Little Village, the opposite happened: more businesses opened, and fortunately, today we do not have any unoccupied lots,” says the founder of the Latinx Alumni Chapter Committee of DePaul University.
“Most of the restaurants are Mexican food, in the businesses you can find everything: clothes, everything that has to do with quinceañeras“, says Jennifer Aguilar, whose association promotes the development of local commerce, as well as the pride of Latin merchants in their origins.
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