Have you ever wondered how the people of Joliet celebrate Mexican Independence Day? For 60 years, they have hosted this parade to show Mexican pride and to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. Every year this parade is hosted on Collins St. But this year they hosted it in downtown Joliet on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 1 p.m. During this parade, there were many people who came to celebrate. It was not just Mexican Americans. There were Guatemalans, Columbians, Puerto Ricans, and Americans. During the parade, there were trucks and trailers decorated in many beautiful colors and designs to represent their creativity, horses came all nice, people were wearing original Mexican clothes while dancing, and motorcyclists were doing cool tricks.
It was an opportunity for business owners to promote their business. The announcer would announce on the microphone what the business was if they were hosting something, and if they wanted customers to know about it. There were people selling toy horns, red, white, and green wigs, Mexican sports shirts, cultured shirts, and mini and regular-sized flags. The purpose of selling these things is so people have shirts, flags, or toys that support their country. There were paleteros selling ice cream, and many after-parties occurred at farms. At those after parties, there were people serving homemade Mexican food like tacos, carnitas, wings, birria, etc. They brought bandas so they could play music during these events. Lots of people will even take the parties to their homes and invite all their families over to continue the happiness of the Mexican Independence parade.