Pilsen "Mexican"neighbourhood (May, 13)

                  WELCOME TO THE MEXICAN NEIGHBOURHOOD OF CHICAGO!

Pilsen is known for its proud Latino heritage, vivid outdoor murals and authentic Mexican cuisine.

A walking tour is  the best way to enjoy the neighborhood’s outdoor art and architecture. Outdoor murals decorate much of the neighborhood, with some of the best along Wood Street on a two-block stretch between 18th Street and 19th Street, just west of Ashland Avenue. These include both graffiti-inspired murals and traditional murals of Mexican musicians and movie stars such as singer-songwriter Joan Sebastian and Dolores del Rio.

Murals at the CTA's Pink Line Station!

The Cooper Dual Language Academy, at 1645 W. 18th Pl., where the facade has been transformed with mosaic mural panels depicting icons of Mexican art, music and literature.

                                              Linda was moved to find her name of Street Art wall

                                                            DID YOU KNOW?
Pilsen first inhabitants in the mid-nineteenth century were German and Irish railroad workers. Then came Eastern European immigrants from Poland and Czechoslovakia. One owned a Czech restaurant in the neighbourhood and called it "City of Plzen". As people liked the sound of it, they eventually call the entire area "Pilsen".

Despite a European past population, including a large Bohemian community, present-day Pilsen is a predominately Mexican-American neighborhood, the largest in Chicago, in fact. The migration of Mexican families to this section of Chicago started during World War One. By the middle of the twentieth century, Mexicans were the dominant cultural group. 
 
The heart of the art scene is the National Museum of Mexican Art, at 1852 W. 19th St., in Harrison Park. In 1982 it was founded by Carlos Tortolero and other Chicago Public School teachers as a free museum. 

 While wandering in Pilsen, you might run into crews filming episodes for TV shows such as “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” 

The museum’s most popular event is the annual "Dia de los Muertos" ("Day of the Dead) exhibition which begins on Sept. 17 and runs into mid-December. The nation’s largest "Day of the Dead" exhibition features ofrendas, or altars, and other installations. It’s popular with children, because of the connection to Halloween and the chance to sample traditional Mexican treats such as sugar skulls.


                                                            LEARN MORE!
                                           http://wikitravel.org/en/Chicago/Pilsen

                                          NEIGHBOURHOODS AND IMMIGRATION

http://chicagoclass.wikispaces.com/Unit+6-+Immigration