Puerto Rican Festival to kick off with new organizers after year of scandal

The four-day fest running Thursday through Sunday will have a new leadership group for the first time in 36 years, as state investigators probe the previous group’s finances.

SHARE Puerto Rican Festival to kick off with new organizers after year of scandal
20190612_110606_0_.jpg

Jessie Fuentes (at podium), co-chair of the Puerto Rican Agenda and chair of the oversight board, speaks about what’s new to the 2019 Puerto Rican Festival.

Manny Ramos

Puerto Ricans from across the city will converge in Humboldt Park waving their beloved flags this weekend for the annual celebration of the island’s rich culture.

The festival has become a staple for Chicago’s Puerto Rican community, showcasing food, music and carnival rides — and for the first time in 36 years, a new group is at the helm.

The nonprofit Daniel Ramos Puerto Rican Festival Committee says this year’s events will bring more than people are used to, with film showings, a job fair and live art demonstrations, running Thursday through Sunday.

The new organizers also will be looking to dispel the dark cloud that follows them after a scandal-ridden year that forced the previous organizing committee to dissolve, and prompted a state investigation of its finances.

Current committee members say they have no affiliation with the previous Puerto Rican Parade Committee of Chicago, which is still being probed after former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan raised questions about their documenting of more than $210,000 in expenses.

The new committee has an oversight board — something the previous group didn't have — comprising members from 12 nonprofits including the Puerto Rican Agenda, the Puerto Rican Bar Association and the Puerto Rican Police Association.

Jessie Fuentes, co-chair of the Puerto Rican Agenda and chair of the oversight board, said the committee is required to submit financial statements every two weeks for board review.

“We are accounting for every dollar that goes in and every dollar that goes out,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes acknowledged skepticism of the new committee but said they are working on restoring the trust of the Puerto Rican diaspora in Chicago.

“It takes time to kill a stigma,” Fuentes said. “We are a new committee and a new oversight board living under a reputation of a committee that was in place for a really long time. The best that we can do is be transparent with the community at every moment.”

Measures throughout the festival have been made to increase its transparency with the public, such as collecting receipts on a regular basis instead at the end of each night.

“We are turning in the funds every three hours, then that amount is going to be reported and projected on to the screen so the people can see how much money we have been raising throughout the day,” Fuentes said.

The highlight of the festival — the 41st annual Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade — kicks off at 2 p.m. Saturday on Paseo Boricua — the microcosm of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community along Division Street between Western Avenue and California Avenue.

Those looking to enjoy the festivities Friday through Sunday will also need to pay $5 for entry into the park, but children under the age of 12 receive free access. Discounted tickets are offered at group rates.

Manny Ramos is a corps member in Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of Chicago’s South and West sides.

The Latest
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”
Women make up just 10% of those in careers such as green infrastructure and clean and renewable energy, a leader from Openlands writes. Apprenticeships and other training opportunities are some of the ways to get more women into this growing job sector.
Chatterbox doesn’t seem aware that it’s courteous to ask questions, seek others’ opinions.
The way inflation is measured masks certain costs that add to the prices that consumers pay every day. Not surprisingly, higher costs mean lower consumer confidence, no matter what Americans are told about an improving economy.
With Easter around the corner, chocolate makers and food businesses are feeling the impact of soaring global cocoa prices and it’s also hitting consumers.