Sueños attendees evacuate Grant Park due to weather, cutting festival short after a delayed start

Sueños organizers the delayed the start of Day 2, and the Maxwell Street Market closed early Sunday because of the rain.

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Ashley López and Lizeth Valle carry a Mexican flag and wear rain ponchos at Grant Park during the Sueños Music Festival.

From left, Ashley López, 22, and Lizeth Valle, 21, arrive at Grant Park on Sunday for the Sueños Music Festival, despite rainy weather that prompted a delay to the start of Day 2 of the festival.

Andrea Flores/For the Sun-Times

Several hours of storms moving over the region delayed music festivals, sporting events and other outdoor activities in the Chicago area throughout the day Sunday.

The threat of scattered thunderstorms developing over parts of Cook, Will, and Kankakee counties will persist until 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The storms could produce lightning and heavy downpours. A few may become severe, with damaging winds, hail and a slight chance for tornadoes.

Sueños Music Festival in Grant Park was disrupted for the second time Sunday as the park was evacuated about 8 p.m. due to the threat of severe weather, cutting the day’s performances short.

In Chicago, there’s a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10 p.m., meteorologists said.

Several hours of intense morning storms delayed the start of Day 2 of the music festival.

Many of the afternoon sets were canceled but the festival got back on track in the afternoon as the first round of storms ended, including performances by Delilah, Jowell y Randy and Gabito Ballesteros. But Maluma’s evening set was cut short, and headliner Peso Pluma’s performance was canceled due to the second round in the evening.

Earlier Sunday, festival organizers announced the delay over social media, advising attendees to wait until further notice before heading to Grant Park.

People wearing rain ponchos and holding umbrellas line up outside the Suenos Music Festival at Grant Park in Chicago on Sunday, May 26, 2024.

Fans line up at the festival gate waiting for an announcement about the fate of the rain-delayed Suenos Music Festival on Sunday morning.

Alex Wroblewski/For The Sun-Times

That did not deter diehard fans of the two-day event from showing up despite the rain. A group of fans at the front of the line started chanting “open the door!” at security guards, followed minutes later by an a cappella rendition of “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma.

Lizeth Valle, 21, said she was going to Sueños rain or shine. She’d been getting ready for the festival since 5 a.m. with her friend Ashley Lopez, 21. The two lined up behind the crowd, using their Mexican flag as a shield from more rain.

“In night and in the day, we are still here today,” Lopez said. She had been waiting out in the rain since 9 a.m. to see the old-school reggaetón act of the day: Alexis y Fido. It was one of the acts originally slated to be cut by the delay but was later rescheduled.

Sueños Music Festival 2024
After his debut performance at Sueños Music Festival last month, Álvaro Díaz spent a few minutes speaking to La Voz following the years-long delay of the release of his sophomore album “SAYONARA.”
Aunque Peso Pluma no actuó, hizo una breve aparición en el after party oficial de Sueños en The Mine.
El titular del sábado y los pocos actos del domingo definieron el Festival Sueños 2024.
Chicago fans of superstar Peso Pluma are left high and dry, for the third time this year, because of the threat of severe weather. Two other Pluma concerts were canceled in Chicago because of the alleged threat of cartels.
The 30-year-old Colombian star gave an outstanding performance filled with nostalgic hits. Due to the weather, he was the final performer of the festival.
Chino Pacas of Street Mob Records joined Gabito Ballesteros on stage. The Mexican singer-songwriters are rising corrido tumbado artists, blending traditional Mexican ballads with hip-hop elements.
“A cheer for the Latinos!” a high-pitched Jowell called to damp Sueños attendees who waited out the weather. Though the two set expectations high, the remainder of their set was at times hard to follow.

Weather also affected the Maxwell Street Market across town, which closed hours earlier than expected.

The market, which opened for the first time this year at 9 a.m. Sunday along Maxwell Street between Halsted Street and Union Avenue, was shut down by 11 a.m. after an inconsistent drizzle turned into a heavy downpour.

In the evening, O’Hare and Midway airports also experienced some disruptions due to the weather. There were delays of 35 minutes at O’Hare and 22 minutes at Midway by 8:30 p.m. Twenty-five flights were canceled at O’Hare.

Before Sunday’s daytime downpour, guitar music boomed from speakers on West Maxwell and South Union streets as a live band played for a handful of spectators.

Maxwell Street Market vendors were selling plants, bracelets, shoes and other items. Among the vendors was Jawi Opara, who sells vinyl records and self-crafted artwork among other things.

The Maxwell Street Market “is Chicago, it’s the history of Chicago,” said Opara, 72. “It’s a great place to shop, see your friends and meet new people.”

The Randolph Street Market Festival at 1341 W. Randolph St., a weekend antique market ongoing since 2003, remained open Sunday despite the weather. Most vendors were indoors.

The White Sox game against the Baltimore Orioles scheduled for 1:10 p.m. was delayed until about 2:50.

More than 65,000 people from the Chicago area and across the country were expected this holiday weekend at Sueños, making it one of the largest Latin music festivals in the U.S.

Contributing: Violet Miller

Sueños Music Festival 2024
The set, scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Grant Park, was canceled due to issues on both sides, organizers said.
Yet the Sueños headliner filled Grant Park for the first night of Chicago’s biggest annual Latin music event.
Una multitud se dio cita en el Grant Park para disfrutar del mayor festival de música latina de la ciudad, que se espera que vuelva a congregar a un público alegre el domingo.
They were detached at times, but fans showed they knew all the words to “LISA” and “Riri.”
This 25-year-old producer and performer is behind some of the hottest, catchiest tracks today.
His set included “La Diabla,” which made him the first Mexican artist to top the global Spotify chart, and his latest hit, “Corazón de Piedra.”
Rels B, the 30-year-old rapper and record producer from Mallorca, Spain, opened his Saturday set with his 2019 hit single “A Mí.”
There are more than 30 food and beverage options in Grant Park through Sunday at the third iteration of Chicago’s largest Latin music festival.

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