Fiestas Puertorriquenas

This is one of the ONLY festivals I go to year after year after year. I’m sure you heard that it is dangerous, ghetto and violent and you are probably looking online to determine if you will visit this year. Well, I’ll give you the «lowdown.»
Yes, you should come here. The food is AMAZING, soooo many beautiful women, fun activities, free giveaways, unique products. BUT you have to be smart. If you are white, get the hell out of the area before 6pm. I don’t care how cool you think you look, you are a YUPPIE. You look just like the people that have been renovating condos, flooding our restaurants and calling it «Humboldt Heights.» It is dangerous for anyone in the evening but you my friend are what’s called a «Vic.» Yes, that is short for victim. You will be robbed or harassed here after hours.
Leave large purses, actual cameras and large objects at home. If you drive, you will have to find parking on a side street. Do not leave your phone, purse, laptop or wallet in plain sight. Gangs and overall shady people are patrolling the streets AND you will have to walk back to your vehicle without the police protection of the park.
If you see someone fighting, arguing with a girl, stumbling or see a fight… move in the opposite direction. This is a park with multiple gang territories surrounding it and there are plenty of firearms in the park. Do not try to watch or even think of calling the authorities.
Soooooo, it’s important to realize I do support the festival. It is awesome but you have to be aware of your surroundings and prepared. Charge your phone, wear comfortable shoes, bring antacid pills and go have fun! I’ve been going to this fest since I was a kid… if you come early you will fall in love with the people and the activities.
Note on the food: Always ask for a little more on your plate and ask if they can put a splash of bacardi in nearly any drink… for a few bucks, they will hook you up!

I had a great time together with my friend and I ate so much food that I couldn’t eat anymore. I love the arepas, all of it was fantastic. I was there at the shooting and all I can say is WHY?

I had a great time at Fiestas Puertorriquenas! I tried arepas for the first time and I thought it was delicious. The corn flavor really married with the cheese. I also had some typical Puerto Rican food and enjoyed the chicken and plantains. I love plantains! They had meat or cheese stuffed plantains.
There is live music and a parade on Saturday. There are also a lot of vendors so you can score some free swag. I recommend taking the bus here, it will drop you right off into the entrance.
Overall, a fun festival and I am glad I got to check it out. You will see people sitting along side of car window with the Puerto Rican Flag. Definitely something you don’t see everyday.

We had soo much fun. The kids rode the rides. The husband and I ate the yummy Puerto Rican Food. Steak, pork, and chicken ka-​bobs with rice. Very yummy. I can’t wait for next year. It makes me happy to live in Humboldt Park. The latin music playing loud all day and night, the delicious food every where. It makes me want to be Puerto Rican. The Scottish don’t have such lively music. I guess that’s why I married a Puerto Rican :) I even bought a pretty dress at one of the stand for $ 25 what a steal.

Just got in from the fest. I had a great time although parking was tough. Fantastic Food, rides for the kids, really good live entertainment, plenty of bathrooms and hand washing stations, plenty of areas to eat. Loved it.

I miss home!!! Good Times!!!

Love that Humboldt Park is keeping it real!
The Puerto Ricans of Chicago are a proud community with a vibrant history of struggle and civil rights and ethnic pride and this festival is the annual party in the park. They bring in the rides, the salsa music, and if you grab a spot at one of the outside patios along division between Western and California you can watch all the cars go past with Puerto Rican flags draped over the cars.
It really is a city ethnic fest with a flair. I imagine that it has the same energy the Poles, or Czechs or other groups had 100 years ago. In fact the park was once home to parades, parties, and sometimes riots by immigrants from Europe. A proud tradition of ethnic celebration continues in the park.
Pride, and very strong feelings fill the streets. Now, if you are a mellow sort, I would head home before it gets too late. Yes, the rumors are true about young kids having fights, people drinking in the street, and I live just a few blocks away, but have to say that in the late afternoon and evening it is fun and family friendly. They usually have Sunday afternoon set aside as a «family day» so you can go ride the Carnival rides, have some fun Puerto Rican food, and experience a community celebration.
There is a lot of spirit in this community (one of the largest migrant populations in the city). Puerto Ricans started out in Lincoln Park, then moved into Wicker Park as gentrification spread east to west, and then in the 1960s established civil rights groups to keep the community from being forced further west by developers and suburban-​to-​city-​gentrification-​migrants. In the past ten years new residents have moved in and seem not to like the Fiesta.
Once a year this proud community celebrates and yes, let’s its hair down a bit. And, yes, the girls love riding on the tops of the cars in tube tops. Really who is going to complain about that?
If you are new to Humboldt Park remember to be open to new experiences. If you don’t like it you can always move to Lake Forest.

I thoroughly love the Puerto Rican Fiesta in Humboldt Park. It’s a great place to people watch… What sexy looking folks these Puerto Ricans can be! Lots of eye candy for everyone!
Even the worst band here can sound pretty damn good too! I love salsa music with the Caribbean beat that moves mountains. Come early in the week to get the best and easiest view of the live bands.
Fear of Gang bangers!!! Gimme a break, I didn’t see any and I hope nobody is intimidated by thugs of any kind. Plenty of police here, in uniform and plain clothes to keep things cool should anything happen, so enjoy the sights and sounds!
Good Puerto Rican food too! … All are welcome!

Woo to the Hoo! Another year, another Fiestas Puertoriquenas! Living just two blocks from all the action, a week before the start of the festival the neighborhood takes on a totally different vibe. Excitement fills the air; vendors hawking tasty Puerto Rican cuisine as well as flags t-​shirts, bikinis, onesies emblazoned with the PR flag line the sidewalks surrounding the park and everyone you encounter seems happier. I called my cousin, who has a daughter the same age as mine, to see if she wanted to check out the festivities and she was down.
Just as we were about to enter the park, my home girl sent me a text announcing a little boy just got shot in the head at the fest. Great. We didn’t see any ambulances or an unusual amount of police activity so we continued on our mission. Lots of rides, food, drinks, games and happy people. First stop: throw darts at the balloons game. Won a pink puppy for baby girl. Next stop: compete against 8 others in the aim the water gun at a target to get it to the top and win a gigantic Care Bear. 3^rd place, no bear, baby girl is pissed. Immediately run to ticket booth so kiddies can get on the rides. 10 tickets got access to 5 very fun and age-​appropriate rides – the tea cup swirl, the dragon coaster, bumper cars, the carousel and the choo-​choo train.
I was the only one who was hungry so I marched over to the food stands to see what was on the menu. My PR buddy told me I just had to try the alcapurria which is like a Puerto Rican samosa; the Mafungo, a dish made with plantains, rice and beans; and an arrepa, a very tasty fried cream pie. I waited until I got home to devour all of this exquisiteness.
We took a quick stroll off the beaten path and I instantly knew this area was not for little kids. I made a mental note to come back the next day, sans little one, to see what was up. Mary Jane smoke, pina coladas made with rum (even though this was a non-​alcoholic event), bangin’ reggaeton and lots of flirting is what was up. ;-p
Yes it’s crowded, yes it’s loud, yes there’s fighting and YES, helicopters fly overhead from about 9pm-​midnight… but in my opinion, absolutely no festival in Chicago compares to the Fiestas Puertorriquenas!

The fun begins TODAY!!!
45TH ANNUAL PUERTO RICAN FESTIVAL 2010
… & PARADE (Downtown on Saturday)
Category: Festivals & Fairs
When: Wednesday, June 16 — Sunday, June 20
Where: Humboldt Park
1400 N. Sacramento Ave
Chicago, IL 60 622
Cost: Free
45^th annual puertorican festival 2010
****Festival dates and musical artist line up for the week june 15^th-​20^th****
Wednesday, june 16^th– micheal stewart.
Thursday, june 17^th-(urban night) baby rasta y gringo
cosculluela
Friday, june 18^th-(new york night) conjunto classico,
wechy camacho, german olivera
Saturday, june 19^th– manny manuel
Sunday june 20^th– andy montanez
Links with more detail:

Aside from the fact that it was a beautiful day in the park, PR festival was not fun at all.
1. They banned serving alcohol, which in a way is good to reduce the violence during the festival
2. The ban didn’t stop the 3 different arrests that were made while I was standing in 1 spot in the span of 45 minutes.
3. All of the vendors sold essentially the same food; however, the further north you went the more expensive the same food was.
4. My footlong corn dog was the highlight of my meal (seriously, the cornmeal was sweet and they deep fried that dog to perfection!)
5. The pork skewers had undercooked pieces (salmonella, anyone?) and was bland

I think Puerto Rican people are very passionate, often outspoken, proud, loud, crazy, fun and that’s what you can expect from this fest.
The parade was interesting and loud with tons of classic cars, pimped out new cars, and motorcycle «gangs». Tons of flags draped everywhere, music blasting from every direction, people crowding the streets taking pictures and recording home videos.
Travel over to the fest at the park and it will remind you of the carnivals you attended as a child (only way bigger). Rides, food, music, tons of people.
Who goes? Ladies, gents, northsiders, southsiders, Half dressed, fully dressed, barely dressed, mamas, papas, babies, Coolkids, knuckleheads, preps, jocks, hipsters, drunks, elderly, uglies and eye candy.

My life pretty much revolves around the Puerto Rican festival. It will be the dead of winter and Rachel H. and I will already be plotting our apparel, our route and picking out the rides we want to go on. Most importantly, what design we want on our airbrush tshirts. Being such seasoned professionals I can definitely be one to give good advice when it comes to this fest.
1. No matter how awesome your friends tell you the haunted house ride is, they are lying to you. There is a picture of a pirate hooker on it and there is no said pirate hookers on the ride. It’s the biggest rip-​off there is. Next to the fun house lovingly called «Ogre Fest», just say no.
2. If you are looking for some tasty refreshment after sucking down all that cotton candy and funnel cakes, skip the over priced pineapples for $ 8. $ 1 will get you a refreshing and icy ice cream from one of those park vendors. They have flavors like limon, coconut, mango, blueberry and chicle. You can then use the money you saved for some seriously awesome tchotchkes.
3. Airbrush, airbrush, airbrush, but don’t spend more then $ 25. And only if it’s a ghetto fabulous design. This year I had my heart set on getting an ugly-​ass jaguar design but the guy told me it would cost $ 50! So I settled for my name next to a zany little heart. Total damage, $ 15, and it’s got glitter!
4. Feverball is the most awesome ride there. It makes me squeal like a pig and cry like a little girl. But in the end it’s always worth it. You can typically tell how good a ride is based on how loud the B96 music plays.
5. Try the arepas. It’s a weird name, and I would be careful where you shout it. AREPAS! AREPAS! But arepa is a delicious combination of sweet corn cake and mozzarella and fried in country crock. If you are going to get a skewered meat browse the stalls and make sure you pick something that doesn’t look too greasy. My friend had the misfortune of picking out a skewer that consisted of fat. Its was gross.
If you still aren’t sold on the awesomeness of the Humboldt Park carnivale you can check out my original review which is located under a different spelling of the event…
Ps. Our friend was being a total wuss about getting on the Feverball ride and decided not to go on it. So us girls gave him all of our purses and shoes to hold on to while we getting our feverball on. The thought of looking like some bitch ass purse caddy gave him enough gall to ride the ride, and in the end he admitted that it was the best ride there.

The fact that Unilocal says I’ve never reviewed this blows my mind. Where can I start? I love the fest. LOVE it. It is my favorite time of the year.
There’s so much to do, and so much to Unilocal about.
1. I must always, always, always get an airbrushed t-​shirt. I now have three beautiful tees in my collection.
2. There are plenty of doggies to say hi to, stalk, and photograph.
3. There’s a game booth where one of the prizes is a duck with ducks for feet, holding a baby duck with ducks for feet. How’s that for a total mind fuck?
4. Arepas, funnel cakes, corn dogs, piña colada in pineapples, kebabs, empanadas, etc. I could blow my money and get fat, fat, fat here. Oh wait, I do.
5. RIDES. I like to warm up with some less heinous rides before hitting up the most scary and exhilerating fair ride of my life. The Feverball. Don’t ride the Power Surge. Just because the «price» is only 3 tickets doesn’t mean the real price isn’t several years of your life.
6. Crazy ass patrons. Trannies with rabbits, fat kids shouting «bony ass» to skinny people, creepy carnies, dirty old men.
I wish the fest was every day, but I’d run out of money and have nothing to show for it but an arepa belly and a bunch of very tight airbrushed shirts.
EDIT: Ok, so I did review this before, I knew it!!! There was a misspelling, and when I searched it, this was the first one and I went with it. I’m keeping both reviews b/​c that’s how I roll.

My family and I look forward to this all year long .Its a week long celebration for us Puerto-​ricans …and anyone whos down for a good time in good ol Humboldt Park. There is a carnival complete with rides and carnival games (I actually won something this year !! got my girl a blue stuffed monkey in a ball racing game :0) theires tons of vendors selling food and strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas …(with liquor if you know where to go) Every night they have live music too .some years are better than others .this year no one too big came to perform .Only reason im knocking off a star is cause so far just about every year ive gone there has always been a fight… always some silly gangbangers duking it out… cant we just all get along?

Hands down, the most exciting street fest in Chicago. Every twist and turn in the park boasts a different surprise or treat (wood-​smoked meat?!!) a new sweetie (young women in short shorts, young men with oversized t-​shirts, each making eyes at each other), and non-​stop live music.
My favorite souvenir of the fest — and there are many — was the «HUMBOLDT PARK» t-​shirt written in handgun font. A font that is less line, more handgun. Nothing says idle boast quite like frontin’ a handgun t-​shirt.
We did manage to stumble upon a booth selling hooch with their pinas. And it was a fine pina indeed. I didn’t need to sneak that flask into the park after all.

If you weren’t at the spot, I don’t know what you were doing. Every year, the Puerto Rican Fest brings it!
First things first about the Fest, it’s free. That’s right. No matter where you happen upon the Park to enter into a boricua wonderland, you won’t have to pay a penny for the privilege of having some world class fun. You hear that, Art Fairs and Neighborhood fests!!! Here at the FP, there are no jack booted Chads and Trixies shaking folks down for a $ 20 ‘donation’ just to enter the ‘free’ festival aka public streets and walkways [but what a great scam that is; wish I’d have thought of it]. If you’re not a fabulous jet-​setter like Vamsi or Preet (mm-​hmm, that’s right; I called you out for going to Puerto Rico and not taking me), this might be the next best thing.
I like to enter the Park/​Fest at North & California. I walk south down California, past the shirt, corn and other vendors and then cut up into the Park at the first closed gate. This route will also let you gaze into one of the many water ways of Humboldt Park and marvel at its beauty. Walk past the big rig trucks and you’ll come upon the midway. Remember when you were a kid and went to the state fair? Well, all the awesome rides of your youth are here for you to enjoy: haunted house, tilt-​a-​whirl, bumper cars, etc. But watch out: there are plenty of youngsters and families about and, apparently, it’s bad form to push the little kids out of the way so you can cut in line. Who knew? You need tickets to ride the ride, but there are plenty of booths that will trade your money for tickets.
After you’ve thrown up from the rides (or been escorted out of line by the CPD, potato potatoe), play some carnival games (whack a mole, ring toss, dart throw, that water-​gun-​horse-​game that makes no sense and a host of others) or get some grub! Games are everyday. Corn pancakes with melted cheese inside only comes once a year. There’s so much food! Rice, pork, sweet plantains, pinchos (pronounce the «p»; otherwise it’ll sound like you asked for a bicho which will get you either a slap or a date), empanadillas, pinonoes, alcapurrias and other fried deliciousness. As tempting as it will be to get food at the first booth you see, don’t. Window shop, compare prices and go for the places with the longest lines.
Some people walk and eat. Um, no. I need a seat. You can try to blend in with the bingo-​playing grandmas (prime real estate with a tarp, chairs and everything) but they tend to side-​eye you if you aren’t playing. There are plenty of grassy tree lounges or benches. I don’t do dirt, so I rec. the bench. Be aware that they are hot and you will burn your culo. Be prepared.
Has all that food left you thirsty? If so, grab a hollowed-​out pineapple filled with piña colada. They look great and are re-​fillable. They’re also huge (around $ 8). I heard that this is an alcohol-​free event, but I also heard someone got a $ 10 strawberry daquiri that was 60% rum, 35% ice and 5% strawberries. I also heard this person fell down after drinking half of it. No, I don’t have a bruise.
While you sip your fruity beverage, tour the various booths. Register to vote, buy a quality knock-​off (no Fendis out of trunks at this Fest), get some body oils, various Puerto Rican flag clothing or people watch. I saw a little kid with a tricked out tricycle that played, no, BUMPED, music and had a chrome box on the back. But for the witnesses, I would have jacked him for it. It was really nice.
Still anxious for more? Good. The event producers are on top of their game and they have a ton of corporate sponsors. That means money for great music acts, quality sound systems, corporate tents (the Wrigley tent has Wii games to play, flavored oxygen to breathe and cooling centers) and various contests. My favorite contest is the reggaeton dance-​for-​concert-​tickets contest which always devolves to an ass-​shaking competition. It’s awesome. There’s plenty of popping, dropping, toe touching, wiggling, shaking, stripping and floor humping — and those are the men; seriously. But male contestants have to leave their shirts on. «There are kids in the audience.»
I’ve never stayed to see the night concerts. Invariably, I am sunburned, tipsy and in the early throes of a food coma. From what I hear, the night concerts are a lot of fun… but the frolicking family atmosphere of the day is replaced by the tomfoolery of teens and young adults. Since I am a brownstone stoop away from beating those self-​same youngsters with a cane, I leave before dark. But the really good reggaeton, bachata, etc. acts are at night so… choose wisely according to interest.
Forget what you heard about how ‘scary’ HP is and get to the Fest. It’s so much fun. For a week, everyone is Puerto Rican. Get your flag, attach it to your car, cruise the circuit, honk your horn and viva boricua/​Puerto Rico.