This year's Mexican independence Parade has one message: Families belong together

Lisa and her kids Analisa and Felix attend the parade every year. It's a family tradition that dates back to Lisa's parents. But this year, they are incomplete. "I really believe that they should keep families together because my husband was taken away from our kids. He got deported back and that's why we're here without my husband, so we believe families should stay together," said Lisa.

Thousands of people flocked to 26th Street to watch the Mexican Independence Day Parade.

Ivonne Acosta and her friends rest after dancing for about 1.5 miles during the Mexican Independence Day Parade in Little Village, which was themed "families belong together."  "I feel like [people] are still kind of like afraid in a sense because we have been getting people that have been grabbed [by ICE]," said Acosta, who said that the parade was like a break for families in the community. "They could feel like at least some time to celebrate ... because I know there's some families that are less afraid than others, so like even then, they kind of like feel a little bit more courage to go out and celebrate their culture."

Spectators cheer as the parade passes by.

Charros on horses are usually a crowd pleaser.

Abel Suarez decorated his bicycle for the occasion.

Lorena Sanchez with Uriel Hernandez, Mia, Milendy and Melanie Hernandez. "I grew up here in Little Village. I think it's just tradition, you know, from me being a kid to bringing my kids now that, you know, we're not living in the area, but bringing them back to our culture," said Sanchez who believes that families belong together because that's how culture is passed down. "I think that the family is a culture, you know. There is no family, there is no culture. You have to belong to a family so that you can have a culture."

Spectators at the Mexican Independence Day Parade pass by a mural in the colorful Little Village neighborhood.

Maria Mercadillo, Claudia Snyder and her kids James and Sophia. To Claudia, the parade's theme is "very, very true to the culture" because they are family-oriented.

Monica Gonzales twirls for the camera after hours of dancing in high heels during the parade.

"I think [families] belong together and whoever's taking them apart, that's not human," said Maria Reyes. "You keep families together at all times, at all means."

Lupe Reyes' kids watch the parade from on top of a van. "We do it every year, come celebrate, you know, our heritage, our blood," said Reyes. "Twenty-sixth Street, born and raised. I mean, what else can we ask for, you know? [I'm] having a good time. [I] can't wait for next year."

Marialuz Olalde and her friends marched with the parade.

At the end of the parade, two people watch as the parade comes to a close.

	By Pat Nabong, Reporter, The Real Chi

Every year, thousands of spectators gather in Little Village and cheer “Viva Mexico” during the 26th Street Mexican Independence Day Parade. This year, amid separation of families at the border and deportations in the Latino community, another message underlied the event: that families should not be split up.

Themed “families belong together,” the parade, which celebrated Mexico’s independence from Spain, drew thousands of families to 26th Street.

The annual celebration was a break for families, said Ivonne Acosta.

“[Families] could feel like at least some time to celebrate,” said Acosta, who spent hours dancing at the parade. Acosta said people are still afraid to go out because ICE has already taken several Little Village residents. “There's some families that are less afraid than others, so like even then, they kind of like feel a little bit more courage to go out and celebrate their culture.”

Lisa, who prefers to be identified only by her first name, attended the parade with her two children who wore red, white and green headbands. Lisa’s parents brought her to the parade when she was a child, so she continued that tradition in her own family. But this year, they were incomplete.

“My husband was taken away from our kids. He got deported back and that's why we're here without my husband,” she said. “So we believe families should stay together.”

Maria Reyes, wearing a sombrero, stood on a truck while holding a Mexican flag. She said she came out to celebrate her heritage. She also took a stand against the separation of families.

“Whoever's taking [families] apart, that's not human,” she said. “You keep families together at all times, at all means.”