{"id":5063558,"date":"2024-12-04T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5063558"},"modified":"2024-12-04T08:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T08:00:00","slug":"navidad-en-el-barrio-returns-to-humboldt-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2024\/12\/04\/navidad-en-el-barrio-returns-to-humboldt-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Navidad en el Barrio returns to Humboldt Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HUMBOLDT PARK – Looking for something fun to do next Saturday that supports your favorite local business? Navidad en el Barrio<\/a> is officially open for the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The annual holiday market, sponsored by the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, offers visitors a taste of Puerto Rico, with one-of-a-kind handmade gifts for sale from local artisans and vendors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first year since its 2018 inception, the event will be offered for six consecutive Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., with the exception of Thanksgiving weekend on Nov 30. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnlike past years, there\u2019s going to be different vendors each weekend,\u201d said Yesica Ortiz, director of operations and events at the museum. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of first-time visitors [to Humboldt Park] and that gives artisans the chance to get a different audience than they normally would.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Various workshops, raffles and free docent-led tours are also a draw of the event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michelle Gomez, who runs the Sangria Festival <\/a>in Humboldt Park with her sister Melissa, is back selling for the fourth time this year. The sisters offered visitors a taste of their most popular sangria flavors, including guava, peach, passion fruit and \u201ccoquito,\u201d a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Michelle Gomez representing Sangria Festival at the event. <\/em>
Credit: Claire Murphy<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe love the festive nature of this event, it\u2019s why we keep coming back,\u201d said Gomez. \u201cIt\u2019s our opener to the holidays, which is a really fun time and to be able to join in at the museum with all of these other local vendors is just awesome.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other vendors included art activism brand AntiRacistAF<\/a>, custom glassware maker Midwest Untouchable Graphics<\/a>, Ari\u2019s Wicks<\/a> candles and several independent Humboldt Park-based sellers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in the custom wear business for the past 10 years, but really I\u2019ve been creating glassware since I was 13,\u201d said Rita Lugo, founder of Midwest Untouchable Graphics who grew up in the neighborhood but now calls the South Side home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt started out as something I did for myself and then I just sort of converted it into a business. I have Puerto Rican roots, but I\u2019ve lived in Chicago for the past 30 years, so both places are near and dear to my heart. I try to incorporate that into my art,\u201d said Lugo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lugo\u2019s designs range from custom mugs and glassware to rhinestone pens and tumblers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes people come and ask why on earth I\u2019m selling $25 pens. Each pen has hundreds of individually glued rhinestones. After people take [my] workshop and make the pens themselves, they wonder why it\u2019s not listed for $100,\u201d said Lugo.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An individual pen can take up to three hours to complete. Lugo said she doesn\u2019t mind the time it takes. \u201cI make my designs after my own taste, but if I can make something that speaks to someone else, that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about,\u201d said Lugo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ariana Lozada\u2019s business, Ari\u2019s Wicks, started as a way to help her de-stress during the pandemic. Now the Chicago candle maker sells her products at pop-up markets and street fairs all over the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a first-generation entrepreneur, which means so much to me, statistically speaking,\u201d said Lozada. \u201cAri\u2019s Wicks started as a hobby and then three months later COVID-19 happened and I just began using it as a way to make money and improve my mental health during that time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ariana Lozada, founder of Ari\u2019s Wicks has been making candles since 2020. Credit: Claire Murphy<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Several of the local businesses featured at Navidad en el Barrio started during the pandemic, which vendors said gave them the time and space to pursue their true interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of us learned that we didn\u2019t need to keep waiting around to pursue these opportunities,\u201d said Lozada. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lozada hopes seasonal markets like this one provide an insight into the passion and dedication it takes to run a local business, while also giving visitors an opportunity to meet the face behind their favorite local goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Cover Photo: Vendor booth set up at Navidad en el Barrio. Credit: Claire Murphy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The annual Puerto Rican holiday market features various Boricua artists and runs for the next three 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