An evening in Pilsen

Last semester I wrote a paper about Pilsen, but ashamedly I admit that last week I realized how little I knew about Pilsen then.  Most of the stuff I got from websites, books and what other people said.  I had been to Pilsen, a number of times, but I never really immersed myself in it.  I never really knew the place.  How did I realize that?  Well last friday I got a real immersion, and it was better than expected.

So let’s start from the beginning.  Pilsen is a neighbourhood in Chicago, which was first settled by Czech immigrants, hence the Slavic name.  Throughout the years however the neighbourhood has developed into the quintessential Latino neighbourhood.  A trip to this place results in a trip to a community which is Mexican in spirit.  Here the main language is Spanish, and even the decorations have a Mexican style. 

My first trip to Pilsen was soon after I arrived, when I had to meet one of the local leaders, who happened to know someone back in Malta.  It was a dark winter evening and someone had been shot in the area in the previous days.  Learning all this, made me feel obviously very uncomfortable in the area, so in my return visits to the area, I always kept my guard on. 

In my latest trip however, a friend of mine invited me to go over with him to the Art walk -  a visit to a number of artist’s studios/galleries in the neighbourhood.  In recent years the area has experienced gentrification too, and a number of artists have set shop here.  Even though most of the artists are not ‘latinos’, the opening up of these spaces suddenly gave a new dimension to my perception of the area.

Suddenly I realized that after all it wasn’t that dangerous to walk in this neighborhood.  The art was interesting, but most of all what I found interesting was the new world which opened infront of my eyes.  Perhaps one of the best discoveries was a bakery, which bakes delicious pastries including empanadas and pan dulce.  The stuff is so good, fresh and much less expensive than the food in the area where I live.

The people are also very friendly, and welcoming.  Obviously there are the usual shady characters, but these you can find all over the city.  Indeed sometimes labels and public perception do have an effect on the way we see communities.  Definitely this has been a positive experience and I intend visiting this area more often.