HUMBOLDT PARK – Looking for something fun to do next Saturday that supports your favorite local business? Navidad en el Barrio is officially open for the season.
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.
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.
“Unlike past years, there’s going to be different vendors each weekend,” said Yesica Ortiz, director of operations and events at the museum. “There’s a lot of first-time visitors [to Humboldt Park] and that gives artisans the chance to get a different audience than they normally would.”
Various workshops, raffles and free docent-led tours are also a draw of the event.
Michelle Gomez, who runs the Sangria Festival 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 “coquito,” a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas drink.
Credit: Claire Murphy
“We love the festive nature of this event, it’s why we keep coming back,” said Gomez. “It’s 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.”
Other vendors included art activism brand AntiRacistAF, custom glassware maker Midwest Untouchable Graphics, Ari’s Wicks candles and several independent Humboldt Park-based sellers.
“I’ve been in the custom wear business for the past 10 years, but really I’ve been creating glassware since I was 13,” said Rita Lugo, founder of Midwest Untouchable Graphics who grew up in the neighborhood but now calls the South Side home.
“It 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’ve 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,” said Lugo.
Lugo’s designs range from custom mugs and glassware to rhinestone pens and tumblers.
“Sometimes people come and ask why on earth I’m 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’s not listed for $100,” said Lugo.
An individual pen can take up to three hours to complete. Lugo said she doesn’t mind the time it takes. “I make my designs after my own taste, but if I can make something that speaks to someone else, that’s what it’s all about,” said Lugo.
Ariana Lozada’s business, Ari’s 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.
“I’m a first-generation entrepreneur, which means so much to me, statistically speaking,” said Lozada. “Ari’s 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.”
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.
“A lot of us learned that we didn’t need to keep waiting around to pursue these opportunities,” said Lozada.
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.
Cover Photo: Vendor booth set up at Navidad en el Barrio. Credit: Claire Murphy