Arts & Entertainment
New Photography Exhibition Documents Puerto Rican Life in Chicago
Photographer Carlos Flores has spent decades documenting the people, struggles and everyday moments that shaped Puerto Rican life in Chicago.
Now, a new exhibition at the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance brings that history into focus.
Today, Humboldt Park is one of the most recognizable centers of Puerto Rican life in Chicago. Its flags, festivals and vibrant cultural scene have become symbols of the community.
But the story of Puerto Rican Chicago began long before the neighborhood became a cultural hub.
During the 1950s, thousands of Puerto Ricans migrated to Chicago, building new lives in neighborhoods including Lincoln Park, West Town, Lakeview and South Chicago. They found community, but they also faced housing discrimination, displacement and police brutality.
Flores has thousands of memories captured on film. His photographs document not only the challenges Puerto Ricans faced, but also their joy, family life, culture and everyday experiences.
“To me, being Puerto Rican was very important,” Flores said. “… I think that Puerto Ricans are beautiful people.”
Those images are now at the center of a new exhibition at the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance: “Carlos Flores: A ChicagoRican Story.”
The collection was brought to life with the help of co-curator Jorge Félix, who wanted visitors to understand the history of Puerto Rican Chicago beyond the neighborhoods.
“There’s this new generation and migration of Puerto Ricans that come here and they get fascinated by Humboldt Park, and it’s beautiful, and it’s this sense of community,” Félix said. “But that’s not the beginning.”
The exhibition traces the journey of Puerto Ricans in Chicago, beginning with migration and moving through their experiences in neighborhoods such as Lincoln Park, where families established roots before many were pushed out by displacement and redevelopment.
“The exhibition brings you through the story of the migration of Carlos,” Félix said. “You can see from where they come from, then you go through the experience of Lincoln Park, then the work of activists and of Carlos Flores, the sound of community.”
The collection captures the many ways people expressed themselves and built community. More than 121 photographs preserve moments that might otherwise have disappeared. Some images also tell more difficult stories, of people whose lives were cut short and neighborhoods forever changed.
Flores’ photographs have appeared in magazines, books and films. He said visitors have come to the exhibition and found memories of relatives, friends and places that no longer exist.
“I’m capturing lost memories,” he said, describing how people express their grief and gratitude when they see photographs of their families.
For Flores, those reactions are a reminder of why he started taking pictures in the first place.
“I’m proud of the fact that I was able to catch my people,” he said. “Catch this moment, their leisure, and the time. Just to see themselves, you know, I didn’t think my photos would come this far. This is my whole life.”
The free exhibition runs until June 30, 2027, at the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, 3000 N. Elbridge Ave., Chicago.
WTTW News arts coverage is supported by the JCS Arts, Health & Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
