Events include the annual parade at the Little Village Arch on Sunday and the El Grito celebration in Pilsen on Monday. They celebrate the anniversary of the start of Mexico’s decade-long fight for independence from Spain.

People just started gathering in Pilsen for four days of food, music and carnival rides at the Fiesta del Sol festival — an annual Latino cultural celebration drawing more than 1 million people.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, when you spend $100 at a small business, $48 stays in the community versus when you spend the same $100 at a big-box store or national retailer, only $14 stays.

About 20% of Chicagoans claim Mexican heritage, according to U.S. census data. That’s a distinction that makes itself especially evident every September when people celebrate Mexican Independence Day.