Downtown Chicago is a tourist mecca. But,
beyond its renowned center city, Chicago
boasts a melange of ethnic neighborhoods
that can link a person to their homeland
or awaken wanderlust in armchair travelers. Like
the world it represents, Chicago is a very big,
sometimes intimidating place. What the city needs
is a way to show off its diversity by extending warm
welcomes to its lesser-known areas while helping
distribute the economic benefits of tourism.
In 1990, Juana Guzman rode the “L” to work in Chicago’s
bustling business district. Every day she’d see the Sears
Tower and Lake Shore Drive and all the architecture and activity
that make Chicago one of the world’s most exciting cities.
It was a city Juana loved and knew well. But she also knew that
just off the usual traffic corridors, across the highway, or
over the railroad tracks were more than 70 other neighborhoods
where immigrants from around the world and their descendants
had kept alive a kaleidoscope of
ethnic rituals and cultural traditions that make Chicago even
more fascinating. Juana Guzman wanted to help others get to know
these “other” Chicagos.
As then-director of Community Cultural Development for the city’s
Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), Guzman spoke regularly
with representatives of scores of small, nonprofit arts and cultural
organizations scattered throughout the city’s
ethnic centers. Their shared goals of preserving and perpetuating
these unique cultural heritages were often hampered by limited
audiences and small budgets. Guzman and her colleagues recognized
the importance of sharing the cultural riches of these neighborhoods
in order to broaden views and bridge gaps. Yet most tourists,
and many Chicagoans, in fact, were either unaware of these communities
or apprehensive about venturing beyond the commonly toured areas.
Consensus among the arts organizations was that all the lesser-
known neighborhoods in Chicago deserved the same promotional
treatment accorded to the more famed areas. “They wanted
to find
ways to become viable cultural attractions in and of themselves,” says Guzman.
“There is no denying the impact
of arts and
culture on a local economy,” says Guzman. “
The arts employ thousands of people, attract
new businesses, revitalize neighborhoods, and
draw tourists.” — Juana Guzman
Downtown Chicago is a tourist mecca. But,
beyond its renowned center city, Chicago
boasts a melange of ethnic neighborhoods
that can link a person to their homeland
or awaken wanderlust in armchair travelers. Like
the world it represents, Chicago is a very big,
sometimes intimidating place. What the city needs
is a way to show off its diversity by extending warm
welcomes to its lesser-known areas while helping
distribute the economic benefits of tourism. 
As then-director of Community Cultural Development for the city’s
Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), Guzman spoke regularly
with representatives of scores of small, nonprofit arts and cultural
organizations scattered throughout the city’s
ethnic centers. Their shared goals of preserving and perpetuating
these unique cultural heritages were often hampered by limited
audiences and small budgets. Guzman and her colleagues recognized
the importance of sharing the cultural riches of these neighborhoods
in order to broaden views and bridge gaps. Yet most tourists,
and many Chicagoans, in fact, were either unaware of these communities
or apprehensive about venturing beyond the commonly toured areas.
