The Pilsen is the cultural center of Chicago's Mexican community - both symbolically and demographically. 94% of its residents claim Hispanic ethnicity, and about 85% are native Spanish-speakers. It is a physically appealing neighborhood, in its architecture and external character a mixture of earlier Czech roots (hence the "Pilsen" name), 19th-Century flourishes, and the contemporary Mexican sensibility. This blend of old and new seems to enhance its likeness to Mexico itself. [More]
