Thousands thronged the streets of East Chicago for the Mexican Independence Day Parade this past weekend.

The Twin City has long been home to a large Mexican population and honors its cultural heritage in Washington Park with a statue of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the Catholic priest and professor who led the Mexican War of Independence after calling for it during his Cry of Dolores, which protested Spanish rule.

A bust of Hidalgo, known as the Father of the Nation, rests atop a fenced-off pedestal in Washington Park next to St. Catherine Hospital and Block Stadium in East Chicago’s Indiana Harbor neighborhood.

The lush green park at 142nd Street and Parrish Avenue is filled with amenities, including winding trails that call to mind a Frederick Law Olmsted design, tennis courts, a pool,

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