Join us at ¡WEPA! Mercado del Pueblo in Humboldt Park for a FREE complete Puerto Rican cultural immersive event hosted by the Taste of Chicago in collaboration with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, on July 9, 2021, from 4:00pm-8:00pm.
The event will start with a cooking demonstration by Roberto Pérez, a local Puerto Rican chef, musician, and co-founder of Urban Pilón, an educational culinary initiative that merges cooking and storytelling to honour and preserve cooking traditions from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
The event will continue with the highlight of the night, a reading by Marisel Vera, a proud Boricua from Humboldt Park and author of "The Taste of Sugar,” a novel recognized as one of 12 best Latinx books of 2020 by NBC News and named Chicago Reader's “Best New Novel by a Chicagoan.” Set in Puerto Rico on the eve of the Spanish-American War, “The Taste of Sugar” follows a coffee growing family through the disastrous upheaval caused by the historic events of the 1898 U.S. Invasion and the 1899 San Ciriaco Hurricane. After the book reading State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas will host a conversation about the novel with Marisel Vera. Signed copies of the novel will be available for purchase.
We will close out the night with a performance by Ivelisse “Bombera de Corazón” Díaz and “Bomba Con Buya” a local Puerto Rican music and dance group. The participants of La Escuelita Bombera De Corazon will delight us with a demonstration of Bomba.
The novel “The Taste of Sugar” will be available for $17.00 at the Borincanias shop inside ¡WEPA! Mercado Del Pueblo.
Date: Friday, July 9, 2021
Time: 4 pm - 8 pm CST
4:00-5:00 pm: Puerto Rican food and coffee demo, and pastries available
5:00-5:30 pm: Intermission and walkthrough ¡WEPA! Mercado del Pueblo
5:30-6:30 pm: Taste of Sugar reading + Q&A
6:30-7:00 pm: Book signing with Marisel Vera
7:00-8:00 pm: Music performance
Location:
¡WEPA! Mercado del Pueblo: 2559 W. Division St
Taste of Chicago To-Go (July 7–11) returns this summer with free music, dance and food events across the city — featuring nearly 40 participating eateries and promoting Chicago’s amazing restaurant industry; plus “Community Eats” community meals serving local nonprofit organizations. Explore the online Dining Guide and plan your Taste today: TasteofChicago.us