About Villapalooza!
\ vÄ“-yäh-pä-lü-zä \
noun / verb / adjective / adverb /pronoun
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Villapalooza is a collective of Latine community members who come together to create safe spaces for arts and culture.
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We develop multiple platforms that highlight local talent and young creatives. Villapalooza aims to activate spaces to make them more accessible to the larger community.
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All core leaders have a longstanding relationship with Little Village, as well as a commitment to nurturing a thriving youth arts culture in the neighborhood.​
The Villapalooza Team
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Board Members
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Jesus Contreras Jr
Zully Mijangos
Claudia Rangel
Armando Silva
Marissa Alvarez
Jacqueline Covarrubias
Ana Solano
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Crew Members
Vanessa Sanchez
Salvador “Greedy” Garcia
Alexis “Demo” Ramirez​​​​​
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How it started!
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In the summer of 2011, a group of friends organized a visioning session at a local café in La Villita to explore new ways to bring local, accessible, and culturally relevant arts to Chicago’s Little Village. Twenty-five people attended. Participants decided they wanted to follow the lead of initiatives like Villarte’s Little Village Arts Fest, but instead of transforming community spaces into pop-up art galleries, they would transform them into pop-up music and performance venues. This vision became Villapalooza.
What started as a grassroots idea soon became the first Little Village Music Fest—a free,
all-ages music and arts festival.
Over the years, Villapalooza has partnered with hundreds of local musicians, artists, and vendors, transforming streets, parks, and community spaces into vibrant celebrations of art and culture. From activating 26th Street to hosting Villa en los Jardines pop-ups during the pandemic, the festival’s spirit has always been rooted in community resilience and creativity.
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Villapalooza remains a volunteer-driven effort, grounded in our love for Little Village, and continues to create safe, inspiring, and creative spaces through music and the arts.
Honorary Members
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A growing list of incredible individuals who have served on our board or generously shared their time, creativity, and expertise to make Villapalooza possible:
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Hector Herrera Yepez, Rebecca Martinez, Victor Herrera Yepez, Gustavo Herrera Yepez, Dahriian Espinoza, David Hernandez, Jessica Estrada, Alex Velazquez, Adrian Esquivel, Jennifer Juarez, Analia Rodriguez, Elias "Tat" Corral, Simone Alexander, Jose Sanchez, Edgar Leon, Angel Gonzalez, Hector Lopez, Isaac Guzman, Ray Arroyo, Deborah García, Jerry Reyes, Paulina Camacho, Rafael Morales, Vida Sardena, Vicky Cambray, Mario Hernandez, Rich Contreras, Aurelio Rodriguez, Matthew Silva, Hananne Hanaffi, Emanuel Ramirez, Alexandro Colunga, Silvia Morales