One of the largest Latin music festivals in the United States is returning to Grant Park in the South Loop this weekend. The Sueños Music Festival is back for its fourth iteration, celebrating the vibrant culture of Latin artists and influence of reggaeton, Latin rap and música urbana.
Founded in 2022 by Aaron Ampudia and Chris Den Ujil, who ran and produced Baja Beach Fest in Mexico, the festival has since grown to be one of the biggest events in Chicago’s summer festival lineup.
The two-day festival will be held from Saturday, May 24, through Sunday, May 25, in Grant Park next to Columbia’s campus. Tens of thousands of fans expect a colorful celebration of Latin rhymes, dance and community this Memorial Day weekend.
“It means a lot that Chicago gets to host Sueños because a lot of Latinos live here and just feels like the right place to do it,” said Arturo Jr. Herrera, a resident of Hermosa, one of Chicago’s northwest neighborhoods, who is attending this year’s festival. “I love it when there’s Latino type of events with music, food, and get to try a lot of different stuff and listen to different music too.”
Columbia’s Office of Campus Safety and Security issued a traffic advisory earlier this week warning of street closures, crowds and increased traffic near campus.
All campus buildings are closed on Monday, May 26.
This year’s festival comes even as Chicago’s Michelada Fest, set to take place July 19 to 20, has already been cancelled due to the uncertainty around the current political climate.
Last year, Sueños sold out in five days in January. Roughly 130,000 people attended. This year, the festival reported that some passes are still available, days before the festival is set to start.
Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira will headline on Saturday. It is her first time performing at the festival. Accompanying that night with a special performance is Mexican rapper Peso Pluma, who has been riding the coattails of success through the stratosphere. Also featured that night are artists such as Arcangel, El Alfa and Oscar Maydon.
Sunday’s lineup features even more Latino royalty, this time hailing from Puerto Rico. The King of reggaeton himself, Don Omar, after winning his battle with cancer last year, will be alongside Grupo Frontera for a special performance for the night. The lineup also includes Wisin, Jhayco and Tito Double P.
This year’s lineup will showcase a large variety of Latin talent, blending established artists with rising voices in Latino pop, rap and reggaeton. The diversity of performers reflects the large range of Latin music today. Artists are coming from Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Nicaragua.
Kevin Mendoza, a sophomore music major, said festivals such as Sueños help inspire the next generation of Latino artists.
“As someone who makes Latin music, it motivates me that we are not underdogs and hopefully one day I can perform in one of those Latin festivals, including Sueños,” Mendoza said. “It feels good that we are getting the representation that we needed and wanted for a very long time.”
Festival goers can also expect a variety of curated Latin-American cuisine from local vendors, offering drinks like micheladas and aguas frescas, alongside dishes representing a range of regional culinary traditions.
Jaime di Paulo, CEO and president of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, told the Chronicle that the Sueños Music Festival has been “an economic powerhouse” for the greater Chicago area.
He said 45% of the festival attendees travel from outside of the Chicago area, and 80% stay in local hotels and short-term home stays, which drives revenue to small businesses and hospitality workers across the city.
Additionally, 96% of the food vendors are minority- and women-owned businesses, di Paulo said.
“Chicago is the place for major music events–and Sueños is a perfect example of that,” he said. “Not only do we have a Pope, we have Sueños!” he said.
Copy edited by Vanessa Orozco
