FLOTUS Gives 'Shout-Out' to Chicago Mexican Neighborhoods
By Prescott Carlson in News on Apr 15, 2010 8:20PM
First lady Michelle Obama gave praise to Chicago's Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods during her recent trip to Mexico, calling them her "favorite" Mexican neighborhoods.
Lynn Sweet of the Sun-Times was one of six print journalists who accompanied the FLOTUS on her trip south of the border, where she talked about Chicago's huge Mexican population and growing up on the South Side. When asked what she liked about Pilsen/Little Village, Mrs. Obama was quoted as saying, "Well, Pilsen, Little Village, is one of the favorites because that's where you feel like you're in a different neighborhood." She also added that while those neighborhoods are still unlike anything in Mexico City:
"It is very different from being here in Mexico City because this is where... the full culture of Mexico is on display... The architecture in this city is bold, it's modern, it's colorful in ways that can't be expressed in just a neighborhood, you know, one of, you know, 72 community areas in Chicago."
Mrs. Obama made the remarks after delivering an inspirational speech to a group of college and high school students at the Universidad Iberoamericana. She ended her speech with a rousing, "Si, se puede," the motto of civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, and the English translation -- yes, we can -- was co-opted by President Obama's 2008 campaign. Unfortunately, according to Sweet, the reference seemed to sail over the audience's head.
When asked about the elevated drug violence in Mexico, Sweet said Mrs. Obama seemed to want to change topics, saying, "Drug violence exists on the South Side of Chicago, in L.A., you name any urban and rural environment." The Mexican drug cartels are currently responsible for a majority of the illegal drugs trafficked in the United States.
The university appearance was part of a three day trip to Mexico City. Mrs. Obama is departing from Mexico this afternoon and her next stop is San Diego, California, to further promote her campaign against childhood obesity.