COMMUNITY AREA #30: South Lawndale (Little Village)—Dulcelandia

Dulcelandia is more than a candy store—it’s an anchor in the Little Village community. For more than two decades, Dulcelandia has brought authentic parts of Mexican heritage to life in this anchor of Chicago’s latino community. Despite changes in neighborhoods across the city, Little Village provides a foundation for a thriving Mexican community, empowering residents to celebrate their roots and share them openly. At the heart of that are small, local businesses like Dulcelandia, a family owned store that brings parts of Mexican culture to life. As part of our mission to tell stories of innovation and connection in every single one of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods, we went out to the vibrant south-west side enclave to find out how this small store brings parts of Mexican heritage to life right here in Chicago.

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Dulcelandia es más que una tienda de dulces, es un ancla en la comunidad de La Villita. Durante más de dos décadas, Dulcelandia ha dado vida a la autenticidad de la herencia mexicana en la comunidad latina de Chicago. A pesar de los cambios en los vecindarios de toda la ciudad, La Villita provee una base para una próspera comunidad mexicana, animando a sus residentes a celebrar y compartir sus raíces abiertamente. En el corazón de La Villita se encuentran pequeñas empresas locales tales como Dulcelandia, una tienda familiar que da vida a la tradición y la cultura mexicana. Como parte de nuestra misión al contar historias de innovación y conexión en cada uno de los 77 vecindarios de Chicago, salimos al vibrante enclave del suroeste para descubrir cómo esta pequeña tienda reparte un poco de México en Chicago.

The 77 Project is a storytelling and media project presented in partnership with Xfinity with additional support from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help redefine the narrative of our neighborhoods from the inside out. We’ll spend the remainder of 2019 shining a light on organizations and individuals in each of the 77 community areas of Chicago who are making a positive impact. Know someone we should speak with? Recommend them here.