ESDC and Their Incredible Work in the Pilsen Neighborhood
Each neighborhood in Chicago has its own little legacy to tell in different ways, but there is one West Side community with much to say: Pilsen. This culturally rich neighborhood is uplifted by many activists and organizations such as the Economic Strategies Development Corporation (ESDC), an organization focused on uplifting small businesses and start ups in the Pilsen area and giving them the necessary tools they need to flourish.
The ESDC's vision is to illustrate the unique culture that the Pilsen community holds, and uplift it through small industries and businesses (usually not supported by the city of Chicago). It was the ESDC’s heavy involvement in the community that made me want to find out more about the organization. I got the chance to virtually sit down with the multi-faceted Jamie Garza, artist and ESDC project and event manager. Even through a screen (depending on how old your laptop is), it’s still easy to make a personal connection through conversation, and my conversation with Garza in May of this year was no exception.
May 3rd 2021
Hennig: I heard you have a busy week ahead of you, don’t you guys have a block party coming up (for Cinco De Mayo)?
Garza: (laughs) I don’t know if you’d call it a block party. We’re involved in a lot of different things, and we help a lot of organizations in the neighborhood market their events. There's few of us in the office so we’re all working with different orgs…
Jaime knew where this conversation was leading from me, and began to inform me on the non-profit’s history in Pilsen and the reasoning for the constant involvement.
G: ...the organization has been around for 44 years. And because of the need for certain resources in the neighborhood of Pilsen, when it was about 95% to 98% Mexican or Mexican descent. So a lot of organizations began to pop up in that time because there were many needs, they even fought to start a high school (Benito Juarez Community Academy). There was a movement that happened in the 70’s and 80’s where orgs came together to spend time in the community, and at the time ESDC, then called 18th Street Development corporation, focused on affordable housing. There were also workshops to develop skills and train for people to work in construction and teach people how to do manual labor things to EVEN receive jobs, to grow financially.
He begins to transition into his individual involvement at the ESDC, what it means for him, and why he does it.
G: When I came in about eight years ago (during the transition of 18th Street Development Cooperation becoming ESDC), the organization began to focus on economic development on the strip, 18th St. and Cermak, which are the biggest two avenues in the neighborhood. I began to help shape the organization to be what it is now… I focus on helping a lot of artists, musicians, painters, photographers, these are entrepreneurs. They are small businesses! “How to support the art, how to support the artists”, since Pilsen is known for the arts, culinary arts and musicians, that’s what I took on to incorporate it in our mission.
We’ve accomplished a lot of goals in the last eight years (since his arrival) in terms of making sure the arts are considered small business owners.
H: Why do you think that artists of color aren't seen as small businesses sometimes (whether inside or outside of the community)?
G: I think it’s a culture, I think artists, I don’t think people outside don’t consider them businesses, but I think artists don’t consider themselves small businesses. We’ve always, and I consider myself an artist, we don’t really consider what we do as a job, but as a reflection of a culture, of a people, of a neighborhood we live within. When you say, “I’m a musician”, you usually don’t say, “I’m a business owner, and my business is selling music”. I would say my business is maybe I’m a musician, so we’re trying to steer artists to think that their art is music and their sales are producing it to the public. The more you see it as a business, the more you’ll be able to structure certain things that are proven to work in the art you’re creating for people (marketing, gigs, etc). So instead of it just being a “hobby”, how can this very important personal work that people are doing be compensated? Also it heavily connects to the culture of where they live, we’ve been trying to shift that thought in the community, and how their art can be an economic benefit to the area.
H: Why do you think it’s so important for the org to focus on arts, and the development of culture in the community, specifically Pilsen?
G: Well, one of the things at ESDC is that is just in our mission. That’s what we do, some organizations focus on housing, or seniors, but we focus on the economic development of the culture of our neighborhood. We know that by creating some type of unity, it becomes easier to demand the city for services that aren’t offered in other neighborhoods with organizations. We’ve always thought that organizations and unity can get more for our community, when we have that, people coming together for the same cause, it becomes a more powerful ask when you come to the city and ask certain things. We feel we deserve it because it’s coming from a unified voice. We know that there are a lot of neighborhoods in Chicago that are disenfranchised and disinvested, a lot of money is going into art programs, and roads and parks, but not where it’s needed most. These are problems that should be addressed. The disinvestment of the city to our neighborhood definitely affects the economic development of our neighborhoods. That’s how we feel about it, we all benefit from this.
At the time this interview was conducted, the ESDC were preparing for a Cinco De Mayo fest that they do every year. Jaime told me since they didn’t get to have it in person last year, the lift of COVID restrictions makes things a lot better when it comes to the display of the celebration. For the fest, ESDC makes sure to promote food businesses in the area and give local latinx artists a chance to shine through the very colorful holiday.
Jaime was very easy to talk to, and he genuinely loves what he does and loves helping out in his community. Jaime is also an artist who is genuine about his craft, and he makes sure other artists have the chance to showcase their talents, especially economically.
G: Yeah, I love talking about this, I love talking about the work that we do! I’m very proud of it, it’s always cool to let other people know!
So glad I got to speak to Jaime and the work at ESDC.
Though it was several months ago, I still think the work ESDC does is important and poignant for the growth of the Pilsen neighborhood. I feel people should know about events and opportunities that are given to the community.
You can find out more about the ESDC, their mission, and events they’re holding here.
https://esdcchicago.org/leadership-staff
And if you would like to know about Jaime Garza’s art, here are some of his links.