A long line of cars stream from the Elgin High School parking lot in September 2021 during the second annual Hispanic Heritage Caravana in Elgin. Brian Hill | Staff Photographer/2021

  Organizer Anthony Ortiz waves a flag from his moon roof in September 2021 during the second annual Hispanic Heritage Caravana in Elgin. Brian Hill | Staff Photographer/2021

Elgin streets will be awash with rippling green, white and red Mexican flags hanging from the windows of hundreds of cars expected to take part next weekend in the third annual Hispanic Heritage Caravana.

The event, which organizers say is aimed at uniting the Hispanic community in Elgin, will stage at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, at Elgin High School. The caravan will head out at 2 p.m. and wend through numerous Elgin neighborhoods on a five-mile route that ends at Lords Park.

Event organizer Anthony Ortiz said the car parade, which used to take place in Elgin in the early 2000s, was revived in 2020 as a safe way of celebrating Mexican Independence Day during the pandemic.

They arranged the initial event with the cooperation of the Elgin Police Department, expecting only 20 to 30 cars to participate.

They ended up with 60. Last year the number swelled to well over 150.

"We're probably going to triple the number again this year," Ortiz said.

The Mexican Independence Day holiday celebrates the moment when Father Hidalgo, a priest and leader, called for Mexico's independence from Spain on Sept. 16, 1810.

Ortiz said that while the event is a celebration, it has other goals as well.

"Our goal is to let the city know that the Hispanic community is about 45 to 50% and that we have a voice," Ortiz said. "It seems like the Hispanic community gets forgotten about, even though we're half the population of Elgin."

Ortiz cited the loss of the city's Cinco de Mayo event and a parade that used to be held downtown.

"We can't count on other people to represent us or embrace our culture," he said. "We have to do it ourselves and let people know that we are here."

The event is organized by Friends of Masons, a nonprofit offshoot of the Elgin Masonic Lodge. Through sponsorships, the group collected more than enough money to cover the roughly $3,800 in required permits and will donate the leftover funds to charitable organizations like Food For Greater Elgin.

Food vendors will be on hand for those who want to stick around after the parade. Plans to host a carnival afterward didn't come to fruition this year, but Ortiz hopes to add one next year.

"I just think we need more awareness of our culture," Ortiz said. "Every year, we plan to make this bigger and better."