East Los Angeles rolls out its biggest cultural celebration of the year this Sunday, September 13, as the Mexican Independence Day Parade returns for its 80th consecutive run down Cesar E. Chavez Avenue. Billed as the largest and longest-running parade of its kind in the country, this year's procession carries extra weight: it marks a milestone anniversary for the event and one of the final public appearances of Supervisor Hilda Solis before she leaves the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
According to ABC7 Los Angeles, Solis will serve as a co-grand marshal alongside Grammy-nominated regional Mexican singer, songwriter and actor El Dasa. Solis represents the county's First Supervisorial District, which includes East Los Angeles and covers nearly 2 million residents, and her office has funded the parade for the past few years, the station reports. She served as U.S. Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013 before returning to local office, and per ABC7, she will leave the Board of Supervisors after this year.
Solis's exit is not a matter of choice. She is term-limited from seeking reelection to the Board of Supervisors in 2026 and is instead running for California's 38th Congressional District in the November 2026 general election, according to Ballotpedia. Her departure carries particular significance for East Los Angeles, which has no city council or mayor of its own; as an unincorporated community, it is overseen by the five-member county Board of Supervisors, per Wikipedia.
A Grand Marshal With Grammy Nods
El Dasa, the parade's other co-grand marshal, is a Sonora, Mexico native who moved to Los Angeles at age 18, the ABC7 report notes. He has been nominated twice for the Latin Grammy Awards and once for Premio Lo Nuestro, has received an International Emmy Award, and has worked with singer Vicente Fernandez since releasing his first album, per the same account.
The parade itself will travel east on Cesar E. Chavez Avenue from Mednik Avenue to Record Avenue, the station reports, part of a 1.2-mile route that, according to the Los Angeles Times, regularly features allegorical floats representing 15 Mexican states alongside traditional charro equestrian units. This year's theme centers on celebrating tradition, family and culture, the station's report notes. A grand festival will follow on Mednik Avenue between East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and First Street, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Eight Decades in the Making
The parade and festival are organized by the Mexican Patriotic Civic Committee Inc., which has run the event for all 80 years and is itself celebrating its 95th anniversary in 2026, per the ABC7 account. The committee's history also predates the parade's 80th anniversary.
The parade wasn't always an East LA fixture. In its formative years, it ran through Downtown Los Angeles from Placita Olvera to Lincoln Park before officially relocating to East Los Angeles in 1953, the Los Angeles Times reports. Over its eight-decade history, the parade has drawn a roster of celebrity and political figures, including actor John Wayne, Anthony Quinn, Mario Moreno “Cantinflas,” singer José José, and Dodgers pitching icon Fernando Valenzuela, according to the same Times account.
Why East LA Remains the Epicenter
The setting is no accident. East Los Angeles is the unincorporated community where the parade has made its home. The event is part of the region's broader Mexican and Latino cultural landscape.
The celebration also lands just ahead of National Hispanic Heritage Month, observed nationwide from September 15 to October 15 under federal law enacted in 1988. Mexican Independence Day itself commemorates the “Grito de Dolores,” the call to revolt issued on September 16, 1810 by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in the town of Dolores, Mexico.
How to Watch
ABC7 is the exclusive media partner for the parade and will broadcast it live from 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday, per the station's report. Jovana Lara will anchor the live broadcast, with Danny Romero serving as the meteorologist, ABC7 says. The article was written by ABC7 reporter Mariel Moscoso and published by KABC Television.
