Newly announced 2026 Chicago Poet Laureate Mayda Del Valle performed her recent work at the Chicago Cultural Center celebrating Chicago while also critiquing its political history Wednesday.
At a celebration held by the The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Chicago Public Library and the Poetry Foundation, the Chicago native paid homage to the city and condemned its legacy of political corruption.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, introduced Del Valle, criticizing the federal executive branch and emphasizing unity.
“We are truly blessed to have a poet laureate who has shown us the importance of coming together, fighting back and being unapologetic about who she is and using words to transform and to heal,” he said.
Del Valle followed Johnson’s remarks with recitations of her latest poems about her father and Chicago. Her commentary on political corruption in Chicago elicited gasps and cheers from the audience.
The city was ranked America’s most corrupt using data from 1978 to 2021, according to a 2023 report from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Chicago had 1,824 federal public corruption convictions from 1978 to 2021.
“Streets crooked as your politicians,” Del Valle recited. “New York invented games but you invented infamy, Chicago.”
Although Del Valle was unafraid to explore the less attractive aspects of Chicago in her work, she also discussed the contributions the city has made to the country and her life.
She referred to the railroads that strengthened America’s economy and how her community carried its “pain and laughter and a song” when it migrated to the city.
“Chicago, city of my birth, city of my childhood, city of my broken heart, city of my lost children and loved city of all — I love you, have never questioned,” Valle recited. “While my heart lives — worse, open and split — between two places, it’s always given me the music to know.”
Being named Chicago Poet Laureate is only one of Del Valle’s many accomplishments.
In 2001, Del Valle won the National Poetry Slam, becoming the youngest and first Latine poet to win. She also performed at the White House in 2009 after being invited by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Hector Gonzalez, an attendee who said he has known her for more than 20 years, said he appreciated Del Valle’s reflection on Chicago’s history.
“The way we just look at Chicago as an entity, as being the heart of the city, we are the veins to the United States. We are the veins to the world,” Gonzalez said. “I love that she was bringing that with a lot of historical facts and even honoring some of our ancestors through her journey.”
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