Dispute between Avondale Mexican dance studio, neighbors prompts police investigation
A Mexican folk dance studio in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood is speaking out after they said neighbors threw water at students and complained about the noise.
Both the studio and the neighbors spoke with CBS News Chicago about what happened.
The dance group said they moved into the Avondale location about a year ago, and both they and the neighbors in this confrontation said concerns were shared before.
Ballet Folklórico de Chicago trains and teaches students in Mexican folk dancing and culture.
"It's like a family, I love the classes, I love the instructors," said student Gabriela Azueta.
Around 10 p.m. Friday, Azueta said students were exiting out the back of the studio, where they are often picked up by parents. During which, the neighbors could be seen throwing water, saying, "You're lucky ICE isn't here." Their faces were blurred as they had not been charged in this incident.
"That is so dangerous for kids. We can't tolerate all this behavior," Azueta said.
She said the studio has since contacted police.
"We are raising our voices because we need a safe community for our kids," she said.
They are taking steps to ensure students and families can enter and exit the building safely, as she said the studio has had conflicts with the neighbors in the incident before.
"It's scary to see this every time you come here just to take a class, and it's not fair for the students, especially kids," Azueta said.
Those neighbors spoke with CBS News Chicago, but did not want to appear on camera. They said noise from the studio has been an ongoing issue.
"This is not about last night, it's about the last two years we've been living there. Man, it's been a continuous, they're just noisy, man. They're rude," they said.
They said that since the video was posted, they are concerned for their safety, even getting death threats.
"We're getting death threats, our property is being like threatened to be damaged, and it's not even our property. It's crazy, it's scary," the woman said.
Social media comments have alleged they are racist, which they deny.
"Trust me when I say I am not pro-ICE, OK, I am not a racist, nor is she. We are both Latinos," the man said.
Both said they wished the issue had not come to Friday night's incident.
"I lost my cool. – yeah, we both did. – but there's a reason why I lost it, I've had enough. And speaking reasonable, respectfully just hasn't worked for us," they said.
Ultimately, they hope to come to a resolution with the studio.
It should have been avoided a long time ago, but nobody was listening to us," the woman said.
The neighbors said they want to speak with the studio to work this out. Chicago police said they're continuing to investigate the incident.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the amount of time the dance studio says it has been in its current location.