Shocking Incident in Belmont Gardens: Racial Tensions Flare During Mexican Folkloric Dance Event

CHICAGO – A brief seven-second video has sparked significant attention and debate over the past few days.

In the spotlight are a dance studio in Belmont Gardens, along with its students and their families, who feel targeted. Opposite them stands a Chicago couple, who have acknowledged their missteps but now feel endangered by the criticism they are facing.

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The incident occurred shortly after 10 p.m. on Friday. A woman was recorded angrily shouting, “You’re lucky ICE isn’t here,” at a group below. Following her outburst, a man appeared and threw a glass containing an unidentified liquid from a landing, splashing it onto a group of parents and children departing a Mexican folkloric dance class near Belmont and Pulaski.

“Everyone was just saying their goodbyes. Some children were leaving with their parents, and suddenly the neighbor appeared, yelling and cursing at us, telling us to be quiet,” recounted dance student Violeta Ochoa Salabert.

Since its online release, the video has rapidly gained traction, with many condemning the couple’s actions as both an assault and racially motivated. ABC7 reached out to the couple for their perspective on the unfolding controversy.

“That video looks awful. We look like monsters,” the man said.

They are trying to put some context into what it was like from their perspective.

“It was almost like a beer garden back there, out of nowhere. Forty to 50 people that late at night, I lost it. You woke up a sleeping bear, and it’s not one incident. It’s ongoing, seven nights a week,” the man said.

The couple, both of whom are Latino, said they were just trying to sleep and expressed deep regret over their reactions and their words.

“I was insensitive when I said that. I shouldn’t have said that,” the woman said. “It was more like, I’m surprised ICE hasn’t been here already, because of how loud they are. This is what ICE looks for.”

The dance studio’s owner told ABC7 over the phone that this incident was not the first, and she had called the police before. Students in class on Sunday said they have witnessed other outbursts as well.

“Same thing, he comes out and starts yelling and swearing at them. These are kids under the age of 13, 14,” said Ochoa Salabert.

“Everybody is quickly in and out, in and out, and it’s very disappointing,” said parent Darcy Moreno.

Dance students and their families are now being asked to come and go out of the front, rather than through the alley, for safety’s sake.

Police were at the studio on Sunday, taking statements. The dance studio’s owner, meanwhile, said she is going to court on Monday to take out an order of protection against the neighbors. The couple told ABC7 they just want an opportunity to sit down and hash this out together.