Leticia Cordova walks between rows of semitractor-trailers after they reached the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a caravan on Dec. 3, 2022, in Des Plaines. More than 100 truck drivers and their families were scheduled to participate in the caravan from the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Xavier Coss, 17, center, and his father, Everardo Coss, decorate the elder Coss' semitrailer before a caravan reaches the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 3, 2022, in Des Plaines. “Doctors couldn’t explain it, no one could, but the cancer was gone,” Vargas said. Since then, she promised that year by year, she would honor the Virgin Mary by organizing the pilgrimage. Her uncle, also a trucker, has joined it every year.He bought his first semitrailer in 1999 after working many years in the construction industry after emigrating from Mexico. “He worked really hard,” Vargas said.
Vargas said the number of Latinos has grown in the industry over the years, not only as drivers but also as business owners. She’s noticed that trend when she communicates with other drivers, and when she dispatches for or does business with other companies.