<p>Ricardo Jiménez, director of public health initiatives for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, has every reason to be quiet.</p><p>His activism for Puerto Rican independence landed him a 90-year sentence on allegations of seditious conspiracy. He was granted clemency in 1999 by President Bill Clinton, and has helped run the Puerto Rican Cultural Center’s Vida/SIDA program as an <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/03/31/hiv-aids-infections-up-in-chicago-after-years-of-decline-as-cases-rise-among-latinos" target="_blank" ><u>HIV/AIDS counselor</u></a> for the last 15 years.</p><p>Sunday, he and others from the Puerto Rican Cultural Center took the lead at the 55th annual Chicago Pride Parade.</p><p>He said everything he’s been through has only made him louder for those who can’t.</p><p>“I’m from the age where everything was hidden, so now I take pride in my gayness and my Puerto Rican-ness,” Jiménez, 70, said. “Some of us still can’t come out completely.”</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-120000" name="image-120000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/feca045/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5598x3142+0+296/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F9f%2F544184fb4cbb8271bbdeecec6db0%2Fchicagoprideparade-260629-018.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7a52d46/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5598x3142+0+296/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F9f%2F544184fb4cbb8271bbdeecec6db0%2Fchicagoprideparade-260629-018.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0074705/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5598x3142+0+296/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F9f%2F544184fb4cbb8271bbdeecec6db0%2Fchicagoprideparade-260629-018.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="PRCC Director or Public Health Initiatives Ricardo Jiménez leads the Puerto Rican Cultural Center troupe during the 55th Annual Chicago Pride Parade in Lincoln Park on the North Side, Sunday, June 28, 2026." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0074705/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5598x3142+0+296/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F9f%2F544184fb4cbb8271bbdeecec6db0%2Fchicagoprideparade-260629-018.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9a12912/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5598x3142+0+296/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F9f%2F544184fb4cbb8271bbdeecec6db0%2Fchicagoprideparade-260629-018.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0074705/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5598x3142+0+296/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F9f%2F544184fb4cbb8271bbdeecec6db0%2Fchicagoprideparade-260629-018.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Ricardo Jiménez, director of public health initiatives for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, leads the Puerto Rican Cultural Center troupe during the 55th Annual Chicago Pride Parade on Sunday.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>The parade kicked off at 11 a.m.