Dr. Simi made a surprise appearance at Sueños Music Festival in Chicago on Saturday, joining Gov. J.B. Pritzker at a stop on his re-election campaign for the first time at the event in Grant Park. The governor hyped up the crowd for Venezuelan artist Danny Oce
For the first time, Gov. J.B. Pritzker stepped into Sueños Music Festival in Grant Park—then he walked out to the kind of chaos that doesn’t usually belong to politics.
Saturday night, thousands of Sueños fans erupted as Pritzker and Dr. Simi appeared together at the fest. The governor opened with a familiar greeting: “¡Hola, mi gente!” Dr. Simi, dressed in a tux, danced energetically near him.
The unlikely duo was there to address festival attendees as a stop on Pritzker’s re-election campaign. Minutes later, Pritzker turned the crowd toward the next big moment: Venezuelan artist Danny Ocean, who came on stage soon after.
“We live in the greatest city in the world: The city of Chicago,” Pritzker said to more applause. He also spoke directly to the pressure he said the Latino community has been facing. “I’m so proud of the people in Chicago because I know the Latino community has been under a lot of stress over the last year. But the people of Chicago have stood up for one another. We protect one another.”.
The connection on stage was more than an entertaining pairing. Dr. Simi is the iconic mascot for Farmacias Similares. a budget-friendly chain of pharmacies and low-cost clinics operating throughout Mexico. Colombia and Chile. Ocean. a producer and singer-songwriter from Venezuela. has used music to address displacement and the lack of healthcare in Latin America—an issue that Pritzker has repeatedly put at the center of his campaign.
A campaign spokesperson described the appearance as more than a cameo. “This appearance is a nod to everything Dr. Simi represents for the Latino community — most of all, the fight for affordable healthcare,” the spokesperson said in a press release.
Sueños organizers said Tuesday that Dr. Simi would be added as the latest name on the Sunday lineup. The character is slated to DJ at the La Plaza stage at 7 p.m.
For people who can’t make the festival, Dr. Simi is also set to DJ on Memorial Day at a Sueños takeover event at Recess, 838 W. Kinzie St. in the West Loop. The daytime party will feature performances from LEMANZ and Maestro Shifu. Attendance is free with an RSVP, and fans can also guarantee entry by purchasing a $40 ticket.
Dr. Simi’s presence in Chicago isn’t brand-new. He first appeared in the city on May 16 with a SimiFiesta event at the CVS Pharmacy in Ukrainian Village. Since then, Dr. Simi has shown up as a DJ at several restaurants and clubs, including Momento Cantina in the Loop.
As the mascot of Farmacias Similares, Dr. Simi’s image—paintings and posters—regularly appears at protests and in political cartoons across Mexico, where the brand operates thousands of budget pharmacies. Its slogan is “Lo mismo pero más barato” (The same for less).
In the U.S., the brand has been expanding into select locations. Dr. Simi-branded plushies sold out at two CVS locations in Chicago. They’re stocked at CVS stores in two Latino-heavy suburbs, Elgin and Waukegan.
Dr. Simi J.B. Pritzker Sueños Music Festival Grant Park Danny Ocean Farmacias Similares affordable healthcare Chicago politics Latino community