- Some in Utah's Latino community are jittery about attending cultural festivals due to worries about action by immigration authorities.
- Attendance has been down at some activities, and a Chilean cultural group has cancelled an event set for September.
- Nonetheless, others stress the importance of holding the events and not giving into fear.
OREM — One of the by-products of the ongoing immigration crackdown has been a measure of wariness among some in Utah's Latino community in attending the many festivals focused on the countries and culture of the region.
Organizers of some of the events this summer report a dip in attendance amid increased efforts by the administration of President Donald Trump to detain and deport immigrants in the country illegally. Some in the Latino immigrant community worry that going to public events potentially puts them at higher risk of falling onto the radar of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities.
"Some in the public are concerned. There are people who are afraid," said Hernando Peralta of Utah Latino Arts, which organizes two festivals each year focused on the Peruvian community and another geared to the broader Latino community.
The Chilean Association of Utah, in fact, announced last week that it would cancel planned Chilean independence day celebrations in September in light of the "migratory climate." The event was to have been held on Sept. 6 in Springville.
"We've held this great event for more than 20 uninterrupted years, but we now see the need of putting your security first over anything else. This message saddens us, but for the well-being of our community, we think it's responsible and appropriate in these moments of so much upheaval," reads the announcement, posted on social media.
Likewise, another smaller Latino cultural organization announced it would hold off on plans for a celebration in Orem in part due to jitters about the immigration crackdown. Among other things, the group cited the July 16 Utah County Commission decision to enter into a cooperative agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in addressing illegal immigration.
While sympathetic to such worries, Peralta and Patricia Quiñonez of Utahzolanos, who helped organize a joint Venezuelan and Latino festival held July 12 in Salt Lake City, caution against halting community events altogether.
Read more:
Voces de Utah
Looking for more news from Utah's Latino community? Visit our Voces de Utah section for more stories, events and features."We can't live in fear of everything," said Peralta. His organization helped host a Peruvian Festival on July 19 in Orem and is holding another on Saturday, July 26, at the Gateway in Salt Lake City. It coordinated with Utahzolanos in organizing the July 12 event at the Gateway.
Quiñonez reports a dip in would-be sponsors for the cultural events, making it more difficult to finance them. Nevertheless, she too thinks it's important to keep them going. Utahzolanos is a digital media and news outlet geared to Utah's Venezuelan community.
"I think it'd be worse not to do it. The message we'd be sending is that we definitely have to stay hidden," she said.
Utah's diverse Latino community typically holds festivals and events throughout the year. September and October are particularly busy months with Hispanic Heritage Month, which goes from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, and celebrations to mark the independence of Mexico, Chile, El Salvador and several other Central American countries. Many communities also typically host activities to mark Day of the Dead, rooted in Mexico and typically celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2 to honor loved ones who have died.
"Whatever Latino event, attendance will be lower," Quiñonez suspects, looking forward to the fall activity calendar.
Despite the worries of some, Quiñonez isn't aware of any type of immigration enforcement action at any of the many Utah cultural events that have been held of late. Similarly, she knows operators of nightspots that cater to the Latino community and isn't hearing reports from any of them of enforcement action. Indeed, she said Salt Lake police were on hand at the July 12 Latino festival at the Gateway, helping keep order and seemingly enjoying the event.
"They liked it. We saw them eating, drinking soda. ... Everything was calm," Quiñonez said.
