cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/6076387
Chicago residents have been on edge at the possibility of President Donald Trump deploying federal immigration agents and the National Guard in Chicago this week. Several Mexican-American groups have now canceled or postponed Mexican Independence Day celebrations in response.
Mexican Independence Day falls on Tuesday, Sept. 16 and marks the day Mexico gained freedom from the Spanish Empire in 1810. In Chicago, the El Grito festival that was planned for Sept. 13 and 14 in Grant Park was postponed. The festival that pays homage to “The Cry of Independence” or “El Grito” drew 24,000 attendees last year. Organizers are in the process of refunding tickets, according to the festival’s website.
In Waukegan, a suburb around 45 miles north of Chicago, Fiestas Patrias, an independence day parade that was planned for next Sunday, Sept. 14 has been postponed as of Wednesday. Organizer Margaret Carrasco said she may cancel “Day of the Dead” celebrations at the start of November as well and postpone all festivities to December.
Carrasco said that she decided to cancel the parade because her neighbors and other Waukegan residents had heard about federal immigration agents staying at hotels near the Great Lakes Naval base in the last few weeks.
“They’ve been preparing for quite some time,” Carrasco said of the immigration agents. “We knew early on that this would be a massive attack on the community.”
Damn. What a shame.
