Organizers of Festival Chapín de Los Angeles have postponed the beloved annual Guatemalan cultural event due to growing concern over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities in the area.
Hosted by Chapín Summer Festival Inc., the two-day festival was originally scheduled for Aug. 30 and 31 but will move its activities to Oct. 11 and 12. The location of the event, Lafayette Park in the Westlake area of Los Angeles, will be the same.
Now in its ninth year, the festival that stretches across eight blocks is a treasured community event for those of Guatemalan heritage and more in the Los Angeles area. There are more than 454,000 Guatemalans living in California.
“This decision aims to ensure the safety and well-being of all sponsors, collaborators, staff, and attendees,” the organizers said in a press release on Tuesday. “Your safety and the integrity of our event remain our top priorities.”
Festival Chapín de Los Angeles is not the only event experiencing hiccups this summer.
The Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles recently resumed its summer concert series after canceling its first performance of the season on June 21 due to ICE raids. Neighborhood Fourth of July events like the Bell Gardens and East LA Rockin’ 4th of July celebration were canceled this year citing ICE concerns. Gloria Molina Grand Park’s Summer Block Party, which was originally set for July 4, was also postponed to later this summer for similar reasons.
Since early June, aggressive ICE sweeps have stirred fear in local immigrant communities. According to the Department of Homeland Security, close to 2,800 people have been arrested in L.A., with most raids conducted by heavily armed and masked agents. While the community has responded with protests, fear of these mass immigration sweeps have also led to shifts in cultural programming, but there could be some temporary relief underway.
Last Friday, a federal judge issued an injunction that would restrict immigration enforcement tactics in Southern California. However, the Trump administration, which has vowed to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” fired back on Monday with an appeal to resume its mass deportation efforts across the region.
For Walter Rosales, president of Chapín Summer Festival, it has been difficult to witness the terror inflicted on the Latino community. He’s been keeping up with news about the ongoing immigration raids and wanted to ensure that attendees, as well as organizers and participating vendors, felt safe to attend.
“[I feel] sad because we’ve seen how they’ve violated the rights of each person,” said Rosales. “It hasn’t been done through the legal channels or in a correct manner. It’s rather abusive.”
For Rosales, Festival Chapín de Los Angeles is an opportunity for Guatemalan residents to nostalgically travel back to their roots through gastronomy, culture and art.
According to the official website, the yearly event typically reels in an estimated 80,000 people across the two days. “There’s people that need their community, no?” he said.
This year’s theme centers on the Guatemalan highlands of Chichicastenango, where the sacred Mayan manuscript known as the Popol Vuh was found; the text details the Mayan creation story. The festival will also celebrate Tecun Uman, a Kʼiche leader and Guatemala’s official national hero who resisted Spanish colonization — likely a symbol for the plight immigrants face today.
“Hopefully by October, things would have calmed down,” said Rosales.
The festival organizers said they will monitor the situation and keep the public informed on any developments or changes to the festival.
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