As Latino festivals cancel amid ICE fears, Fiesta DC won't back down
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Bolivian dancers at Fiesta DC in 2009, when it was still held in Mt. Pleasant. Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu/twp via Getty Images
D.C.'s largest Latino festival returns this weekend — even as other Hispanic Heritage Month events get canceled amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Why it matters: Fiesta DC's organizers say they're not letting fear disrupt over 50 years of tradition.
The big picture: Escalating immigration enforcement and a climate of fear have forced festivals in Chicago, Philadelphia and elsewhere to cancel or scale back.
- Fiesta DC, billed as the "nation's largest Latino festival," comes at a tense time when noncriminal ICE arrests are surging in the region.
- Since the start of Trump's federal crackdown, over 1,000 immigrants have been detained, per the White House. There have also been reports of people with legal status being detained, stoking fear in communities and causing people to stay home from work.
State of play: Fiesta DC started as a Latino neighborhood celebration in Mt. Pleasant in the 1970s. Now it draws hundreds of thousands of revelers along Independence Avenue.
- Fiesta president Maria Patricia Corrales tells Axios that she met with parade organizers in March about whether to move forward. "They said, 'Let's do it,'" Corrales tells Axios.
- The parade features troupes representing countries and cultures of Central and South America — typically some 7,000 people.
- "We might not have an audience, but they will have the honor to come in, dress up and show their colors," she says.
The intrigue: Corrales says she's treating this year like one recent storm-threatened festival: uncertain, but still worth staging.
- "People are worried about safety — it could be immigration, it could be anything," she said.
- Organizers have contingency plans, including buying food if vendors lose money.
- Another highlight: a massive dance contest offering $2,000–$13,000 in prizes.
Zoom out: While Fiesta DC and a large Manassas festival continue this weekend, others in the area folded:
- Maryland's huge Salvadoran festival canceled its 20th anniversary over ICE fears.
- Prince George's County and Harrisonburg festivals were nixed for similar reasons.
Meanwhile, Montgomery County leaders have just announced the cancellation of their Hispanic Heritage Festival due to "intense fear." Instead, they're offering Wheaton elementary schools $2,000 grants for cultural programming.
- The move sparked backlash from some. MoCo Council Cember Natali Fani-González told WTOP: "Hiding and canceling things is not the way to go."
The bottom line: Corrales agrees. "Fear is not part of my menu. When you have fear, all your hopes, traditions, roots — everything is gone because you cannot survive in fear."
If you go: Fiesta DC is a free festival happening Saturday and Sunday on Pennsylvania Avenue between Third and Seventh streets Northwest.
- Entrance to the dance and costume competitions remains open, including day-of registration.