COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – After cancelling the annual walk in September, Our Lady of Guadalupe pilgrimage resumes Friday at churches across the Valley, but with some changes.
The 30-mile walk that took over 20,000 parishioners from the west to east end of the Valley last year, was postponed due to immigration enforcement fears.
Participants will now walk the miles in church parking lots across the Valley, and hold celebrations on-site.
At Saint Luis Catholic Church in Cathedral City, the festivities began at 3 a.m. Thursday featuring music, dance performances, prayer and food vendors.
“The Holy Spirit is still working in the people and they’re saying, ‘hey let’s do the play, let’s do the dances.’ So, in a way I think the main point is to continue to give thanks to God and to praise him. Maybe not with the walking, but now we pray with him and many other things too,” Father Jose Orozco said.
Concepcion Cruz, a parishioner and lead dancer, said members of her community have been impacted by immigration enforcement fears.
“The fear is there, people are afraid to go out, people don’t go to the store but today we are here united, people have been coming in and out to support the event yesterday and today. So we had a good reaction towards the event.
It’s shown fear won’t sent their cultural traditions into hiding, but many still expressed a hope that the pilgrimage would come back next year.
“Our community is so big, 64% of the Valley is Hispanic. So this tradition, all the churches they need to keep it going,” Rafael Oscal said.
Several churches across the Valley are planning festivities into Friday evening.
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