{"id":488187,"date":"2026-01-02T23:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T23:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/488187\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T23:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T23:54:13","slug":"south-philadelphias-el-carnaval-de-puebla-cancelled-for-second-straight-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/488187\/","title":{"rendered":"South Philadelphia\u2019s El Carnaval de Puebla cancelled for second straight year"},"content":{"rendered":"

El Carnaval de Puebla, the annual celebration of Mexican culture in South Philadelphia, has been cancelled for a second straight year<\/a> over concerns that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could use the event as an opportunity to detain participants who are undocumented.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people are being cautious \u2026 we don\u2019t want to have one incident where people are being detained,\u201d event committee member Olga Renteria said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe atmosphere is tense,\u201d Edgar Ramirez, the founder of Philatinos Radio and a coordinator for the Carnaval, said through a translator. \u201cIf we do it, people will come, but I think it\u2019s also our responsibility not to expose them if it\u2019s not necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, it doesn\u2019t make financial sense for the sponsoring businesses to put on the festival if many fewer people end up attending, he said.<\/p>\n

The April parade on Washington Avenue and festival in South Philly celebrates Mexico\u2019s 1862 victory over French occupiers at the Battle of Puebla. It has been Philadelphia\u2019s largest Cinco de Mayo celebration and one of the largest carnavals on the east coast, attracting up to 15,000 people from around the country in past years.<\/p>\n

ICE carried out multiple raids around the city<\/a> and the region<\/a> last year, prompting protests<\/a> and new policies in some jurisdictions<\/a> to reduce cooperation with the agency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While necessary, the continuing suspension of the event will come as a blow to Mexican immigrants in the area who have been attending the 20-year-old festival and others like it all their lives, Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Puebla carnival is a tradition that the participants have had since childhood. It\u2019s something they long for. So they\u2019re losing an important space to be happy, at least for one day,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to have a free, healthy, and proud space. Hopefully, the situation will improve in the future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Renteria said that the group is planning smaller events this year to support the local businesses that usually benefit from the celebrations. That could include Cinco de Mayo events put on by the Mexican-American community in South Philadelphia\u2019s 9th Street Market area, Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

Danza Tonantzin, a Mexican folk dance group that participates in the carnaval, was a part of this year\u2019s Mummers parade celebrations on New Year\u2019s Day<\/a>, joining Fancy group Golden Sunrise.<\/p>\n

\"\"Members of the Danza Tonantzin group dance along the parade route during the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Erin Blewett)<\/p>\n

Pamela Plata, the director of the dance group, said its involvement in the other events helps to show Philadelphia\u2019s Mexican community that they can still be proud of their heritage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want my children to grow up in fear and see me that I\u2019m in fear or my children to, you know, to be afraid,\u201d Plata said through an interpreter. \u201cI\u2019m getting a message to my children that they have the right to be here. They have the right to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Danza Tonantzin director Pamela Plata (left) poses for a photo during the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Erin Blewett)<\/p>\n

Renteria said that the frigid weather on New Year\u2019s Day didn\u2019t deter the young dancers participating for the group, a sign of how many are responding to the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole administration is bringing something else to our younger generation. They now feel more proud,\u201d Renteria said. \u201cThey feel like, \u2018Why are they doing this to us, to my parents?\u2019 So they have the courage to go out there and be strong, and this is something very, very powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danza Tonantzin will be participating in the Three Kings Day celebrations at the Kimmel Center on January 7<\/a>.
El Carnival de Puebla will also be highlighted in the Mummers Museum\u2019s \u201cFestival of Many Colors\u201d event series<\/a>, which is scheduled to run from mid-February till May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"El Carnaval de Puebla, the annual celebration of Mexican culture in South Philadelphia, has been cancelled for a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":488188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,220337,220338,409,10672,1448,2830,1311,11590,277,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-488187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-danza-tonantzin","10":"tag-el-carnaval-de-puebla","11":"tag-immigration","12":"tag-mexican-folk-art","13":"tag-pa","14":"tag-pennsylvania","15":"tag-philadelphia","16":"tag-south-philadelphia","17":"tag-trump","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115828206172666678","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}