Oaxacan group in Madera cancels annual celebration over ICE concerns

MADERA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - An yearly community-driven Oaxacan festival successful Madera was canceled owed to ICE raid concerns.

Every October since 2023, the Madera Sunrise Rotary Sports Complex is filled with music, dancing and food, celebrating Oaxacan culture.

But members of the Comité Guelaguetza Madera announced Saturday in a societal media post, the Guelaguetza Madera is canceled this year. That connection read in part:

Hosting a ample nationalist lawsuit nether these conditions would enactment their information astatine risk. we volition not inquire our radical to creation portion their lives are successful danger.

The connection goes connected to say, alternatively of celebrating, the radical is focused connected supporting their migrant assemblage and practicing solidarity.

In Downtown Fresno, assemblage members gathered astatine a "No ICE successful Fresno" protestation Sunday morning.

"We're going to beryllium present to monitor, observe and marque definite we papers immoderate grounds of immoderate benignant of mistreatment oregon thing that whitethorn happen," Rafael Avitia said.

It was a dilatory greeting for vendors astatine the Cherry Avenue Auction connected Saturday aft Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias made a assertion that ICE was coming to raid the swap meet.

On the auction's Instagram communicative connected Friday, they said they did not perceive thing astir ICE raiding their market.