One collaborator, Lupe Gallegos-Diaz, co-chair of Latinos Unidos de Berkeley, a Latino advocacy group in Berkeley, echoed the sentiment, describing the broader anxiety in the community. “It was very sad and unfortunate, because people had been working for some time to get this ready as an annual event,” she said, “But with the new presidency, this whole fear and anxiety that they have caused against immigrants and the undocumented community, and even our LGBT community, has been very real.”
While organizers dealt with the difficult decision to cancel, students at BHS felt the impact in their own way. “We were going to do a fundraiser for our club — just sell some hot chocolate,” Marcia Gonzalez, a BHS senior and president of the Latinx Unidos Club, said, “It could have been useful, but honestly, the reasons that it was shut down are greater than the money we needed, so we were completely okay with it.” The BHS Latinx Unidos Club provides a space where students can connect with others who share similar backgrounds and experiences, offering Latinx students academic support and a strong sense of community.
According to Betti, more than 35 families and community members reached out in the days leading up to the event. Organizers announced the cancellation in a community letter acknowledging that they heard the concerns of the affected families.
The cancellation came despite an entire year of preparation and over four months of extensive safety planning with city officials. Betti described how the committee worked with Mayor Adena Ishii and sanctuary-city representatives to design an entry protocol that included on-site safety officers, community volunteers, and faith-based partners.
Still, fears in the community persisted. “Even though we did have resources here to have a family management plan, we had different lawyer groups and stuff (community services) that were going to offer parents a way to be prepared,” Betti said, “It was so ripe (the raids were so freshly announced) that people could possibly be taken (and) it wasn’t worth the chance.”
Gonzalez said that while her club hasn’t yet met after the announcement of the cancellation, members plan to talk about it at their next meeting. “We’re probably going to bring it up just to say why there wasn’t a fundraiser, but also to talk about why it was a valid reason,” she said.
Gallegos-Diaz highlighted the broader challenges facing the community and the importance of staying engaged despite fear. “People have second doubts on doing things, so maybe something they would have done normally, they would think twice … there’s extremes, so people sometimes get really paralyzed and don’t want to even go out or do anything,” she said, “Being in community, … knowing that other people are helping you, I think is also empowering for people to see how people come together in really hard times.”
Gonzalez emphasized that her club shared the community’s concerns of the ICE raids and fully supported the cancellation of the event. “As a Latino group and club, we take that very seriously, and we want people to feel safe more than anything,” she said.
Community members and vendors have responded supportively to the cancellation. “We’ve gotten really great responses from everybody, including the City of Berkeley and the mayor’s office,” Betti said, “People understood that it’s just not safe.”
While the public event was canceled, many families continued to observe Día de los Muertos privately. “Most people’s altars are already up, they’re cooking certain kinds of foods, they’re laying out the favorite food of their relatives. That will never change. Every year, no matter whether we’re in hiding or not, that’s always going to be what happens,” Betti said. As in past years, BHS hosted an ofrenda gallery in the A building, which classes could visit and learn about. While the loss of the celebration was deeply felt,
Betti reminded the community that safety and peace of mind must always come first. “People shouldn’t come to an event and look over their shoulder and be afraid the whole time they’re here,” she said, “We can have an event next year or the year after, but people’s well-being is more of a priority than just having music and a good time.”