Worcester annual Latin American Festival cancelled, political and economic reasons named
But recently, Centro, the nonprofit organizing the event, announced they were canceling this year's festival because of economic and political reasons, such as loss of funding and growing tensions over sharing cultures.
The festival has been a yearly tradition in Worcester for over three decades, drawing crowds of over 15,000 attendees to the city center. In a statement, CEO of Centro Augustina Velazquez said they were canceling the event's 33rd iteration because 'post-pandemic inflation has doubled the costs' for various items needed to put it on, including infrastructure and security. Artists are also charging more, making the festival more difficult to finance, according to Velazquez.
'Additionally, political tensions—driven by federal policies and public perception—further complicate matters,' Velazquez said. 'While some individuals recognize the valuable efforts municipalities are making, others remain unaware or skeptical. Consequently, this has led to a decrease in community engagement."
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Artists and families like Canales and his daughter were saddened to hear that the festival would not be taking place this year.
Yony Avila, a reggaetón singer whose stage name is JK EL Especialista, performed at last year's festival and remembers many vendors selling handcrafted items and people hosting activities, as well as stands dedicated to different Latin American countries.
'It was cool, everyone was having fun and I really liked the way they did it because they had different countries and a lot of information about [the cultures],' said Avila, who is from Honduras.
Avila, who heard about the cancellation from the organizers, said he was sorry to hear that the festival would not be taking place this year, and that kids and families would not be able to enjoy sharing and learning about different cultures.
Over the past several months, tension over the recent immigration policies has risen in Worcester,
Velazquez said that the event was not cancelled due to fear of ICE.
'To those who were unaware of all the details and used harsh words like 'we're afraid of ICE,' I urge you not to act on emotion and to consider all the reasons I've shared,' Velazquez said in the statement.
Canales said that his daughter had the opportunity to perform her song in the bachata style, a lively style of Latin dance and music, for the first time on the stage at the Latin American Festival last year, making the experience extra special for them. He hopes that it can continue so other families can experience a similar feeling of connection with different cultures.
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'From the moment we arrived, everyone involved and part of the organization treated us like we were home. And we were home,' Canales said.
Katarina Schmeiszer can be reached at
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