A community altar at a Día de los Muertos festival in Fruitvale in 2021. Credit: Citizen reporter
The annual Día de los Muertos event hosted at Berkeley High School has been canceled out of caution following the arrival of federal immigration agents to the Bay Area earlier this week.
On Thursday, a caravan of border patrol agents entered Coast Guard Island, a base located in the Oakland Estuary, erupting local protests. Though the next day local officials reported they’d been told that the Trump administration’s planned “surge” operation was canceled in all of the Bay Area, residents are still wary.
Adriana Betti, director of R.I.S.E., the event’s organizers, confirmed to Berkeleyside Saturday morning that the event was canceled. Betti’s nonprofit organization has helped hundreds of low-income BUSD students get into college.
“It was a difficult decision, but we [want to] honor the mental health of our community, and they just don’t feel safe,” she wrote in the email.
The family-friendly event, planned for Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., would have included mariachi performances, access to resources, a lowrider car show, an altar and art exhibition and raffles. The event had support of the Berkeley school district, LifeLong Medical Care and the city.
In the days before, community members circulated information about the event’s cancellation. A flyer in Spanish said the decision was made “to prioritize the well-being and safety of all community members.” Updates would follow about future events or alternative ways to honor Latino traditions in Berkeley, the sign said.
A spokesperson for the Berkeley Unified School District did not respond to a request for comment.
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