But amid the festivities, the mood was subdued for some residents.
Anel Pérez, owner of El General Zapata, a Mexican restaurant in Upper Darby, said the turnout Saturday was much lower compared to previous years.
She said she thinks it’s due to fear of ramped-up immigration enforcement in the region. Pérez said some of her clients have told her they’re hesitant to leave the house, and sometimes order food for delivery instead of coming to the restaurant.
“Ha sido difícil porque hay mucha gente que está con miedo”, dijo. “No quiere salir, no quiere arriesgarse, pero yo pienso que tenemos que hacerlo por necesidad porque tenemos que trabajar, tenemos que pagar renta, tenemos que mantener a nuestros hijos, nuestros negocios, los que tienen negocios, y si no trabajamos no comemos”.
“It’s been hard because a lot of people are afraid,” she said. “They don’t want to go out, they don’t want to risk it, but I think that we have to do it out of necessity, because we need to work, we need to pay rent, we need to support our children, our businesses, those of us that have businesses, and if we don’t work we don’t eat.”