Fears of ICE arrests cancel longtime Hispanic heritage celebration

For the first October in 10 years, Middle Georgians will not celebrate Hispanic heritage at Smiley’s Flea Market due to heightened fears of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said event host and Que Pasa newspaper editor Moises Velez Saez.

“We see that ICE has no respect,” he said, noting recent arrests of individuals at public events. “They’re going to arrest everybody, and I don’t want to take that risk.”

Saez usually hosts the one-day celebration every October in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Last year, the annual event garnered 3,000 attendees.

“It’s a present from me to the community,” he said  

Sponsorships from companies such as Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and Georgia Power Co. pay for local entertainers and a Mexico-based band that headlines the event.

This year, however, it was hard to book acts, Saez said. He said one band member didn’t have a visa. 

In the wake of similar festival cancellations in Columbus and Savannah, Saez decided to pull the plug on the whole celebration.

Saez used the funds from the cancelled celebration for an advertising campaign in collaboration with local television stations. Titled “We grow Georgia together,” the spots highlight Latinos in Middle Georgia and feature a business owner, artist and preacher.

“We are not criminals,” Saez said. “We are people who give back to the community, and we are part of the community.”

Despite other cancellations, the county-sponsored Macon-Bibb Hispanic Festival will return Oct. 18 in Cherry Street Plaza, said county spokesperson Edna Adams. This year’s festival will mark its fourth year.

“This is an opportunity for us to … still celebrate the Hispanic culture with everyone,” she said.

Vendors depend on the income from the festival, Adams said, and the county will be working with the sheriff’s office on festival security — as they do every year, she noted.

“The best way that people can help the Hispanic community right now is to show up and celebrate with us,” Adams said.