Mankato festival draws 10,000 as ICE raids and tariffs press local Latino community

An estimated 10,000 people are expected to attend the Old Town Day of the Dead festival in Mankato this Saturday, a turnout that organizers say remains steady despite rising economic pressures and immigration enforcement.

The event, scheduled for Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Riverfront Drive, marks the seventh year of the celebration. Brothers Alex and Justin Ek, aged 38 and 36 respectively, founded the festival in 2019 in the parking lot of their family business, Bellissimo Paint and Coatings. The event has expanded from that initial space to occupy three city blocks, where more than 100 vendors operate.

Vendors sell Mexican food, cultural goods, and arts and crafts, while attendees watch Mariachi bands, traditional dance performances, and Mexican wrestling matches. The city closes the three blocks of Riverfront Drive to traffic for the duration of the event. Admission is free.

The Ek brothers, who are of Mexican descent, create alebrijes for the festival. These sculptures are built from crushed paper and cardboard using a corn-based paste, a technique known as cartoneria. Justin Ek noted that the process involves constructing a strong internal structure before painting the final exterior.

Financial challenges have affected the local Latino community in the past year. Latino-owned businesses report difficulty covering costs due to high tariffs on imported cultural goods, leading some establishments to close. Additionally, many families are managing the impact of aggressive enforcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The Ek brothers stated that several relatives were detained and deported by ICE last spring.

Justin Ek said the deportations have altered the family's daily life, but the couple continues to host the event to demonstrate community unity. He described the festival as a way for younger generations to see their culture represented in Mankato, a city where the Latino population has grown in recent years.

The festival is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Oct. 31, in the 300 to 600 blocks of Riverfront Drive. Organizers expect the same level of participation as in previous years, with the event running for five hours.