The Latino Christmas market returns to Bok, this time with mixed feelings about what the next 4 years can bring

Ana Ramirez woke up Sunday morning with freezing toes and a warm heart, excited to bring her Guatemalan crafts to Bok’s west gym for the second Expo-sada and Tianguis.

The event organized by the Mexican and Latin Market brought over 300 people to the South Philadelphia building for an afternoon full of supporting small Latino businesses, holiday festivities and cultural exchange.

For Javier Mojica, the city’s Department of Commerce business services manager, this is “part of having a diverse city.”

“The immigrant community is part of Philadelphia, it’s part of our culture,” Mojica said. “This community and all the immigrant businesses that are here provide a lot to the city.”

But as the smell of warm Nicaraguan coffee and Mexican tacos filled the room, many still wonder what their place will be in Philly come Inauguration Day, as President-elect Donald Trump has promised mass deportations that could target 47,000 in Philadelphia alone. This is particularly worrisome, some said, as Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s silence on Philadelphia’s sanctuary city status continues.

Ana Ramirez welcomed customers to the Welcoming Center’s Global Craft Market table with a warm smile, hoping one of her ceramics or any of the crafts from her fellow artisans would become someone’s Christmas present.

But the spark in her eyes was quickly replaced by tears when asked what her hopes are for this holiday season.

“I really hope we keep being a sanctuary city because we need it very much; we want to live quietly and in peace,” Ramirez said. “We are good people and we give our all to this city.”

She still carries with her the sadness she felt seeing immigrant families separated at the border and witnessing her community members’ fear to even speak Spanish in public.

Now that sense of despair has returned for her, and she is not the only one.

Lawyer Seth Lupton and his paralegal Gabriela Pedrosa Sanchez had a table for Lupton LAW at this year’s Expo-sada and Tianguis to offer free consultations to anyone with immigration fears.

The morning after Trump’s reelection, Lupton said, they received over 200 calls and the inquiries have continued coming in since.

“They’re hearing a million things online [and] on TV, and they don’t know what to believe, they don’t know what to think, people are just terrified because they don’t know what’s gonna happen,” he added.

Events like the market at Bok, Lupton said, provide an opportunity for immigrants to share their culture and occupy a space at a time when othering can happen.

Pedrosa Sanchez herself has felt the difference on how people can be treated when their immigration status is uncertain.

Despite everyone in her family being either a citizen or a green card holder, she is a DACA recipient.

“A lot of people didn’t know my status and when I came out to them they were like ‘Oh no, but you’re a good person, you shouldn’t get deported,’” Pedrosa Sanchez said. “And, I am lucky to at least have this protection, most people don’t even have that option, so it’s like they’re saying ‘get in line’ [for a path to citizenship], but show us where the line is and we’ll get in it gladly.”

Amid the concern, a sense of calm seemed to permeate the community gathered in holiday cheer.

For Tamalex owner David Piña, there is no point in speculating about what lies beyond the holidays.

“We are courageous, we are resilient,” Piña said.

His Mexican restaurant alone employs 35 Philadelphians, without counting other support businesses and their workers, and functions as a cultural hub for the South Philadelphia community. According to Piña, last year alone, Tamalex paid about six figures in taxes.

“We are not the only ones, many ​​Latinos in Philadelphia have their own restaurants, their own businesses,” Piña said. “We are not here to hurt anyone, we are simply here to build a life for ourselves and help the city we call home grow.”