The Trenton Guatemalan independence parade, the Desfile y Festival Guatemalteco de Independencia, has no 2026 date. Its organizer, the Guatemalan Merchants Association, postponed the 2025 edition until further notice (hasta nuevo aviso), and as of September 25, 2026 no new date has been posted in the association’s posts we could read. The last edition we can confirm is the September 15, 2024 parade, which the association’s own post of September 22, 2024 calls “nuestro desfile del 15 de septiembre”. This page sets out what the organizer and local press have published, edition by edition.
Status at a glance
| Edition | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | No date announced (checked 25 Sep 2026) | Association posts; Festivals in America says it could not confirm 2026 |
| 2025 | Postponed “hasta nuevo aviso” | Association notice, dated Sep 5 and Sep 7, 2025 |
| 2024 | Held; a Sep 22, 2024 post refers to “nuestro desfile del 15 de septiembre” | Association posts, Sep 20-22 and Oct 2-3, 2024 |
| 2023 | Parade and celebration set for Saturday and Sunday, Sep 16-17, 2023 | The Trentonian, Sep 15, 2023 |
| 2022 | Held; described as the 10th parade, back after a two-year COVID-19 break | TrentonDaily, Sep 20, 2022 |
The association’s page is read here through findglocal, a directory site that mirrors its public posts. The Trentonian and TrentonDaily articles are local news reports.
The 2025 postponement
The association posted the same notice twice, dated September 5 and September 7, 2025 in the mirror of its page:
“El Desfile y Festival Guatemalteco de Independencia 2025 ha sido pospuesto hasta nuevo aviso debido a la situación actual.”
The notice asks the community to watch its social media for a new date (“Estén pendientes de nuestras redes para conocer la nueva fecha”). It does not explain what “the current situation” refers to, and this page does not guess. No rescheduled 2025 date appears in the posts we could read.
2026: not announced
As of September 25, 2026, ten days after September 15, the posts we could read from the association show no 2026 date. Festivals in America, a festival listings site, marks its 2026 entry as not confirmed and says its team “has not been able to confirm with an official source that this 2026 edition is taking place”. If the association announces a date, its own social media is where the 2025 notice said new dates would appear.
What the parade has looked like
The association lists the parade among its goals: “Promover la unidad y cooperación realizando proyectos, tales como: el Desfile de independencia, año tras año.”
Local press describes two recent editions:
- 2022 (TrentonDaily): the celebration started on Saturday night with the Guatemalan flag raised at Unity Park on Hamilton Avenue, between Division and Chestnut Streets. On Sunday, people lined the streets from S. Clinton toward Hamilton Avenue, then east on Hamilton Avenue to Unity Park, as floats with speakers, bands and music moved by. The report marked the 201st anniversary of Guatemala’s independence.
- 2023 (The Trentonian): a preview published Friday, September 15, 2023 said the parade and celebration were set for both Saturday and Sunday that weekend, “with Unity Park on Hamilton Ave. serving as a main stage”, and listed “a parade, live music, soccer stars, dancers, food, fun and more”.
For 2024, the association’s post of September 22 describes “nuestro desfile del 15 de septiembre” (our September 15 parade), and its other posts thank the public, guests and sponsors for the parade and festival marking 203 years of independence, and one post ends “Nos vemos el proximo año” (see you next year).
How it started
In the 2022 TrentonDaily report, Estuardo Arriola, the association’s Trenton president, recalled the beginning: “We started in 2013, with a few people around the town, you know, business owners and community leaders”, he told the paper. The same report calls the 2022 edition the 10th parade and says it was back after its two-year COVID-19 hiatus.
The organizer
The Guatemalan Merchants Association of Trenton lists 802 Chamber Street, Trenton, NJ 08611 and the website gt-merchants.com on its page. Its stated aims include student scholarships, community events and help for Guatemalans in Mercer County after disasters. This page did not capture the association’s own website, only the mirrored page and the press reports above.
Getting there
The route and stage details above come from the 2022 and 2023 editions. With no 2026 edition announced, there is no current route, time or road-closure information to give. Admission has never been stated in the organizer posts we read, so this page does not state a price.
Related guides
- Guatemalan events in the USA (2026): the verified calendar, with every source and read date
- Chapines Fest New York: the Brooklyn festival, fifth edition July 2026
- Guatemala Independence Day 2026: the September 15 holiday itself
- Guatemalan Consulate in Philadelphia: the consulate whose jurisdiction includes Mercer County, New Jersey, where Trenton is
- Guatemalan diaspora services from the USA: passports, DPI, voting and consular paperwork
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Guatemalan parade in Trenton, NJ in 2026?
No 2026 date has been announced as of September 25, 2026. The organizer, the Guatemalan Merchants Association, postponed the 2025 edition until further notice, and its posts that we could read give no new date. A festival listings site, Festivals in America, also says it has not been able to confirm a 2026 edition with an official source.
Why was the 2025 Trenton Guatemalan parade postponed?
The association’s notice, dated September 5 and September 7, 2025 in the copy of its page we read, says ‘El Desfile y Festival Guatemalteco de Independencia 2025 ha sido pospuesto hasta nuevo aviso debido a la situación actual.’ It does not spell out what ’la situación actual’ refers to.
Where does the Trenton Guatemalan parade take place?
On Hamilton Avenue, with Unity Park as the main stage. The Trentonian’s 2023 preview names Unity Park on Hamilton Ave. as the main stage. TrentonDaily’s report on the 2022 parade describes a route from S. Clinton toward Hamilton Avenue, then east on Hamilton Avenue to Unity Park.
Who organizes the Guatemalan parade in Trenton?
The Guatemalan Merchants Association of Trenton. Its page lists 802 Chamber Street, Trenton, NJ 08611 and the website gt-merchants.com, and names ’el Desfile de independencia, año tras año’ among its goals. In 2022 its Trenton president, Estuardo Arriola, told TrentonDaily the parade started in 2013.
