Stop the Presses: Sister Cities group seeks partnership with Tlaquepaque

Dianne Elizabeth is president and publisher of Springfield Business Journal.

The Springfield Sister Cities Association is engaged in a series of official steps and reciprocal visits to establish communication, friendship and collaboration with the city of San Pedro Tlaquepaque, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.

One of the municipalities that make up the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, on the western side of the Republic of Mexico, Tlaquepaque is an established center for production and distribution of traditional arts and crafts. It is a city with an ancient, rich and diverse history, and it has long been a destination for tourism from around the world.

According to SSCA board member Joe Jenkins, the local organization has long sought a sister city relationship with a Mexican community of comparable size and with similar issues and interests.

This project has taken on added importance, Jenkins said, as a result of the increasing Hispanic population in southwest Missouri. The board of SSCA has a strong interest in being able to reach out to this community in a meaningful way and bring the history, culture and values of our new friends and neighbors to the region as a whole, he said.

This is not the first time Springfield has entered into a sister cities relationship. Springfield has enjoyed a 17-year-long relationship with Isesaki, Japan, and continues to nurture that unique friendship. In fact, more than 30 works of art from Isesaki students are displayed at The Creamery Arts Center, and student and official groups make regular pilgrimages to Japan. The Isesaki Amateur Softball Team plans to visit July 10-14.

The first official visit of an SSCA delegation to Mexico went to Tlaquepaque March 19-23 and experienced tremendous personal warmth and hospitality from our Mexican hosts. The state of Jalisco is, after all, known as "the land of tequila and mariachi." More than 300 brands of tequila are manufactured in the region.

In addition to formal receptions and ceremonies with city officials, artists, professionals and business leaders, a special letter from Springfield Mayor Tom Carlson and City Manager Tom Finnie with the intent of forming a sister city relationship was presented to Antonio Alvarez Hernandez, the mayor of Tlaquepaque.

The initial delegation from Springfield consisted of Jenkins; Joyce Munden, SSCA president; Yolanda Lorge, contact point and chief translator; Sonja Chasteen, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce; Russ RuBert, Springfield Area Arts Council; Pam RuBert, representing the Springfield Parks Board; and Wallace Munden, past SSCA president.

Plans are now moving forward for the reception and entertainment of a delegation from Tlaquepaque at the end of this month. A recent hospitality brainstorming session at the chamber has begun formulating a schedule of tours, receptions, social occasions and the possibility of a barbecue dinner featuring folk and country musicians. We have a rich cultural heritage, too, and so much to share with our visitors.

Representatives from both cities clearly want more than official delegations and visits, Jenkins said. New friends in Mexico and Springfield have each expressed their desire to assist each other with greater understanding in cultural and commercial exchange as we move from local, regional and national economies to a true global village.

"The warmth and hospitality shown to the SSCA delegation was evident from the first hello to the last goodbye," Jenkins said. "Tlaquepaque seems to be interested in an active sister city relationship and specifically mentioned several times that more than a social relationship was desired," he said.

In the days ahead perhaps by the end of June another delegation will head south from Springfield to Tlaquepaque to exchange gifts and ideas with our new friends and further realize official "sisterhood" with private and public ceremonies.

If I cannot travel in person, I have vowed to travel in spirit.

Hasta luego.