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Cont. from front page,
From October 10 to 14, San Miguel de Allende hosted representatives from about 40 Mexican and American cities during the international convention of the US Mexico Sister Cities Association, which met in the hope of establishing relations between cities in both countries. City representatives, most of them from the states of California in the US and Morelos and Jalisco in Mexico, gathered at the Hotel Real de Minas to discuss and exchange ideas on issues such as trade, tourism, culture, education, and technology.
In his message to the American and Mexican guests, Mayor Jesús Correa said that “it is necessary that we keep on building, step by step, day after day, a closer relationship between Americans and Mexicans. I think that we are tied by the heart, by feelings and love.”
One of the main events of the convention was the signing of a sisterhood agreement between San Miguel and the border city of Tijuana.
US Mexico Sister Cities Association
“Sister Cities is a program that was born after World War II with the goal of avoiding further destructive animosity and seeking a sense of kinship among countries,” said Eduardo Iduñate, Mexican president of the US Mexico Sister Cities Association.
According to the US Mexico Sister Cities website ( www.usmsca.org
), “President Dwight D. Eisenhower deplored the fact that throughout history, international diplomacy had failed to keep the peace or to prevent war. He foresaw that the people-to-people idea, fostered by a Sister City program involving hundreds of thousands of people in cities throughout the world could be a massive form of citizen diplomacy that might succeed in doing what the nations of the world had been unable to accomplish through diplomatic efforts.”
“In Mexico, in 1962, ex-president Miguel Alemán Valdés, at that time head of the National Tourism Council, took Eisenhower’s idea and founded the Sister Cities Association,” said Iduñate, who added that besides encouraging peace and brotherhood among countries, Sister Cities promotes the exchange of cultural wealth between towns. “Each city has a great wealth and strengths that must be shared with the rest of the world.”
According to Gil García, president of Sister Cities in the US, the four pillars that support and sustain Sister Cities relationships are respect, friendship, brotherhood and love. “When two people meet each other and shake hands, a relationship of mutual acknowledgment is established. If we add the cohabitation between them the relationship becomes a friendship, and if we feed this friendship it will reach higher levels and become a brotherhood,” said García, who has been involved with Sister Cities for more than 30 years. “My father, who was Mexican, taught me those pillars and handed his Mexican heritage down to me. That is why I have been devoted to enhancing the bonds between Mexico and the US.”
García explained that sister cities must share some similarities; for example, both could be located in coastal or agricultural areas, or if a lot of people from a Mexican community have emigrated to a certain American community, those two sites could become sister cities.
Iduñate explained that Sister Cities is not a government program. “If it were a government program it would have failed. Governments come and go, and they last only for a period of time. If a new administration likes the program, it will continue with it, but if not, the program will die. Sister Cities is a program formed mainly by citizens who must work together with their mayors on its behalf. Citizens compose 99 percent of the Sister Cities committees, and the mayor, who is also the honorary president, makes up the other 1 percent. That is why Sister Cities continues to work.”
The convention in San Miguel
Gil García believes it is easy for San Miguel de Allende to form a bond with other cities because it is already well known around the world. “San Miguel is part of what Mexico offers to the world in terms of tourism, but it is not really the soul of Mexico, which resides more in the smaller towns with old traditions and cultures, such as those in Morelos and Jalisco,” said García. “That is why I work the most with these towns, to help them get in touch with other cities in order to achieve sisterhood.”
Representatives from the American cities of Laredo, Texas; Little Rock, Arkansas; South El Monte, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Garden Grove, California; and the Mexican municipalities of Atlixco, Puebla; Jocotepec, Jalisco; Gómez Palacio, Durango; Tijuana, Baja California; Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco; the Morelos municipalities of Tlatizapán, Tlalquitenango, Jiotepec, and Tepoztlán; and the Guerrero municipalities of Taxco and Leonardo Bravo were among those who came to the Sister Cities convention in San Miguel. “Around 800 Mexican municipalities are currently members of the Sister Cities program. About 60 new cities were represented for the first time at this meeting,” said Iduñate.
Among the proposals that emerged from work sessions during the convention was the creation of a website on which cities’ characteristics could be described so they could be paired with other similar cities— a sort of matchmaking service for cities. Another proposal was an educational exchange in which American children would come to Mexico, stay with a Mexican family and study the language and culture; reciprocally, Mexican children would do the same in the US. The cities of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Pachuca, Hidalgo, have already had such an exchange: American children from Little Rock come to Pachuca to learn soccer at the Pachuca Soccer School, and Mexican children go to the US to learn typical American sports.
Iduñate said that one of the goals of the Sister Cities program is to promote tourism within communities. “A lot of people—mainly men—have immigrated to the US, and there are mothers and daughters alone in many towns in Mexico. The idea is to train them so that they themselves could offer lodging to tourists.”
José Sánchez, from Jocotepec, Jalisco, has lived for many years in Garden Grove, California. His intention is to achieve sisterhood between the two cities since a lot of people from the Mexican municipality now live in Garden Grove. “Through the sisterhood of the two cities I intend to promote Jocotepec arts and crafts,” said Sánchez.
Saúl Vázquez Rivera is the coordinator of immigration issues in the municipality of Tlaltizapan, Morelos. “I came to the convention because I want to get in touch with an American city that might be Tlaltizapan’s sister city. Our municipality is ecologically rich, and we want to promote ecotourism as well as conventional tourism. People in our rural communities can work as tour guides in our preserved natural areas,” said Vázquez.
Teacher Guadalupe Peñaloza, DIF director in Tepoztlán, Morelos, also came to the convention to seek cities for sisterhood. “Tepoztlán is a magical town. This is the first time that we have come, and we are forming a Sister Cities committee. Tepoztlán is very rich in traditions and arts and crafts, such as the wooden and cloth dolls called chinelos, dressed as native Tepoztlán dancers. The clothing worn by the dancers is handmade, and they spend a year making their costumes to dance at the Holy Week festivities,” said Peñaloza. “In some Tepoztlán communities, the native language, Náhuatl, is still spoken.”
San Miguel and Tijuana, sister cities
On the evening of Friday, October 12, the mayors of San Miguel de Allende and Tijuana, Baja California, Jesús Correa and Kurt Honold, met at Casa de la Cultura, in El Chorro, to sign a sisterhood agreement between their cities.
“We have worked about six months to achieve this sisterhood,” said Mayor Honold. “In the case of Tijuana, we are looking for what San Miguel has had for more than 500 years and what we lack—culture and history. We are quite a new city, and we have become a kind of mosaic of Mexico; a lot of people living in Tijuana are from different parts of Mexico, many of them from Guanajuato. We want to have cultural exchanges so San Miguel artisans can go to Tijuana, show their work and be seen by Americans as well as Mexicans, since we border San Diego, California. Being residents of a border city, far away from the rest of the country, most of our citizens do not know the culture of our country, so we also want also to have student exchanges so that our youth can come to San Miguel to learn about its history and culture.”
Honold mentioned that Tijuana will share public security technology with San Miguel. “We have special surveillance equipment all around the city that detects gunshots,” said Honold. “As a border city, drug trafficking to the US is a very big problem, but we working on it, supported by the federal government of President Calderón. Our technology also alerts police to car accidents and other types of emergencies; we will share it with San Miguel so that residents and tourists here can feel safer.”
San Miguel de Allende’s Sister Cities
Within Mexico
Zacatecas, Zacatecas
Allende, Nuevo León
San Miguel de Bustamante, Nuevo León
Guanajuato, Guanajuato
Tepatitlán, Jalisco
Tula, Hidalgo
San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
Querétaro, Querátaro
Pátzcuaro, Michoacán
Tijuana, Baja California
Outside Mexico
La Habra, California
Redlance, California
Brownsville, Texas
Laredo, Texas
San Agustín, Florida
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Ushuaia, Tierra de Fuego, Argentina
Las Ceras, Mendoza, Argentina
Botes, Cantabria, Spain
Santa Fe, Granda, Spain
Hino, Japan
La Habana Vieja, Cuba
Comuni di Bari, Italy
Carmona, España
Goals of the US Mexico Sister Cities Association
(from www.usmsca.org )
· Strengthen our relationships within our membership to achieve our mutual goals;
· Enhance our relationships and communication with the United States/Mexico International and the Mexican National Boards;
· Continue and expand youth and adult exchange programs;
· Use the collective resources from organizations of both countries to assist and enhance the local sister cities programs;
· Serve as a clearinghouse for information on affiliated members on both sides of the border;
· Sponsor annual conferences where delegates from both countries are able to discuss mutual issues of common interest such as student exchanges, education, customs regulations, health education, environmental concerns, etc; and
· Provide information in our local communities that will serve to enhance a greater understanding of the culture, history, and economy of Mexico.
Biblioteca Pública and UNAM sign agreement
By Jesús Ibarra
On Wednesday, October 10, UNAM (National University of Mexico) and the Public Library of San Miguel (Biblioteca Pública), signed an agreement at the Teatro Santa Ana. Dr. Roberto Ivàn Escalante Semerena, director of the Faculty of Economics, UNAM; Alí Zerriffi, President of the Public Library Board; Mayor Jesús Correa; Francisco Peyret, Director of Tourism, Economic Development and International Relations and a representative of the Education Federal Department were present.
This agreement, a proposal from the Faculty of Economics, will establish the infrastructure for educational necessities in the area.
The first step of this project is an online education center for economics students, which will include the occasional physical presence of some recognized economists from UNAM. The next stage will be the continued education program, including seminars, workshops, and post-graduate courses, and may grow to include doctorate students for all UNAM courses.
UNAM has agreements with different universities around the world and through access to the Economics Faculty Library, students will be able to access other libraries and universities around the globe.
Another stage of the project is the Casa de Europa, which will include monthly cultural presentations from speakers of guest countries in Europe.
The concept is supported by the local government and forms part of the economic development plan formulated by Mayor Correa.
UNAM
The National University of Mexico (UNAM) is the educative institution with the largest academic and cultural background in Mexico. It is also the largest university in Latin America and is considered among the one hundred best universities in the world.
Its history dates from 1551 when the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico was founded by Prince Philip of Spain (future King Philip II). The current National University was created by decree on May 26, 1910, and was headed by historian Justo Sierra, the then Minister for Education. It became autonomous in 1929 and it was reorganized in 1945.
UNAM has since become a leader in the study and development of almost all scientific, humanistic and social disciplines, as well as in artistic creation and cultural diffusion. The permanent updating of programs and of teachers and researchers has allowed the university to keep itself in the vanguard of progress and to be prepared to successfully face the future.
The UNAM includes the faculties of Accountancy and Business Administration, Architecture, Chemistry, Economy, Engineering, Dentistry, Philosophy and Literature, Politics, Law, Medicine, Psychology, Veterinary and Zoology.
The UNAM also owns several high schools, several research institutes, the schools of Music, Nursery, Plastic Arts, Social Work and a Cinematography school as well. The National Library and the National Newspaper Library belong to the UNAM as well.
Several personalities of science, culture, and arts, have studied in the UNAM, among them the three Mexicans who have been awarded with Nobel Prizes: Alfonso García Robles, Peace Award in 1982; Octavio Paz, Literature Award in 1990; and Mario Molina, Chemistry Award in 1995.
Make a DIFerence, support a new home
By Atención staff
Cena Mexicana
Benefit for Mi Casa DIFerente (My DIFferent home)
Fri, Oct 26, 6pm
Bellas Artes
Hernàndez Macías 75
300 pesos
One government agency charged with allaying the suffering of the disenfranchised of San Miguel is the Family Services Department (DIF). By law and by tradition, the First Lady of the city acts as president of the DIF board. For the past year, Patricia Gutiérrez Rebollo, Mayor Jesús Correa’s wife, has held this post, and she says she is “very thankful to her husband for having given her this opportunity.”
On Friday October 26, a benefit dinner will be held to help support the Mi Casa DIFerente program for 2008. At the dinner guests will enjoy a Mexican dinner and view a presentation of the program which for US$9,000 provides a family a new home.
The San Miguel Community Project
By Ali Zerriffi, President Biblioteca Pública
San Miguel is at a unique moment in its history, a moment of economic and social development planning represents a critical challenge for all sectors of our society. The path towards development that will raise the standard of living and achieve a better quality of life for the majority of the population of our municipality requires education and training, improved living conditions and better health care. It also requires the collaboration and commit of many participants including government authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s). A simple but significant step towards this goal is the establishment of the “San Miguel Community Project” a multi-organizational project that will rest upon the collaboration of private and public sectors.
The Purpose
To coordinate as much as possible the activities of the non-profit organizations in order to maximize results in any chosen community.
Many of the projects are complementary and already some of the organizations are working together in various communities.
The Biblioteca Pública, in its function as a community center, would serve as a meeting place and a logistical platform for the project.
The Background
The idea to develop a formal framework in which the SMA charitable organizations could support each other’s projects has been discussed for several years but only recently has there been a discussion to involve government departments, civil associations, educational institutions, the private sector and, of course, the community itself.
The administration of Mayor Jesús Correa has divided the municipality in seven micro regions in order to evaluate the particular needs and economic potentials of each one. Some of the regions are relatively better off than others but they all share the same problems and challenges in terms of health, education and environmental preservation. The proper management of water supplies, the development of nutrition and sanitation programs, a strong support for education and community self governance will go a long way in helping the regions in improving their socio-economic conditions.
The municipal government has the resources needed to identify the overall needs of a particular community and the ability to intervene in the development of infrastructures in the area of public works (roads, sewage and drainage systems, water supply, etc,).
The civil associations would then be able to operate in a field that has already been provided with some fundamental upgrades, which will have an important impact on the health and general well being of the community. Availability of potable water and easier access to school and markets would go a long way in reducing the handicap under which most people in isolated ranchos live and would have a compounding effect on any project set up in the locality.
The educational institutions (University of León, UNAM, Texas Pan-American University, Biblioteca Pública) would provide facilities and human resources to monitor and evaluate projects since their inception. Facilities would be established at the library to allow access to numerous databases for research and to provide continuous education through courses, seminars and workshops (UNAM). There are also a number of San Miguel residents who have worked in various areas of economic and social development who would be willing to share their expertise with active members of the non-profit organizations.
The library would also become a center for excellence in nonprofit and civil associations by:
- Housing the Foundation Center Grant and Funding databases
- Developing a directory of local and civil associations and nonprofit organizations
- The Biblioteca website and/or Atención web sites would host a calendar of activities, including social and fund raising events, as well as regularly scheduled meetings.
- Providing help and support in board building and organizational planning
- Offering routine training in nonprofit management and grant application
These later projects would be offered as seminars at the Biblioteca with the help of experienced professionals and academics such as Dr. Cynthia Lynch, a part-time resident of San Miguel for many years and professor at the University of Texas Pan American Master of Public Administration Program. Members of the private sector would be invited, as responsible corporate citizens, to become partners in development projects and sponsors of events that would benefit the community.
The Finances
Many of the organizations that are active in the Municipality of San Miguel have their own methods of raising funds for their projects. There are also matching grants that are available from the various levels of government and from national and international foundations. Grant applications that are made by several organizations, and with the support of the local government, usually generate positive responses from private as well and public donors. A small team of qualified volunteers could regularly research the Foundation Center’s database and other sources of financial help for available grants that would match a specific project or the needs of specific organizations. These volunteers would be working for the “research center” and their loyalty would be to each and all San Miguel non-profit organizations.
The Launch
An invitation only meeting is planned for the end of October, at the library’s Teatro Santa Ana to bring together the representatives of all the NGO’s active in San Miguel as well as the heads of the various governmental departments. Each participant will make a short presentation to describe the activities of his organization or the areas of responsibilities of his office. The purpose of the meeting is for all participants to meet each other and exchange information on current and future projects, to investigate the possibilities of joining efforts in those projects and to seek the logistic support of the various governmental agencies.
A world without bees
By Sylvia Jessop
This alarming prospect has become a frightening possibility. Beekeepers in at least 24 states in the US, as well as Canada and Europe are faced with a mystery that so far defies solution.
Why are the bees disappearing? Why are so many apiaries filled with dead bees or found completely empty, with nothing in any of the cells normally brimming with honey?
Scientists are hard at work trying to determine the cause of this phenomenon, which they have termed Colony Collapse Disorder. The latest research points to several possibilities—a particular mite or fungus, stress in the bees that are being deprived of their foraging areas because of uncontrolled real estate development; or changes in weather. When there is a drought or a freeze that destroys the flowering plants, the bees starve. Recently in California bees were fed sugar water to keep them alive after extreme weather deprived them of the pollen and nectar they need.
Considering that one-third of our food supply depends on pollination by bees, the enormity of the problem is clear. Both sides of the Atlantic will be dealt a severe blow unless the cause is determined. Beekeepers are now crisscrossing the country in 18-wheelers packed with honey bees, reaching out to farms, orchards and nurseries where crops are waiting pollination.
Are San Miguel bees in peril?
Beekeepers in the San Miguel area also are uneasy. José Anastacio Perales, who tends 200 hives in his apiaries on the road to Querétaro and near the Rio Laja, reports that this year his bees are fewer in number and the honey yield is less. He attributes this to a plaga that is in fertilizers coming in from the US and used by farmers in the surrounding districts. “My honey is pure and natural, free from the plaga and pesticides,” he proudly announced.
Perales has been working with bees for 25 years and actively participates in the twice yearly conferences held by the Association of Agriculturists in many of the major cities in Mexico.
He produces three varieties of honey— Multiflora, which has the delicate scent of the many different flowers growing in profusion around his apiary; a deep amber honey which is a subtle blend of mesquite and tuna harvested from cactus; and his favorite, a dark complex honey that captures the deep flavor of pure mesquite. “Una maravilla!” he smiled.
Looking a lot younger than his 65 years, with his tumble of gray hair, twinkling eyes and engaging enthusiasm for his craft, Perales has a smile as sweet as the honey he produces.
Closer to home
It seems that there are more amateur apiarists than one would expect in our suburbs. Near El Mirador, Elsbeth Friedli cares for four hives which yield sufficient honey to delight her friends at gift-giving times. Her honey is especially delectable, a rich, dark honey with the subtle nuance of huisache blossoms on which her bees feed.
Beekeepers in the area are an exclusive group who keep in touch. When Elsbeth’s queen went missing, Anastacio Perales gave her one
Honey through the ages
Down through the ages, honey has been many things to many peoples—a source of sustenance and pleasure. Beginning with the first cave man discovering and ignoring the sharp pain of the bee stings to lick the honey from his fingers, this liquid gold spread throughout the world, sweetening food and drink. The Aztecs mixed honey with their breakfast bowl of maize and, when Marco Polo returned from his travels to Persia and the Far East, he extolled the many sweetmeats he enjoyed, in particular the honey fritters of China and honey confections mixed with nuts and herbs. The ancient Romans long enjoyed mead, a powerful alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey with malt. It proved a welcome addition to banquets and orgies. The healing properties of honey were discovered by the early Greek physicians who found that herbs and vinegar when added to honey relieved many digestive ailments.
As recently as the American Civil War, doctors on the battlefield spread honey on open wounds to prevent infection and speed healing. No wonder Pliny the Elder called honey the “saliva of the stars,” while Virgil described it as a “substance that fell from heaven.” We should pay homage to these precious insects that have enriched our lives in so many ways. Next time you see a bee, don’t swat at it. Instead, direct it to the nearest flower in your garden.
Sylvia Jessop, an Australian and long-time San Miguel resident, was editor of the Garden Club Newsletter for seven years and writes as a hobby.
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