Just like a big sister should, Morgan Hill treated her out of
town guests from San Martin, Mexico with beaming hospitality this
weekend
– even inviting its president and visiting delegates to ride in
the Fourth of July parade.
Just like a big sister should, Morgan Hill treated her out of town guests from San Martin, Mexico with beaming hospitality this weekend – even inviting its president and visiting delegates to ride in the Fourth of July parade.
The cities have been sisters since 2001, sharing each other’s culture, art, music and exchanging ideas on the environment and agriculture.
The president of San Martin, Francisco Javier Guerrero Núñez, his wife MarÃa del Carmen Reyna Bravo and their two teenage daughters stayed with a family in town and were whisked to a myriad events and a crash course on how patriotic Morgan Hill residents can be.
The San Martin visitors awaited their turn in the parade line at 10 a.m. Sunday morning from the Grange on Fourth Street. Núñez, dressed in a cream-colored suit with his town’s emblem on his lapel, twisted a small American flag in his hand as he spoke in Spanish, with translation from his foreign affairs director Salvador Zepida Siordia.
Núñez and the seven other municipalities’ delegates attended the Patriotic Sing at Britton Middle School Saturday evening.
“I enjoyed that very well,” Nunez said. “I recognize in America, since childhood they teach the love for their country. They’re very patriotic … that kind of patriotism is the same (that) people in every country should have,” he said.
Morgan Hill’s sister city committee president, Patrick Campbell, guided the delegates around Morgan Hill since their arrival Saturday. Morgan Hill has three other sister cities – Headford, Ireland; Mizuho, Japan; and San Casciano, Italy. The organization’s goal is build global cooperation at the local level, promote respect, understanding and cooperation.
The visit this weekend was a first for Núñez and he saw clearly the beauty of Morgan Hill. He noted the similarities in climate, the land and importance of agriculture. San Martin – both a city and a municipality – is home to about 24,000 people in the state of Jalisco in central-western Mexico. Eighty percent of San Martin’s economy is sustained by agriculture.
Núñez said he admired the cleanliness of the city, its organization, the presence of law enforcement and Morgan Hill’s attention to protecting open space and the environment.
“We can learn a lot (from each other),” said Núñez, as his wife sat next to him. “We’re interested in the relationship because it will help us grow as a municipality. It’s an opportunity for us to exchange ideas.”
San Martin would be very proud to share the hospitality with this beautiful city, Núñez said.
“We wait for you in Mexico,” his wife said.
A commonality of lesser importance linked Morgan Hill and San Martin together. Siordia laughed as he translated for Nunez: “In our country they are also concerned with the placement of chairs and reserving a front-row seat at the parade,” Nunez said.
Three Ford Mustangs escorted the San Martin officials in the parade and in 2012, they hope to reciprocate the hospitality with an invitation to Morgan Hill’s government officials to visit San Martin.
The sister city organization is also committed to student exchanges about every two years, Campbell said. Last year, nine local students went to Mizuho, Japan and in February a group of teens will spend time in Ireland.
