Monday, April 24, 2017

The City of Lake Worth needs to seriously consider a Sister City in Guatemala.

Why? Because along with having a new Guatemalan Consulate here in the City of Lake Worth we will also be hosting another Palm Beach County celebration of “Día De Los Muertos” (Day of the Dead, #DayOfTheDeadLW2017) this November:

Para más información o oportunidades de venta llaman 561-493-2550. (“For information or vending opportunities call 561-493-2550”.)

If you’ve been following the latest, our City’s Sister City Board may very well be “sunset” (removed as a board). The entire volunteer Advisory Board system may soon be changed and updated, something that’s been needed for a very long time (how boards are added, removed, and the process of adding members to boards by the Commission); this was a topic of discussion at a City Work Session on April 11th (to read all about that use this link).

What also came up at that Work Session was an entirely new idea: Have the City itself, or an organization in our town, join Sister Cities International.*

Getting feedback from the The Guatemalan Maya Center (GMC) and our Guatemalan neighbors would be very helpful. Many of you will recall this recent news from Peter Haden at WLRN:

 “Officials estimate more than 55,000 Guatemalans live in the county. . . . ‘We’re going to see cultural, commercial, economic affairs — in order to have a more intense and big link with Palm Beach County,’ said De Mora [Miami Consul General Rosa Maria Merida De Mora].”

Here is a recent message from the GMC:
“Estamos en la aperatura de un consulado de Guatemala en Lake Worth! Gracias por este apoyo para nuestras familias que antes pagaban $300 para llegar al consulado en Miami.”

Translation: “We are at the opening of a Guatemalan Consulate in Lake Worth! Thank you for this support for our families, that before had to pay $300 to get to the consulate in Miami.”

*The City of Lake Worth’s long-neglected Sister Cities and our too-long Forgotten Sister City are:
  • The Forgotten Sister City of Lappeenranta, Finland.
  • Saint-Marc, Haiti.
  • Southend-on-Sea, England.
  • Once rumored to be a Sister City of Lake Worth, Sopot, Poland, IS NOT. That is a myth.