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| Northern New Mexico's Community Network | ||
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| Northern New Mexico's Community Network | ||
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Lic. Lino Rodriguez Gomez, Chief of Staff to Governor Antonio Dominguez of the State of Nayarit accepts an Honorary Ambassador certificate from Mayor Frederick Peralta of Taos. Joining in the presentation are Presidente Oscar Sanchez Ahumada of Xalisco, Gustavo Cordova Town Manager, Nancy Montano of La Plaza, Gayle Martinez of the Chamber of Commerce, Marta Ahumada First Lady of Xalisco, Carlos Martinez of the NM Economic Development Department, Jaime Ochoa Cindico of Xalisco, Doug Swinehart of the Taos Business Alliance, Georgiana Castillo Assistant to the Presidente, Margarita Maes Assistant to the Mayor, and Bobby Duran, Town Councilmember. | |||
| La Plaza was invited to
be part of a contingent that visited Xalisco, Nayarit in Mexico as part
of ongoing efforts to establish a sister city relationship between the
Town of Taos and Xalisco. Mayor Frederick A. Peralta has announced
that he will introduce a resolution to the Town Council this month naming
Xalisco Nayarit as a "sister city" to the Town of Taos.
The Town of Taos was introduced to the Municipio of Xalisco last year through a management exchange program sponsored by the International City Management Association (ICMA). Taos was selected by ICMA as one of three cities to participate in a pilot program between the United States and Mexico.  Town
Manager Gustavo Cordova and Mayor Peralta were invited to visit the Municipio
of Xalisco on August 10-15, 2000 to learn about their form of government,
their relationship to the business community, and the services they provide
to their citizens. Their host during the brief visit was Oscar Sanchez
Ahumada, President Municipal of Xalisco.
The Municipio of Xalisco (the equivalent of a combined city/county government) has approximately 40,000 residents. The Municipio is located in the State of Nayrit, and just outside the capital city of Tepic. It is predominantly an agricultural community, rich in coffee, corn, sugar cane, avocados, mangos, and tropical fruits. Xalisco has a strong arts community, and is surrounded by high mountains, similar to Taos. During their visit to Xalisco, Presidente Ahumada introduced the Mayor and Town Manager to the leaders of the Chamber of Commerce, their Industrial Chamber, the Tourism Department, the Municipal Council, and to the State Legislature. The Mayor was asked to arrange for a return visit that would include representatives from New Mexico's tourism and economic development sectors. Last week, Mayor Peralta arranged for a small contingent of tourism and economic development officials to travel to Xalisco and Tepic. The contingent included Doug Swinehart, President of the Taos Business Alliance; Gayle Martinez, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce; Nancy Montano, La Plaza Telecommunity; Carlos Martinez, NM Economic Development Department; Mark Trujillo, NM Tourism Department; Margarita Maes, Town of Taos; and Gustavo Cordova, Town Manager. The contingent met with the Presidente of the Canacintra, Lic. Hernan Gonzalez Garza. This organization is responsible for economic development projects related to industry. Mr. Garza explained how the Canacintra could work closely with economic development officials from New Mexico to promote exports from both countries, and help each other economically.  The
contingent also met with Lic. Raul Mejia Gonzalez, Presidente de la Comision
de Gobierno Legislativo (President of the State Legislature).
Mr. Gonzalez agreed to facilitate a return visit by government officials
from the State of Nayarit, and the Municipios of Tepic and Xalisco in hopes
of reciprocal economic developments between the two states. The same
commitment was expressed by the office of Lic. Antonio Echevarria Dominguez,
Governor of the State of Nayarit.
One of the last official acts witnessed by the New Mexico contingent was the approval of a resolution by the City Council (Cabildo) of the Municipio of Xalisco on May 25, 2001 designating a sister city relationship with Taos. The resolution was hand carried by Mayor Peralta to Taos, and will be considered by the Town Council at their regular meeting of June 19, 2001. The resolution calls for
joint cooperation between the two cities in the areas of cultural exchange,
education, health, tourism, construction, technology, and other service
activities of mutual benefit. The resolution recognizes the diversity
of population, the differences in political systems, and the economies
of the two states.
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