Benicia welcomes the Pleasanton-Tulacingo Sister City Association to the State Capitol Historic Park. (Photo courtesy of Pepe Arteaga)

The Tulancingo delegation of the Pleasanton-Tulancingo Sister City Association wrapped up its six-day excursion to the Bay Area yesterday. This trip included a stop in Benicia, which has its own Sister City partnership with the town of Tula, Mexico.

In 1956, then-President Dwight Eisenhower— who had previously been a top-ranking general in World War II— proposed a citizen diplomacy initiative which later became Sister Cities International. The goal of sister cities programs is to promote friendship and positive international relations on a person-to-person level. Benicia began its Sister Cities program in 1979 when Phil Goettel, then the president of Benicia Rotarians, discussed the idea with then-Mayor Warren O’Blennis. The Mexican town of Tula in the state of Hidalgo was chosen as its Sister City. Every year, the cities have delegations that visit each other, with representatives from Benicia visiting Tula every other year and delegates from Tula visiting Benicia every other year.

“It’s better to have this close working relationship,” Pepe Arteaga, a secretary with the Benicia-Tula Sister City Association (BTSCA), said. “When a visitor comes to visit Benicia, he doesn’t come as a tourist. He comes as a friend. When we go to their country and city, they receive us as friends. We learn tremendously.”

Pleasanton’s Sister City is Tulancingo, which is approximately 40 miles from Tula, so the two delegations have hosted events in Benicia. This year, the Pleasanton-Tulancingo Sister City Association (PTSCA) capped off a week of activities for Tulancingo representatives’ visit to the Bay Area by bringing the delegation to Benicia.

During their weeklong excursion to the Bay Area which began on April 17, visitors from Tulancingo— which included Fire Chief Jesus Garcia and Economic Development Director Juan Garcia— had an event-filled experience and even got to take part in activities they had not done in previous visits. They did a wine tasting at Castlewood Country Club in Pleasanton, hosted a Big Band Night at Garre Winery in Livermore and a family picnic at Pleasanton’s Amador Recreation Center.

“They had a very good itinerary,” Arteaga said.

The delegation met at the Benicia State Capitol on Saturday, which included a lesson on Benicia’s history by the docents.

“They love the history,” Arteaga said. “They were thrilled to see our history and be able to understand it better.”

During the visit, BTSCA President Carla Schaeffer presented PTSCA President Marta Soto with a glass sculpture gift from Lindsay Art Glass. Additionally, Tulancingo Fire Chief Garcia invited Benicia Fire Division Chief Jed Matcham to the Benicia delegation’s visit to Tula and Tulancingo in September, which will also include Schaeffer and Vice Mayor Steve Young. Additionally, Benicia will host a celebration when Tula’s delegation visits in July 2019 in honor of the BTSCA’s 40th anniversary.

Arteaga is grateful for the relationships the two cities have formed.

“It’s a beautiful relationship from people to people,” he said.

Sharing is caring!