OXNARD : 2 Sister Cities Have Come a Long Way

When Oxnard residents forged a sister city relationship with the Mexican town of Ocotlan 29 years ago, both cities were small and largely dependent on agriculture.

Today, as a contingent of Ocotlan residents winds up a five-day visit to Oxnard, both visitors and hosts emphasize how far each city has come.

“The comment I hear from those who have visited regularly is there has been a great transformation in the city of Oxnard,” said Enrique Garcia, Ocotlan’s municipal president or mayor, during lunch with his Oxnard counterpart, Mayor Manuel Lopez.

The same can be said of Ocotlan, said Lopez, who was part of the first Oxnard delegation to Ocotlan in 1964.

Lopez, a dentist, was not an elected official at that time.

“Both cities have gone from being strictly agricultural areas to become industrial centers,” Lopez said.

“When I visited Ocotlan in 1964, you could see the towers and steeples of the old city. On my last visit three years ago, most of them were hidden by the high-rises.”

During that time, the city of Oxnard has changed politically as well, Lopez noted. “Hispanics were pretty much out of the mainstream then,” he said. “Nowadays, we’ve come a long way.”

The exchanges often include tours of local industries and discussions about each city’s latest technology.

This year, the Ocotlan residents visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, attended concerts at Oxnard’s Heritage Square and were feted at a dinner at Lopez’s home.

Rudy Palazuelos, who heads Oxnard’s Sister City Committee, said the committee first approached the Mexican city of Ensenada as a possible sister city 29 years ago.

“But they were already taken,” said a grinning Palazuelos, who is a former president of the national U.S.-Mexican Sister Cities Assn.

“Now, we’re very happy to have Ocotlan as our sister city. We have had a beautiful relationship.”

Relationships are what the Sister City program is all about, said Jim Faulconer, Oxnard’s director of community services.

“A better understanding of each other’s culture and traditions is one of the main benefits of the program,” Faulconer said.

“The better you get to know each other, the more you see the similarities rather than the differences.”

A dinner and dance will be held this evening for visitors from Ocotlan and Aultan, the Mexican city that is the sister city of Camarillo.

For more information, call Palazuelos at 983-7026.