A group from the Palmdale Sister Cities Association made a visit to Poncitlán, Mexico, Sept. 24 through 29, to celebrate 45 years of friendship between the two cities.
Among the activities was a tour of the Los Hermanos facilities which featured a dairy farm, bottling plant, and bottle recycling and manufacturing factory. It is one of the area’s largest employers, with over 1,800 workers on 3 shifts at this facility alone.
The Palmdale Sister Cities contingent included group President Lisa Poonoosamy, Vice President Carol Little, Secretary Sylvia Magallanes, Treasurer Lucia Figueroa, Mayor Steve Hofbauer, Barbara Hofbauer, Helen Acosta, Lisa Cortinas, Lorrena Medina, Michelle Tomoche, Juan Gonzalez, Patricia Gonzalez, Juan Moran, Michelle Pedomo, Omar Pedomo and Soledad Samidio. A special 45th anniversary plaque made by Juan Moran was presented to the Poncitlán organization.
Mayor Hofbauer also met with Poncitlán Mayor Luis Miguel Nunez and neighboring Tototlán Mayor Sergio Quesada.
After the first visit to the city of Poncitlán in 1973, at the direction of Palmdale Mayor Robert St. Clair, the city of Palmdale became a member of the U.S./Mexico Sister City Program and chose the city of Poncitlán as their Sister City in 1974. At the time, the two cities shared rural similarities as Palmdale’s population was only 11,000. Today, Palmdale has grown to more than 160,000.
President Dwight Eisenhower initiated the Sister City Program in 1956. This program works to develop one-on-one community relations with cities in other countries and provides Palmdale residents the opportunity to visit Mexico or volunteer under the sister cities relationship.
For more information, please contact Lisa Poonoosamy at (661) 860-6907.
