Fiesta promotes sister cities

The sounds of Latin American song and dance filled the Farmers Market Saturday.

The occasion was the Sister Cities Day Fiesta, a celebration of Bloomington’s sister cities — Posoltega, Nicaragua, and Santa Clara, Cuba.

Bloomington established a sister city relationship with Posoltega in 1988 and later with Santa Clara in 1999.

Mayor Mark Kruzan issued a proclamation for the event stating its purpose.

“Sister Cities Day is a time to educate the entire community about the benefits and possibilities associated with Bloomington’s Sister Cities Program and to promote peace and friendship among the City of Bloomington and numerous other cities around the world,” Kruzan said.

The purpose of Sister Cities is to “create relationships based on cultural, educational, information and trade exchanges, creating lifelong friendships that provide prosperity and peace through person-to-person ‘citizen diplomacy,’” according to Sister Cities International’s website.

Mary Jensen, president of the Bloomington-Posoltega Committee of Sister Cities International, said interest in forming a sister city relationship came from IU faculty in the Latin American Studies Department.

Jensen said the committee sponsors several programs in Nicaragua including hot lunches for children and scholarships.

“When we first visited Posoltega, the students did not even think college was an option,” Jensen said. “Since that time we have provided 33 students with assistance to attend, providing them with supplies and transportation.”

Debbi Conkle, the committee’s secretary, said the group is planning for a delegation to return to Posoltega in March.

CUBAmistad is the Bloomington-based organization that spearheaded the sister city project with Santa Clara, Cuba.

Group member Arthur Stein said traveling to Cuba is difficult because of the United States’ trade and travel embargo.

“We have been trying to get the licenses for a community group to travel to Cuba for the past nine months,” Stein said.

Though the group has been unable to send a delegation in the past 10 years, it continues to donate supplies via the Pastors for Peace U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment Caravan.

Saturday’s fiesta included performances by a youth choir and dance groups, including a salsa performance by Ritmos Latinos Indiana.

The fiesta also offered craft activities for children including bookmarks with Spanish vocabulary cards and a God’s eye yarn weaving.

Follow reporter Brianna Meyer on Twitter @brimmeyer.