Dear USCSCA Family:

We would like to congratulate the people and city of Ann Arbor, Michigan for their successful city council declaration last night making Ann Arbor and Remedios, in Villa Clara, official sister cities. "At 12:30 last night the Ann Arbor, Michigan city council voted 9 to 2 on party lines to approve the sister city bond with Remedios. "

Good work, and part of a public groundswell 'blowback' for this administration's efforts to close down Cuba to U.S. residents. As we move into the 2004 election cycle, we anticipate many more people concerned about the alarming deterioration in U.S.-Cuba relations will look to form sister cities to make a positive contribution to reverse this unacceptable policy.

Ann Arbor is our first sister city in the state of Michigan, and we hope the goodwill of their work will expand to become the Michigan-Villa Clara Sister State-Province relationship as we all struggle together to maintain relationship with the Cuban people over the next year.

USCSCA now has one sister state, (PA.) three sister counties, and 21 official sister cities with many more cities in the process of building their community links! We are growing in leaps and bounds! We've gone quite the distance due to your grassroots efforts from when we formed the national organization with thirteen people a few years ago, with three official sister cities and ten hopefuls! Power to the People! There are people in almost every state working to build official connections to communities in Cuba. (Hawaii, yes, Alaska, not yet!)

There is no turning back. This has now become a domestic civil/human rights issue for U.S. residents. Will we rise to the challenge and defend our freedom to travel?

We are the majority, and we are firmly grounded and supported by the world, as indicated in the recent U.N. vote which major media refused to mention. Its not fashionable in elite circles to mention that the whole world is outraged by our government's Imperial posturing.

Remedios now has two communities in the U.S. working to build sustainable relationships. ---Remedios is also sistered with Bloomington/Normal Illinois. 

We anticipate that the people living in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Missouri will someday work institutionally and regionally with their sister province of Villa Clara to build solid bridges between our communities that we can all be enriched by. 

Thank you Ann Arbor! Welcome!

On behalf of the USCSCA executive board,

Sincerely,