Bloomington group to visit sister city in Cuba, 3/16/03


In memoriam: Jack Hopkins, a founder of USCSCA

Group's goals include more Cuba visits Herald Times, 3/12/02


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Bloomington - Santa Clara CUBAmistad

Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana, first settled around 1815, has a population today of about 69,000. It is best known as the home of the main campus of Indiana University, famous for its Music School; the Kinsey Institute; a number of other highly-ranked programs (Business, Chemistry, Library Science, and Public Administration); and its large, attractive campus. The city is located near the largest man-made lake in the state, in an area of rolling hills, beneath which there are a number of caves. Bloomington is proud of its culture and its history. It is certainly one of the most musical places in the country, with high-quality local groups of all varieties and noteworthy annual events such as the Bloominton Early Music Festival and the Lotus World Music Festival. Bloomingtonians have recently put a lot of money and effort into preserving some of the many historic buildings in their city, including the Monroe County Courthouse. Besides the university, there is employment in the limestone industry, manufacturing, and technology.

Bloomington's sister-city agreement with Santa Clara was formalized by resolutions of the Bloomington City Council (November 9, 1998) and the Asamblea Municipal Poder Popular in Santa Clara (May 28, 1999). In May 2000, 21 members of CUBAmistad, the Bloomington-based organization behind the sister-city project, traveled to Santa Clara to meet with city officials and other Santa Clareños. Sister-city projects underway include shipment of medical equipment and cultural and educational exchanges.

Santa Clara

Statue of the "Che"

By Steve Hinnefeld,
Hoosier Times

Group members hope to set up a program in which elementary students in Bloomington and Santa Clara will exchange letters, artwork and other materials.

On Wednesday, May 26 we traveled to Santa Clara, Cuba to finalize sister-city links with Bloomington, Indiana.  We toured the Ernesto "Che" Guevara monument,  an imposing and beautiful monument that also houses a museum.  Later we  visited the Medical Science Institute to learn from its director, Dr. Fernando González, and faculty about the work of the institute and allied hospitals.

This was followed by a delightful lunch with Arece Guerra Mesa,  President of Santa Clara's  Municipal Assembly, Alexander Rodríguez Rosada, Vice-President of the Municipal Assembly, and other officials. The luncheon was preceded by toasts and exchanges of gifts: H.Uppman cigars and flowers, a scrapbook about Bloomington and Dillman Farms fruit preserves from Monroe County, Indiana.     

After lunch we visited Cuba's Central University for a meeting with the Vice-Rector Dr. Lee Tenorio and department heads. The university has departments in biotechnology and in research on several crops such as bananas, sugar cane, potatoes, and flowers.  We visited the Rostroso Rodríguez Pérez school for visually-impaired children, where children explained the school's mission and entertained us with songs. Our final visit was to the association for the physically impaired.

In the evening, we went on a tour of historical sites, including the Parque Vidal,  a lovely plaza in the city's center; the Teatro La Caridad, a theater build during Spanish colonial times for the poor (Enrico Caruso sang there!); the Casa de la Cultura; the Boulevard, a wide pedestrian street near the plaza; the old Provincial Palace, now the library; and the statue of the "boy with the unfortunate boot," a charming statue of a little drummer boy from the American Civil War -- the little drummer boy whose boot is so worn that no longer holds water, water was often given to wounded soldiers in this way.

Early the next day, we toured the IMPUD plant, which produces refrigerators, ovens and other kitchen items.   And finally we went to the headquarters of ICAP, the Cuban Friendship with People Institute for the signing ceremony. First we met in the back garden with ICAP's provincial director Iris Menéndez Pérez to discuss our project and how we had come to select Santa Clara as our Sister City.  Then in ICAP'S conference room, President and Secretary signed the letter of  riendship and certificate reaffirming the new relation between Santa Clara and Bloomington, concluding with a toast of Cuban rum.

Overall, the trip was very gratifying. Our Cuban hosts were warm and cordial; and the reception we received on every hand bodes well for the future relationship between Santa Clara and Bloomington.

To get involved and learn more about the Bloomington-Santa Clara sister city project contact Jack Hopkins at hopkins@indiana.edu

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