The overview
According to city documents, the sister city agreements are mutually beneficial agreements to explore educational, economic and cultural opportunities between the municipalities. The agreement with Lanzarote makes it the fourth European sister city, and the agreement with Queretaro makes the city the third sister city in Mexico.
Prior to the agreement, San Antonio had two sister cities in Mexico, three in Europe, one in Africa and six in Asia.
The background
The Sister City Program was first initiated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 as a way to foster greater friendships and understanding between other nations, U.S. cities, counties and states.
San Antonio’s relationship with Queretaro, Mexico dates back to 1709 when Father Antonio de Olivares, a Franciscan missionary from the College of Santa Cruz of Queretaro, came to San Antonio and helped found the Mission San Antonio de Valero, or the Alamo, which was first of five missions in the city.
San Antonio’s relationship with Lanzarote begins at the founding of San Antonio, when King Phillp IV of Spain helped relocate Canary Island residents to the new world where they established the Villa de Bejar and created the Plaza de Las Islas Canarias, or the Main Plaza in downtown San Antonio.
