by Khaila Gentle
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Oct. 26, 2022
The city of Angleton, Texas, has a population of over 19,400 and is located in Brazoria County, just a stone’s throw away from Houston. As of this month, the small Texan city and the Old Capital (Belize City) are officially sister cities.
Last week, a delegation led by Mayor Bernard Wagner travelled to Angleton to meet with its mayor, Jason Perez, and the president of the Brazoria County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Gina Aguirre, who made the connection between the two cities possible, along with a host of councilors of that city council and the city manager, Chris Whitaker.
That delegation included members of the Belize City Council, Stephanne Hamilton and Kaya Cattouse, as well as the City Administrator Stephanie Lindo-Garbutt and a number of representatives from the education, tourism, business, youth, and sports sectors.
On Monday, October 17, the group received a Texas welcome from Mayor Perez and his team, followed shortly after by a tour of the city’s parks and recreation areas. According to the Belize City Council, their hosts provided them with “key insights into fostering inclusive and resilient communities.” The delegation also got a chance to visit Angleton High School, where they were treated to lunch, courtesy the school’s culinary students, and were granted a tour of the facilities.
Mayor Wagner told Angleton reporters that he was impressed by the high school’s Career and Technical Education Center, stating, “It’s awesome and one of a kind. Having kids learn at a young age about technical opportunities is something I want to take back to Belize City. They are our future and backbone of any nation.”
The following day, representatives held fruitful discussions around the topic of college education. President of the University of Belize, Dr. Vincent Palacio, gave a presentation on the national university and also had the opportunity to learn about Angleton’s Brazosport College, via a presentation by that college’s president, Dr. Vincent Solis. The group discussed the possibility of having student and staff exchanges between the two institutions.
Later that day, both parties signed the official sister city agreement, the duration of which, said Angleton City Manager Chris Whittaker, is “forevermore.”
Several months ago, Whittaker approached Brazoria County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce president, Gina Aguirre, in search of a potential international partner. Aguirre, according to Angleton news reporters, already had Belize in mind.
“We talked a little bit about how the two cities have similarities. They had to come up with the bio of the city and an overview of what the city is … We have an international ambassador that specializes in sister cities. He called me the next day and said he was flying to meet with the Belize ambassador,” she said.
Shortly after that, in May, the mayors of both cities met via Zoom.
With the signing of the sister city contract, Belize City and the City of Angleton have agreed to collaborate meaningfully for the development of both cities in areas such as art, commerce, disaster risk management, technology, sports, public health administration, and technical and vocational education.
The signing was followed by a celebratory toast. This year, Belize also established sister city relations with Newark, New Jersey.