\u201cWe wanted it to be more structured, so we could do real social work through both cities \u2014 to exchange culture, education, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aurea Ortiz, co-chair of the Bethlehem\/Patillas Committee<\/p>\n
Bethlehem’s other sister cities include Tondabayashi, Japan; Schw\u00e4bisch Gm\u00fcnd, Germany; Foiano di Val Fortore, Italy; Murska Sobota, Slovenia; and Corfu, Greece. <\/p>\n
For Ortiz, establishing a sister-city relationship with Patillas carried a significance unlike any of Bethlehem\u2019s previous partnerships. <\/p>\n
![\"Group](\"https:\/\/static.lehigh-v.lehigh-valley.production.k1.m1.brightspot.cloud\/dims4\/default\/165c0e6\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1707x960+0+0\/resize\/880x495!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flehigh-valley-brightspot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fff%2F59%2F8018384d4cd0a1350b1d615c8ca8%2F595078639-889832340374131-4724181951326399066-n-16x9.png\")
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Contributed <\/p>\n
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City of Bethlehem<\/p>\n
Bethlehem\/Patillas Sister City co-chair Donna Tagger, Bethlehem’s director of equity and inclusion Janine Santoro, Bethlehem\/Patillas Sister City co-chair Aurea Ortiz, Patillas Mayor Maritza S\u00e1nchez Neris and Bethlehem Mayor Willie J. Reynolds pose inside Neris’ office in Patillas. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had five different sister cities, but never a Puerto Rican sister city,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cTo finally have one was something big.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz, the host of WDIY 88.1’s “Charla Communitaria,” explained that the Bethlehem\u2013Patillas partnership was intentionally built with a deeper purpose. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur sister city became a little different,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted it to be more structured, so we could do real social work through both cities \u2014 to exchange culture, education, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Every committee member, she added, represents a key part of that mission. \u201cDonna [Taggart] represents economic development. Others come from Lehigh University, Northampton Community College, Moravian\u2026 This isn\u2019t one organization or one person. We\u2019re connectors, bringing people together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bethlehem leaders and Sister City committee members who traveled to the Isla del Encanto this month were Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds, Janine Santoro, Bethlehem’s director of equity and inclusion, and a wide delegation of Sister City committee members: Raymond Santiago, executive director of the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley; Toni Fernandez, community outreach specialist at Northampton Community College; Robert and Flor V\u00e9lez of Puertorrican Culture Preservation; Rosa Carides-Hof, community school coordinator at Donegan Elementary School; Eric Fontanez, supervisor of equity initiatives for the Bethlehem Area School District; Joanne Garcia, manager of education and PCA programs at ArtsQuest; Kate Rymon, manager of education and public programming at the National Museum of Industrial History, and her husband, Bethlehem Police Lt. Josh Rymon.<\/p>\n
Also part of the delegation were Maritza Gonzalez, bilingual multicultural enrollment counselor at Moravian University; Adam Lazarchak, executive director of the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School; Brian Moser, house project coordinator at BAVTS; Realtor Dana Huber, representing the Bethlehem Rotary Club; Emma Ortiz, communications and fundraising manager for The Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties; and Anais Martinez, community school coordinator at Lehigh University.<\/p>\n
While the focus centered on its partnership with Patillas \u2014 including participating in talks with Reyes Ramos and Mayor Maritza S\u00e1nchez Neris \u2014 the group also met with leaders from neighboring municipalities such as Guayama, Arroyo, Maunabo, Yabucoa and Corozal, all of whom participate in similar community initiatives.<\/p>\n
Rebuilding after Maria<\/p>\n
Janine Santoro said the trip was filled with moments that felt almost \u201cspiritual\u201d in their timing and connection. <\/p>\n
One moment that stayed with her unfolded during a school visit, when Carides-Hoft encountered a former Bethlehem student whose family had moved to the district after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017.<\/p>\n
After the hurricane, Bethlehem Area School District received more than 100 students and families from the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat student recognized her,\u201d Santoro said of Carides-Hoft. \u201cThey came up to her and said, ‘Thank you for everything you did for my family.\u2019 I almost wanted to cry just thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, during a celebration in Patillas, she watched another unexpected reunion when a local man approached Mayor Reynolds \u2014 he turned out to be the father of a member of the city’s staff. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese moments were happening all the time,\u201d Santoro said. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who had lived in Bethlehem and returned to Patillas, or people asking if we knew someone they knew. It felt like home away from home, and that\u2019s the meaningful part of this sister city relationship. Yes, there are initiatives, but there\u2019s also this idea that we are each other\u2019s homes. It\u2019s very mutual \u2014 almost spiritual \u2014 the way these connections keep showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The visit allowed the delegation to tour local schools, including Rafaelina Lebr\u00f3n Flores High School in Patillas, where they identified structural needs and discussed ways to support \u201clow-cost\u201d initiatives, such as enhancing playgrounds, providing educational resources to students, and sharing vocational and technical expertise.<\/p>\n
There were also conversations with mayors from nearby pueblos, Ortiz said, including Yabucoa, where Hurricane Maria made landfall at 185 mph. <\/p>\n
\u201cMost of their structures are back, but the communities are still in the process of recovering,” Ortiz said. “One of the things they\u2019re doing is reinventing themselves. Many municipalities are returning to agriculture \u2014 traditionally sugar cane \u2014 but now they\u2019re shifting toward producing ingredients for rum instead of sugar.” <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re also investing in solar panels to generate energy, since their electrical grid remains unreliable. Working in these areas, including the schools, is about finding ways to share and exchange culture. But this particular effort was focused more on business and exploring how we could support them in rebuilding and strengthening local structures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven after difficult times, the strength and unity they show is inspiring \u2014 it\u2019s the kind of thing that stays with you forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bethlehem Mayor Willie J. Reynolds on meeting residents of Patillas <\/p>\n
Reynolds said his visit to Puerto Rico left him with a deep sense of admiration for the people he met. <\/p>\n
Throughout the trip, he listened to residents and community leaders describe the challenges their towns have faced in recent years \u2014 from Hurricane Maria to ongoing economic pressures \u2014 and how they continue to rebuild with determination. <\/p>\n
He was especially moved by their commitment to investing in their neighborhoods. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an incredible sense of community there,\u201d Reynolds said, noting that it\u2019s something people on the mainland can learn from.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven after difficult times, the strength and unity they show is inspiring \u2014 it\u2019s the kind of thing that stays with you forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heartbeat of the community<\/p>\n
![\"Parranda](\"https:\/\/static.lehigh-v.lehigh-valley.production.k1.m1.brightspot.cloud\/dims4\/default\/655a300\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1439x960+0+0\/resize\/880x587!\/quality\/90\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Flehigh-valley-brightspot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2F80%2F14%2F4805c562465cbfb8c512902e0839%2F594078056-889977010359664-2388807576456755133-n.jpg\")
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Contributed <\/p>\n
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City of Bethlehem<\/p>\n
Residents of Patiilas, Puerto Rico welcomed a delegation from Bethlehem in early December where the group participated in a traditional parranda. <\/p>\n
For Taggart, who was born in Bethlehem, the visit to Patillas was a true cultural awakening \u2014 especially during Navidad, one of the most festive times of the year. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so spirited and so welcoming,\u201d she said, recalling the children singing and dancing everywhere they went, the abundant food, and the warmth of the local people. <\/p>\n
While she had visited Puerto Rico before as a tourist, \u201cI just sat on the beach, and I\u2019m not Spanish-speaking, so that was a little challenging,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
This time, however, she said she witnessed the “heartbeat of the community.” <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re blessed, you have a responsibility to bless others \u2014 and that\u2019s exactly what we aim to do with this partnership.”<\/p>\n
Aurea Ortiz, co-chair of the Bethlehem\/Patillas Committee<\/p>\n