Culture News Blog

"What a journey," Mayor Kevin Dumas said of the side trip to the ancient mountain-top city built by native Incas. "On our way back, it was pitch black, and we were so high (up) we could catch a glimpse of the entire galaxy. You could see the turning motions of other solar systems, the whole Milky Way was right there; it was incredible."

The starry sights that amazed Dumas and the group of area artists with whom he was traveling, capture the trip as whole, which was undertaken to unveil the cultures and civic customs of Attleboro and the city of Pueblo Libre to each other.

New worlds of art, culture and politics were opened to the Attleboro group, as well as to the residents of Pueblo Libre, which is now officially Attleboro's sister city.

And, when artists from Pueblo Libre come here, sometime in next two years, new worlds will undoubtedly open to them and the residents of Attleboro. Attleboro Mayor Kevin Dumas hit if off with his counterpart during his visit to Peru, Pueblo Libre Mayor Raphael Santos Normand. Both mayors are displaying the new Sister City agreement between Attleboro and Pueblo Libre. (Submitted)"I think this will open doors," said Karole Nicholson, one of seven artists on the exchange trip. "I can imagine people warming up to having people from a Spanish culture come here."

While the exchange is designed to create links with a foreign land, it could have the same effect locally, the mayor said.

Dumas said it could help the city and the local Hispanic community create closer ties.

The trip was set up by city resident and Peru native Lucretia Sosa, who said she hopes to establish ongoing cultural interchanges between her new home and her homeland. Sosa is still in Peru.

It took about 12 months to arrange the international adventure and, other than flight delays to Peru, and "a little trouble" getting art released from Peruvian customs, the event went off without a hitch, Dumas said.

In fact, Nicholson, who works at the Community VNA, and Dumas said the entire time was "wonderful."

"We were treated like royalty," Nicholson said. "We were celebrities."

The trip was extensively covered in the local press, Dumas said.

The first order of business on arrival was the preparation of an exhibit area for the group's 65 pieces of art that included paintings and sculptures.

It took three days to set up the display at a museum in San Isidro, a city near Pueblo Libre, which, like Pueblo Libre, is a district of Lima, Peru's capital.But the work was worth it, Nicholson and Dumas said.

About 150 people attended the opening, and they weren't shy about discussing the art.

"They were interested, and asked us a lot of questions," said Nicholson, who added that Pueblo Libre is especially known for its cultivation of the arts.

Many people spoke English, which eased communication problems, she said.

"They were better with English than we were with Spanish," Nicholson said.

The exhibit opened on June 23, and will remain in place until July 18.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Pueblo Libre, Raphael Santos Normand, organized elaborate day-long ceremonies to celebrate the establishment of a sister city agreement between his city and Attleboro.

"They went out of their way to make the signing day very special," Nicholson said.

Dumas, who exchanged gifts with Normand, said he was impressed with his counterpart, and felt at home with him.

"He ran for the same reasons I did, because he loved his city, and he wanted to rebuild it," the mayor said.

And municipal budget woes are apparently international.

"He told me there's never enough money, and I said I hear you on that," said Dumas, who at the time of the trip was still resolving a $2.6 million deficit for the current budget year.

Normand runs his city of 85,000 people on a budget of $6 million, but the national government pays for many expensive services such as education and police, Dumas said. That compares to the $104.9 million fiscal year 2009 budget passed last month by the city council.

Under the the 10-point sister city pact, the two communities pledge "to establish a permanent system of exchange of information in order to broaden the reciprocal understanding of the people through culture, health, housing, tourism, ecology and environment, youth, strategic plans, education and others that could be interesting for one or both parties."

Dumas said the city will host a similar event, but not immediately.

"It will take at least 18 to 24 months to plan something nice," he said.

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