Las Cruces – Students and their instructors from a technological post-secondary school in Lerdo, Durango, Mexico will be hosted by Doña Ana Community College (DACC).
Eighteen students and six faculty from Centro de Bachillerato Technológico Industrial y de Servicios Número 4 (CBTis 4) of Ciudad Lerdo, Durango, Mexico will arrive on Wednesday, October 28 for six days of activities designed to foster understanding of cultures. Classes, ceremonies and a tour of attractions in Phoenix will strengthen the cultural exchange.
Next spring, students, faculty and staff from DACC will visit CBTis 4 and tour cultural sites in the Lerdo area to complete the yearly exchange.
On Thursday evening, October 29, welcoming ceremonies will be held on the plaza adjacent to the Doña Ana Student Resources Building Plaza outside of the Commons Area of the East Mesa Campus. Welcoming remarks will be given by Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima, and DACC President, Dr. Renay Scott.
A special performance by Grammy Award Winning La Catrina Quartet will also be featured. The quartet will be joined by two NMSU students Ceara Caisido, violoncello & Andrea Gonzalez, violoncello. The group will perform works by Ponce, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.
On Friday the Lerdo contingent will attend a football game at the Field of Dreams in Las Cruces. During the remaining visit the guests will attend classes, tour local destinations, and travel to Phoenix to tour attractions including the Arizona Cardinals football stadium.
This exchange has developed over the past 33 years as an initiative of Patricio Quintana, the second President of what is now DACC.
Located 550 miles south of Las Cruces, Ciudad Lerdo is similar to Las Cruces. Both have agriculture as a major industry and both include festivals celebrating agricultural products including wine. Lerdo sits near the Nazas River which has been compared to the Rio Grande.