SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The municipal president of Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico will visit Lake Tahoe this week for a reception and official signing of the recently approved sister city agreement with South Lake Tahoe.

An active committee has been meeting for about six months to discuss the benefits of a “sisterhood.”

The sisterhood would include cultural, culinary, music, and education exchanges.

“Many Hispanic residents of South Lake Tahoe have close ties to Ameca, and there has been significant interest in South Lake Tahoe and Ameca in formalizing a Sister City relationship between the two cities,” said City Manager Frank Rush in a press release, “We are excited to recognize their leaders and ours during this reception and official signing ceremony.”

The Sister City Program, administered by Sister Cities International, was founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The founding principles of the Sister City movement were to encourage direct personal contact by establishing greater friendships between the United States and other nations through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation.

Today, SCI represents sister city programs of more than 1,100 U.S. cities and their 2,000 partners in more than 120 countries worldwide.

SCI is the premier organization for citizen diplomacy in the United States and leads the national movement for local community development and volunteer action in the global arena.

The reception will take place at City Hall from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, and will include local fare and food familiar to Ameca.

Food and drinks will be provided.

The reception is open to the public. Mayor Brooke Laine and Ameca President Juan Valentin Serrano Jimenez will sign the official agreement during the city council meeting.