The Madison-Camagüey Sister City Association (MCSCA) was established in 1994 in response to a growing desire on the part of many Madisonians to learn more about Cuba. The opportunity for a sister city relationship came when Madison City Council member, Ricardo Gonzalez, a Cuban-American born in Camagüey, visited the island after many years and returned with the determination to develop closer ties between what he called “my two hometowns.”
Madison and Camagüey share the distinction of being their country’s traditional “dairyland.” Both cities are capitals, located in large agricultural regions and centers of communications, education and culture. The people of Madison and Camagüey also share a particular sense of pride in their community, an “attitude” if you will, that set them apart from the rest of their countryfolk. In short, they offered the potential for good twins and, indeed, time has proven this to be correct.
From the beginning, MCSCA has been able to attract the interest of members of the community and the respect of our political leaders. Whether inviting the chief of Cuba’s Interests Section in Washington to speak in Madison or hosting the national conference of the US-Cuba Sister Cities Association or co-sponsoring local cultural and music events, MCSCA has been a visible part of our community and drawn attention to Cuba and Camagüey, in particular.
In Camagüey, we have made many friends among the people and government officials as well. We have helped with the restoration of a children’s amusement park, the rehabilitation of the city’s famed municipal concert band, brought much-needed equipment and supplies to the pediatrics hospital, and worked hand-in-hand with doctors, nurses, farmers, academics and others in an effort to bridge the gap that has separated our two nations for so long.
The sister city relationship between Madison and Camagüey must cope with the difficulties and obstacles posed by the continuing U.S. embargo on Cuba, which makes travel to the island nearly impossible but for a few categories. Fortunately, MCSCA has qualified as a humanitarian organization, so much of its work has been in this area. Since l995, we have sent several groups to Camagüey with each individual traveler responsible for carrying a box of donations. In this manner, hundreds of Wisconsin citizens have taken tons of medical, agricultural, educational and cultural donations to our sister city.
Our work continues, as we envision more trips to Camagüey and also hosting visits from camagüeyanos to Madison. Our commitment to helping the people of Camagüey and to develop bonds of friendship between our citizens is as strong now as ever. As the old saying in our sister city goes, we have drunk the water from a tinajón and now we must keep going back for more.
The Madison-Camagüey Sister City Association (MCSCA) was established in 1994 in response to a growing desire on the part of many Madisonians to learn more about Cuba. The opportunity for a sister city relationship came when Madison City Council member, Ricardo Gonzalez, a Cuban-American born in Camagüey, visited the island after many years and returned with the determination to develop closer ties between what he called “my two hometowns.” 
From the beginning, MCSCA has been able to attract the interest of members of the community and the respect of our political leaders. Whether inviting the chief of Cuba’s Interests Section in Washington to speak in Madison or hosting the national conference of the US-Cuba Sister Cities Association or co-sponsoring local cultural and music events, MCSCA has been a visible part of our community and drawn attention to Cuba and Camagüey, in particular.
In Camagüey, we have made many friends among the people and government officials as well. We have helped with the restoration of a children’s amusement park, the rehabilitation of the city’s famed municipal concert band, brought much-needed equipment and supplies to the pediatrics hospital, and worked hand-in-hand with doctors, nurses, farmers, academics and others in an effort to bridge the gap that has separated our two nations for so long.
The sister city relationship between Madison and Camagüey must cope with the difficulties and obstacles posed by the continuing U.S. embargo on Cuba, which makes travel to the island nearly impossible but for a few categories. Fortunately, MCSCA has qualified as a humanitarian organization, so much of its work has been in this area. Since l995, we have sent several groups to Camagüey with each individual traveler responsible for carrying a box of donations. In this manner, hundreds of Wisconsin citizens have taken tons of medical, agricultural, educational and cultural donations to our sister city.
Our work continues, as we envision more trips to Camagüey and also hosting visits from camagüeyanos to Madison. Our commitment to helping the people of Camagüey and to develop bonds of friendship between our citizens is as strong now as ever. As the old saying in our sister city goes, we have drunk the water from a tinajón and now we must keep going back for more.