On Monday, September 14, Mayor Nicola Smith and Council Member Julieta Altamirano-Crosby participated in a virtual Friendship City Ceremony with the city of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico.

It was a great honor to be joined by the Governor of Guerrero, Hector Astudillo Flores, and Chilpancingo Council Member Ana Lilia Leyva Sotelo for this ceremony and the beginning of our Friendship City relationship. With this Friendship City Relationship we hope to create an open exchange of information, economics, arts, tourism, and more with Chilpancingo.

Council Member Altamirano-Crosby is originally from Chilpancingo and was in attendance alongside Governor Astudillo Flores for the ceremony. During the ceremony, Council Member Altamirano-Crosby said, "this Friendship City relationship promotes cooperation between both cities, and also builds and makes known our multicultural legacy. This relationship will be a first approach to share, learn and value our cultural differences."

During the virtual ceremony, Mayor Nicola Smith said, "Lynnwood is a diverse city. We have residents from all corners of the world: Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and Australia. In Lynnwood, Latinx community members account for approximately 15% of our population, and we are so glad that they have chosen to call Lynnwood home!"