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For more
information
Call Karen
Turni Bazile at 278-4280 or 874-0980
St. Bernard Parish Government
8201 West Judge Perez Drive
Chalmette, Louisiana 70043
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May
3, 2008
CONTACT:
Karen Turni Bazile, Executive Assistant to the President
St. Bernard Parish
504-278-4280 or 504-874-0980
LOCAL LEADERS GREET
SPANISH AMBASSADOR
St. Bernard Parish
President Craig Taffaro touts opportunities
St.
Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr., welcomed the
Ambassador of Spain to the United States at a luncheon in Chalmette
Saturday where three Spanish heritage groups joined to celebrate the
area’s shared roots with Spain.
Carlos Westendorp Y Cabeza spent Saturday in St. Bernard visiting
various locales in a community with strong Spanish roots.
Descendants of Canary Islanders, Spanish colonists who settled in
St. Bernard in the late 1700s on land grants, have formed various
groups to honor and strengthen their history and culture.
The
ambassador was honored at a luncheon sponsored by the Los Islenos
Heritage and Cultural Society where its president Dorothy L. Benge,
Taffaro and Parish Council Chairwoman Polly C. Boudreaux greeted the
ambassador. Three Canary Islands groups were represented: the Los
Islenos group, the Canary Islands Descendants of St. Bernard and the
Canary Islanders Heritage Society of Baton Rouge.
The
ambassador said he felt a special kinship to the people of St.
Bernard and he applauded the citizens’ tenacity for rebuilding the
community since Hurricane Katrina.
Taffaro said it was very important to learn from the example of
Spain’s success in its fishing and tourism industries. Taffaro said
he had high hopes for the visit.
“It’s all part of the overall marketing scheme of increasing our
cultural identity and heritage with our roots,” Taffaro said. “From
an economic development standpoint, the visit provides opportunity
for international partnerships with our tourism and commercial
fishing industries.”
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