Ashland enjoys an official sister city relationship with Guanajuato, Mexico and celebrated the 40th anniversary in 2009. This partnership has grown in many ways through the years with one of the most significant being the relationship between Southern Oregon University and the Universidad de Guanajuato through the Amistad Program. This association has been of great benefit to students, faculty and administrators from the two institutions, and residents of both cities. Ashland Chamber shares a business and cultural exchange with Guanajuato.

There are many reasons that Ashland and Guanajuato and our respective schools are such logical and successful choices as Sister Cities and Universities. Both cities are the home to universities. Both cities have beautiful parks and tourism plays a major role in both economies. Both have central plazas and are known cultural centers in their respective regions valuing historic and architectural preservation.

As a World Heritage site, and stated in their publication, "Guanajuato is nestled in a narrow gorge of the Sierra Madre in the heart of Mexico, and is one of those post-Columbian towns hewn out of rock that seem to spring straight from the mountains. … The town lies above a network of subterranean streets.  Its majestic old mansions, baroque and neo-classical churches, palaces, convents and hospital have all the charm of a bygone era."

Guanajuato’s counterpart to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is the International Cervantes Festival (Festival Internacional Cervantino), an annual three-week celebration in October that features artists from around the world. The festival is considered one of Latin America’s most important cultural events. Guanajuato is home to many artists and galleries. It is the birthplace in 1886 of Diego Rivera, the muralist credited with single-handedly changing the course of a country’s art.  Founded in the early 16th century, Guanajuato became the world’s leading silver-extraction center in the 18th century. It played a major role in the War of Independence led by the rebel priest Miguel Hidalgo in 1810. President Vicente Fox Quesada, who recently completed his term of office, came from Guanajuato.

Each city has an Amigo Club providing strong connections serving to unite families, students and friends at social and intellectual gatherings. These people not only host international visitors in their homes but are ambassadors for their communities. Most recently the Ashland Rotary Club became very involved with Guanajuato having raised significant dollars and offering their labor to help build houses in Guanajuato.

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