The twinning started in 1985. Thats almost 28 years of twinning and the enthusiasm is still growing. We travelled in alternate years to see our 'twins' as do the people from Murcia, organized camps, for the young people of the two villages... this is more than just a twinning... We really are twins.

The following is a letter describing the reality of our partnership with San Javier in Murcia, written by Antonia Cler, a great supporter of Twinning and Councillor for Culture of the City of San Javier at that time.

SAN JAVIER AND JAVIER: TWINS

It seems like yesterday and twenty years have passed. And if time passes quickly is because we're enjoying ourselves. It seems like yesterday when my mayor, José Ruiz Manzanares, tasked me to connect with Javier in Navarra to make the first official visit (many 'Sanjaviereños' had visited Javier Castle, but not to meet the people). I'd like to give my thanks to all who had the bright idea: Jaime Ignacio del Burgo and Joseph Lucas.

After that the municipal council agreed to prepare the trip. During these preparationsI rang the wrong number several times phone - sometimes I spoke with the Jesuits, other times to the missionaries – when I arrived at Javier I already knew half the town.

If our departure was exciting San Javier with rockets and the bells ringing, our arrival at our twin town didn't disappoint, because of all the people waiting! Forgive me if I seem unduly modest, but upon opening the bus door the first thing someone from Javier asked was "Who is Antonia?" On that trip were councilors from all the parties, people of all social and cultural fields, etc. All our twins. We were greeted as if we we had known each other a whole lifetime.

I remember many things from that first meeting. What was unforgettable was the "aurora" sung to us the next morning. I do not know what it is to wake up in Heaven, but that morning we thought we were there. A choir made up of all the village singing to their twins.

The song and dance group "Mar Menor" from San Javier was also present during the first visit, some of them children themselves, now visit with their own children.

Undoubtedly the twinning was and is something important in the events of these two peoples. Important and beautiful. The odd thing is that it has lasted so long, a lot of people who come from both villages take part in it with the same joy and enthusiasm as those from twenty years ago. The reason has a name: Francisco Javier, the Holy (as we say in San Javier). That's the answer. We've all heard of twinning events, received with much fanfare but no one remembers them in a few years. I think these there was only human intervention, but in ours, there was the human and the divine, the good people of the two villages, and our patron saint Francis Javier holding out his hands to both as if they stand together, as twins.

Faith moves mountains and unites people and so sometimes "The Birds" flying there, sometimes Antonio, with his infectious enthusiasm, and sometimes young people who have managed to convey that thing I can not explain, but you feel like twins both here and there. This makes these trips possible, sometimes more formal, others more relaxed, but always with the desire that our guiding light of twinning will never be extinguished.

Antonia Cler
Councillor for Culture and Sport 1979-1999
San Javier Town Hall