A group tours the Bayou Teche Museum in downtown New Iberia. 

Tourists from New Iberia’s sister city Alhaurín de la Torre arrived in Iberia Parish last week to celebrate New Iberia’s Spanish Festival and see the Teche Area for themselves.

New Iberia and Alhaurín de la Torre, Malaga, Spain, have been officially twinned since 2009, and from the city and New Iberia have visited each other regularly since 2011.

Spanish Association member Ebrar Reaux said the first El Festival Espanol de Nueva Iberia was staged in 2012 just a year after the first visit and the Spanish Festival was created to spread awareness to New Iberia residents that their city was founded in 1779 by a group of 17 families from Malaga and Alhaurín de la Torre led by Francisco Bouligny under the leadership of Bernardo de Galvez, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana.

Those coming to the city included mayor of Alhaurín de la Torre Joaquín Villanova. The group enjoyed local scenery and were introduced to the Swamp Boat Tour in Lake Martin.

“They especially enjoyed seeing huge alligators throughout the tour,” Reaux said. “A day trip to New Orleans introduced them to the Spanish contributions to the local culture.”

Meeting with local residents was also a trip highlight, with the group meeting Mayor Freddie DeCourt, the New Iberia Police Department, the SWAT team and the city fire department.

“They also fell in love with the efforts by our mayor and citizens to promote our Spanish heritage and culture,” Reaux said.

There have been several student exchanges throughout the years, which were paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and re-established soon after. Most recently, a New Iberia delegation led by Councilwoman Deedy Johnson-Reid and Spanish Association President Brinkley Segura Lopez visited Alhaurín during Easter to reaffirm the commitment to strengthen historical and cultural ties between the two cities.