This state’s presence in the United States will kick up a notch on December 7 with the opening of the third Casa Jalisco north of the border.
The new center in San Jose, California is primarily designed to strengthen relations between Jalisco and some 300,000 expatriate migrants living in that part of northern California. The aim will be to cement and develop business, educational, cultural and ties.
To get the project started, the Jalisco government has contributed 70,000 dollars to pay the first year’s rent on the property located at 320 S. First Street in San Jose, as well as a further 15,000 dollars toward its running costs.The first Casa Jalisco opened in February 2011 in Chicago; the second, in Los Angeles, followed nine months later. A fourth planned in Wisconsin may open before the current administration of Governor Emilio Gonzalez ends in March 2013.
The project is backed – and part financed – by the Federation of Jalisco Clubs of Northern California, which has 15,000 active members.
Migrants’ dollars coming back into Jalisco (remittances) significantly boost the state’s economy and are especially important in small provincial towns, including those surrounding Lake Chapala.