Tijuana mayor Montserrat Caballero Ramírez awarded the keys to the city to Nora E. Vargas, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors of San Diego County (SANDAG) and the first Tijuana native immigrant woman to serve in this important position in the United States.

The municipal president praised Nora Vargas’ work and example:

She is a woman who has demonstrated that to achieve our dreams we must work on the ground with our people. These are the stories that inspire us as we approach March 8th (Women’s Day). Tijuana and San Diego not only share a border, but a relation that goes way beyond being good neighbors.

The governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, who was present at this award ceremony, added:

Nora breaks paradigms as the chairwoman of the San Diego Association of Governments, SANDAG, where she arrived as an enthusiastic promoter of the integration of our dynamic CaliBaja region. Today, Tijuana publicly recognizes you as an exemplary daughter and awards you the keys of the city.

The event had the presence of US Consul General of the US in Tijuana, Thomas E. Reott; the Secretary of the Interior, Miguel Ángel Bujanda Ruiz, and officials from both countries.

Montserrat Caballero highlighted that Nora’s story demonstrates that it is important to dream, but not to stay asleep.

When it was her turn to speak, Nora Vargas said that she felt proud from receiving the keys to the city where she grew up in, as she is not only a District 1 representative, but of 3.3 million people in San Diego County, while not forgetting about her deep bonds with Mexico.

The CaliBaja community, the binational region, is one of the most powerful that exist, not only in this border, but in the world. The challenge is to show our communities what is important and beautiful about our region. You will all always have in me an ambassador, not only of Tijuana, but of Baja California and Mexico, because I am a proud cross-border and Tijuana native.

When asked how she felt after receiving this important award, Nora stated:

The mayor and the governor are great friends and collaborators. When they told me, I couldn’t believe it. I was filled with emotion and pride. I want every boy and girl of this community to know that you must always dream to reach your goals because there’s nothing you cannot do.

For her part, Marina del Pilar emphasized Nora’s commitment with noble causes and the most vulnerable demographics, as in more than 25 years, she has eliminated barriers with a committed leadership that benefits the people in the community who need it the most.