Arcatao is a small town located in the northern highlands of El Salvador and is one of Madison, Wisconsin’s official sister cities. Madison’s Common Council voted to become a sister city to Arcatao in 1986 to bring international attention to the civilians that were being brutally targeted by government forces during the long Salvadoran civil war. A not-for-profit organization, Madison Arcatao Sister City Project or MASCP was created to facilitate accompaniment and communication with the people of Arcatao at that time. In 2011 MASCP celebrates 25 years of solidarity with the people of Arcatao and El Salvador.
MASCP has maintained a lively and engaged relationship with the people of Arcatao ever since its beginning in 1986. MASCP leads yearly delegations to Arcatao, supports scholarships for youth in Arcatao going to the University in San Salvador and provides basic financial support for local and regional organizing in Arcatao and in the Department of Chatenango where Arcatao is located. Most important, people in Madison and Arcatao have developed friendships and mutual understandings that energize people in both cities to work persistently for social and economic justice at home and beyond the boundaries of their own countries.
MASCP also contributes to the success of the US El Salvador Sisiter Cities (USESSC)–an organization that allows all 17 US El Salvador sister cities to join forces for positive change both north and south. USESSC supports two bilingual and bicultural staff people living in San Salvador. These talented young people facilitate communication and project development between all the sister cities and lead all delegations from USESSC communities. Go to Links to connect with the USESSC website. It is a wealth of information about current issues and activites in El Salvador.