Dignitaries of the cities of Hayward and Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico, gathered in Hayward earlier this

Dignitaries of the cities of Hayward and Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico, gathered in Hayward earlier this month to celebrate the cities' year-old Sister-City relationship with a flag exchange and mural unveiling.

The flag exchange took place the morning of Monday, July 6, in the City Hall Rotunda followed by a raising of the Arandas flag on Hayward City Hall Plaza. During the exchange ceremony, Mayor Mark Salinas and Arandas President Jose Socorro Martinez Velazquez also exchanged gifts.

The 36-member Aranda's delegation later joined Hayward elected and community leaders in a visit to Arandas park, formally known as Spring Grove Park, for a mural unveiling. The mural was made possible by a donation of $10,000 from the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District Foundation and was painted over a 10-day period by Arandas artists Nahir Covarrubias and Alejandro Rodriguez.

The Hayward City Council authorized the signing of the Sister City Agreement with Arandas on May 6, 2025, a pact in the planning stages through the Arandas Sister City Formation Committee since 2018. In 2020, the Hayward Fire Department donated to Arandas a fire engine it had been retiring from its fleet.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated the Sister Cities program to nurture friendship and understanding between the United States and other nations. Today, the City of Hayward has five Sister Cities: Faro, Portugal, Funabashi, Japan, Ghazni, Afghanistan, San Felipe, Mexico, and Yixing, China.