EL PASO.- Juarez returned to the informative brochures to promote the attractions that the border region offers to visitors, after two years of being excluded from the tourist map because of the violence.

"Juarez should never have been excluded from the tourist map of El Paso, since it is our main trading partner, we are a single region where we cooperate with each other", said Beto O'Rourke, a former alderman of El Paso, and a candidate for a seat in Congress by the Democratic Party.

During the past two years, the illustrated map of El Paso that could be found in the tourist centers of the city, showed the important places for visitors, and beyond the limits, just where Juarez starts, the layout showed a desert on the Southside, where only some logos were shown.

These maps, designed by illustrator and current president of the Regional Chamber of Business of El Paso, Jose Alejandro Lozano, had always included Juarez, except the one that was published in 2010, which erased the neighboring Mexican city from the local tourism geography.

The decision, he said, was adopted by the Convention and Visitors Center and the Chamber of Commerce, which considered they should not attract visitors to a city with high levels of violence.

"Back then I agreed, but the environment is improving in Juarez, and it's time to support them by promoting the city," said Lozano

Therefore, this year the authorities of the Mexican state of Chihuahua will be the main sponsors of the new map, which will reintegrate the neighboring city and its attractions like museums, shopping centers, as well as archaeological areas like Paquime, and artisanal like Mata Ortiz.

"The fact that Juarez appears again on the map of tourist attractions in Texas, is like a vote of confidence in regard to the existing security in the city," said Demetrio Sotomayor, tourism director in Chihuahua.

Lozano pointed out that the map of the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez main road will be issued by the organization in charge, and the state of Chihuahua will be the main sponsor by contributing with half of the $ 10,000 it costs to print approximately 60,000 color copies of the booklet which can be found in airports and hotels.

He said that El Paso will remain the most important part of it, however, the Chihuahua state authorities will determine which Juarez attractions they want to include.

Although the map has not been completed, so far the slogan details: "El Paso, Texas," in large letters with the following inscription: "Vacation in two nations two worlds apart.....just minutes away".

The words "Ciudad Juarez, Mexico" are written in smaller letters at the bottom of the map along with a detailed illustration of the city's downtown.

According to O'Rourke, this is how it must have been before, and those who designed the map in 2010 turned their backs to the neighboring city, even though this city is the reason why we (El Paso) are here.

"I applaud that our neighboring city is being included again as Mexicans contribute with 4 billion dollars to the El Paso economy each year, and the two cities together represent one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world with the greatest

interaction and family ties" he said.

The trade and tourism leaders said they responded to alerts from the U.S. State Department which has issued several warnings to not travel to northern Mexico due to drug-related violence.

The last was issued on February and is still in force.

However, both the Mexican authorities and U.S. federal agencies maintain that this year, they have seen a decline in kidnappings and murders in Ciudad Juarez.

editorial@sandiegored.com