CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A delegation from Huehuetenango, Guatemala, which is a friendship city of Charlottesville, will be coming for a visit next week.

The Huehuetenango delegation, headed by Mayor Gustavo Cano, will meet with Charlottesville government and civic leaders, while also touring the city and surrounding areas to learn more about its history and culture. 

Tours of Buford Middle School, the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Central Branch, the University of Virginia Center for Politics, and Monticello are on the visitors’ agenda. 

A representative from the Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission visited Huehuetenango in 2022, but this delegation visit is Huehuetenango’s first since the relationship began in 2021.

Two events are open to the public and will provide the opportunity to meet the Huehuetenango delegation members.

On Tuesday, an open house starting at 9 a.m. will be held at the Omni Hotel to learn more about Charlottesville’s sister and friendship cities, as well as an opportunity to meet the delegation and drink free Guatemalan coffee brought from Huehuetenango.

On Wednesday, there will be a public reception at City Space starting at 6 p.m. This event will be the culmination of the trip with the signing of the friendship declaration between Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook and Cano.

Charlottesville became a friendship city of Huehuetenango due, in part, to a desire to explore a bond with a Spanish-speaking country, but also to explore a partnership with a town with a strong Charlottesville connection. 

The nonprofit Ixtatán Foundation began in Charlottesville and was developed with the goal of creating the first high school in San Mateo Ixtatán, a small town in the province of Huehuetenango.