[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 34 (Thursday, February 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     `MR. AMIGO 2008' JOSE SULAIMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2009

  Mr. ORTIZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the 2008 ``Mr. 
Amigo,'' Jose Sulaiman, chosen recently by the Mr. Amigo Association of 
Brownsville, TX, and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in Mexico. Sulaiman has 
spent his life in the sport of boxing, best known as the president of 
the World Boxing Council for more than three decades.
  The Mr. Amigo Award began in 1964 as an annual tribute to an 
outstanding Mexican citizen who has made a lasting contribution during 
the previous year to international solidarity and goodwill. ``Mr. 
Amigo'' acts as an ambassador between our two countries and presides 
over the annual Charro Days festival.
  The Charro Days festival, held in Brownsville and Matamoros, is an 
opportunity to enjoy the unique border culture of the Rio Grande Valley 
area. A Lenten event, much like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the festival 
was organized in 1937 by the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce to 
recognize Mexican culture and was named in honor of the charros, 
``dashing Mexican gentlemen cowboys.'' The festival includes parades 
complete with floats, as well as street dances, a carnival, mariachi 
and marimba concerts, and ballet folklorico performances by school 
students.
  In 1968, Sulaiman joined the World Boxing Council (WBC) and quickly 
moved through the ranks. In 1975, Sulaiman was unanimously elected 
president of the WBC and has served in that capacity ever since. Under 
his leadership, the WBC has instituted many new rules and regulations 
regarding boxers' safety and welfare, and has funded brain injury 
research programs at UCLA. Outside of boxing, Sulaiman, who speaks 
Spanish, English, Arabic, Italian, Portuguese and French, successfully 
operates a medical supply company in Mexico.
  The United States-Mexico border has a unique, blended history of 
cowboys, bandits, lawmen, farmers, fishermen, oil riggers, soldiers, 
scientists, entrepreneurs, and teachers. The Charro Days festival 
reflects that deep sense of shared history and experiences, which is 
needed now more than ever. It is a time for all of us to not only 
remember our past, but to celebrate our future.
  The Charro Days festival and the Mr. Amigo Award unite sister cities 
on both sides of the border and send a message that we are neighbors, 
and friends that trust, understand, and respect each other. We share a 
language, customs, and experiences unique to our communities, and 
during Charro Days we take time to celebrate our distinctive culture.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in commending Jose Sulaiman, the 2008 
Mr. Amigo, as well as the cities of Brownsville and Matamoros, for 
their dedication to international goodwill between the United States 
and Mexico.

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