The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana raised oceans conservation awareness and conducted innovative sports diplomacy in Tijuana and Rosarito. Sports Diplomacy has emerged as an integral part of efforts to build ever-strengthening relations between the United States and other nations. It uses the universal passion for sports as a way to transcend linguistic and sociocultural differences and bring people together.

It will take much more than “xenophobia, irresponsibility and total disregard for facts” to derail the neighbors’ relationship, the former Mexican ambassador to Washington writes.

Fear not the threat of any walls going up between the U.S and Mexico. Jorge Marin’s bronze wings offer a way to soar above the things that would divide the two countries. It’s a metaphorical rise, of course. Though standing in front of his identical Wings of the City sculptures in Mexico City and Denver, you get the feeling that optimism and fantasy — and a love of selfies — are unstoppable forces uniting the two countries.

Donald Trump’s recent incendiary statements against Mexican immigrants and regarding U.S. trade relations with Mexico seem to have shocked many in the U.S. Both issues are pillars of Mexico’s foreign policy to the U.S., for which the country has been building a narrative to improve its image and that of its diaspora.

Almost 21 months into an administration characterized by dramatic economic and political reform, U.S. perceptions of Mexico continue to reflect an echo of Mexico’s past rather than the reality of Mexico’s present. Americans see poverty and insecurity rather than a middle-class democracy that has become a rising export powerhouse and valuable economic partner of the United States intent on deepening engagement with its northern neighbor.