New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell likes to dream big when it comes to the city she leads. But she prefers action.

After a recent trip to Ghana, dreams include coconuts and community peace — and she’s preparing to go after both to make them reality.

Ours is an international city. Tourists come for the day, overnight, a weekend or longer. Some even split their time between the place they call home and this place they wish was home.

New Orleans is a special place with special eateries, festivals and food as well as special floats, parades and bands. Our contemporary and classical jazz can’t be compared. Our bounce and funk, well, people can’t help but shake, jump and bounce. But that doesn’t mean we can’t allow ourselves some flexibility and freedom to enjoy other places from time to time.

The mayor visited Ghana and western Africa when she was on the city council. She visited the world-famous Door of No Return, where proud black people who were kings, queens, craftsmen, educators and more were taken to be transported across the Atlantic Ocean for a life of enslavement. “That connection stayed with me on many different levels,” she said.

The difference between visiting as a council member and as mayor? Some things she can strongly encourage. Some things she can insist happen. Some things she can just make happen. This visit got her fired up, largely because she can see her Ghana dreams becoming reality.

She has plans for Ghana delegations visiting her city in the spring and summer, in July, during Essence Fest. She plans to promote New Orleans as an international city good for higher education, with a particular focus on the University of New Orleans, which has educated students from more than 140 nations. She wants to include other city universities. She sees plenty of business opportunities, especially with the coconut street sales she observed and experienced.

The mayor explained that Zulu uses lots of coconuts for the krewe’s annual Mardi Gras parade and activities, and those coconuts can be provided by Ghana. She talked about the coconut water inside the delicious “fruit,” suggesting that a local drink or water company might add coconuts to their lineup for a different, cultural connection. She also wants some Ghanaian love and unity to be shared with our community. The Cape Coast and Ghana have violence just as we do. But they don’t shoot and kill each other as we do. It’s a cultural thing, and one worth importing.

When I talked with the mayor about her trip, she enthusiastically talked about the visit. The places she visited. The food she ate. The streets she walked. The people she met. But what really excited her was talking about all of the possibilities.

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What excited me was hearing her talk about doing something with a sister city that amounted to more than a piece of paper. I’ve seen quite a number of exciting sister city “starts” and few continuations. I strongly believe that any city of significance should act and govern locally and connect and think globally. It’s good for business, good for education and good for the diverse cultures many of us say we want and appreciate.

According to Rosine Pema Sanga, the city’s director of international relations, the city had 12 sister cities and three — Orleans, France; Innsbruck, Austria; and Matsue, Japan — were active.

Before Cantrell became mayor, the effort to make a stronger connection with Ghana started, during the administration transition. The city chose her to lead. She chose the Cape Coast in Ghana as the next sister city. In part, it’s because of the historical ties between the African region and New Orleans.

Sanga played point with Ghana officials. Sanga, a Gentilly resident and native of Toucountouna, Benin, West Africa, worked with Ghanaian community leaders in New Orleans to develop ideas and to explore opportunities.

With Cantrell’s dreams and her determination to succeed, Sanga knows she has some work to do to make this sister city partnership meaningful. She’s ready. “I can’t wait to see what we can do together.”