The inauguration was attended by Eunice Rendón Cárdenas, Director of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME); Alfredo Castillo, head of CONADE; Carlos Sada, Mexican Consul in Los Angeles; Leonardo Cuellar, coach of the women's soccer team; a representative from the office of the mayor of Long Beach; and Andrea Ruíz, a 12-year-old girl athlete and winner of the bronze medal in tae kwan do.
Thirty-four people of Mexican origin live in the United States. One in three is young, and their development is important. Therefore, the Mexican president and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs have renewed the celebration of these games, which have been held three times in the past.
The winners of MexGames participate in the Mexican National Olympics as part of the IME delegation. Some past winners:
- Carlos Navarro of Dallas, a gold-medal winner who has been selected to participate in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
- Maricarmen Reyes is on the under-17 team.
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Javier Lacaba of Miami won a gold medal in the national Olympics.
The IME athletes are
at the top of the sports efficiency table (calculated as the number of medals
won by number of participants). So far, in the past three MEXGAMES, the
IME teams have won 411 medals.
These young people are setting an example to follow and are inspirational models, both in Mexico and the United States.