Mexican President Felipe Calderon waves standing with his wife Margarita Zavala, First Lady Michelle Obama, and President Barack Obama: Photograph: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
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President Barack Obama on Wednesday honored Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife Margarita Zavala at the second state dinner of his administration.
Before approximately 200 dinner guests in the East Room, Obama jokingly complemented Mexico's "pretty good soccer team" in his opening toast. He went on to praise his guest of honor for "extraordinary courage" and "extraordinary bravery," in "the fight for his country's future."
Following the toasts, approximately 200 guests dined on jicama salad, green herb ceviche, Waygu beef mole, and gourmet S'mores. The tables, a combination of rectangular and square, were set with blue striped tablecloths and gilded baskets of brightly colored flowers.
Guests included Vice President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, actors Whoopi Goldberg, Eva Longoria-Parker and George Lopez, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, and Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim-Helu, who tops Forbes' list of the wealthiest people in world.
Following dinner, the more than 200 guests moved from the East Room to a tent on the South Lawn, where they were joined by another 100 guests invited to attend this portion of the evening. Among them were Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), and Democratic Reps. Linda Sanchez (Calif.), Loretta Sanchez (Calif.), Grace Napolitano (Calif.), Ben Lujan (N.M.), Ruben Hinojosa (Texas), Raul Grijalva (Ariz.), Nita Lowey (N.Y.) and Eliot Engel (N.Y.)
— Report by Christina Wilkie
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Paul Pelosi
Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
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US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood with his wife Kathy
Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images
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Peter Orszag, Director, Office of Management and Budget and TV personality Bianna Golodryga
Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
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Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world according to the annual Forbes billionaire list
Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images
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Comedian George Lopez and Ann M. Lopez
Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
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Actress Eva Longoria-Parker
Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images
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