LOS ANGELES -- Veteran actress Lupe Ontiveros, the El Paso, Texas-born daughter of Mexican immigrants, once estimated that she had played the role of a maid more than 150 times during her career.
That's why the 4-foot-11 actress was so overjoyed more than a decade ago when director Miguel Arteta approached her backstage after a theatrical showcase and said he had a screenplay for her to consider.
"He said, 'Look at the part of Beverly,' " Ontiveros recalled in a 2009 National Public Radio interview. "I said, 'Beverly? You said Beverly? Her name is Beverly?' And I said, 'I'll do it. I don't care what the script is about, because her name is Beverly.' It wasn't Maria Guadalupe Conchita Esperanza, this Latino stereotype."
Ontiveros' role as the straight-talking theater house manager in the 2000 movie "Chuck & Buck," a part she said was written for a white actress, was a breakthrough moment.
Her best-known roles include the former fan club president who kills pop star Selena and the tradition-bound mother in the 2002 film "Real Women Have Curves."
Ontiveros, a longtime resident of Pico Rivera, Calif., died Thursday of liver cancer in a Whittier, Calif., hospital, said her agent, Michael Greenwald. She was 69.
"Lupe Ontiveros was a gift," actor Edward James Olmos told The Los Angeles Times on Friday. "She was part of the evolutionary process of the art form of Latino storytelling in the last 30-plus years. She was one of the true pioneers of the Latin artistic movement in theater, film and television."
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/27/3727864/lupe-ontiveros-desperate-housewives.html#storylink=cpy
Broadcasting to the Latino Community in Kansas City and Worldwide
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Kansas City using $110,000 to fight graffiti - KansasCity.com
A new fund will have $110,000 to help Kansas City neighborhoods remove graffiti, and in some cases replace it with artistic murals, city officials announced Tuesday.
“This is important for our businesses and neighborhoods,” Councilman Scott Wagner said in announcing the graffiti abatement program.
The city has budgeted $100,000 in community development block grant funds to provide neighborhood groups with training and chemicals, power washers and other equipment to remove the graffiti and discourage future vandals.
Another $10,000 is coming from Kansas City’s Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) to identify and support artists who can paint murals over unsightly graffiti. The city’s public arts administrator and the Municipal Arts Commission will collaborate on that effort, Wagner said.
The graffiti initiative is one of the first efforts of the Gateway Crimes Task Force, which considers graffiti, prostitution and other illegal activities to be “gateways” to more violent crimes.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/31/3734142/kansas-city-using-110000-to-fight.html#storylink=cpy
“This is important for our businesses and neighborhoods,” Councilman Scott Wagner said in announcing the graffiti abatement program.
The city has budgeted $100,000 in community development block grant funds to provide neighborhood groups with training and chemicals, power washers and other equipment to remove the graffiti and discourage future vandals.
Another $10,000 is coming from Kansas City’s Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) to identify and support artists who can paint murals over unsightly graffiti. The city’s public arts administrator and the Municipal Arts Commission will collaborate on that effort, Wagner said.
The graffiti initiative is one of the first efforts of the Gateway Crimes Task Force, which considers graffiti, prostitution and other illegal activities to be “gateways” to more violent crimes.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/31/3734142/kansas-city-using-110000-to-fight.html#storylink=cpy
Is Antonio Villaraigosa poised to be America’s first Latino president?
By David Chalian, Yahoo! News
LOS ANGELES—When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gavels the 2012 Democratic National Convention into session in Charlotte, N.C., this September, his role as prominent cheerleader for President Barack Obama will be clear.
It is less clear, for now, if Villaraigosa has designs on the ultimate convention role in 2016—taking center stage to accept his party's nomination on the final night.
Despite running the country's second largest city and coming from the fastest growing voting demographic in America, the mayor himself is quick to wave off talk of a presidential run.
"The answer is no," Villaraigosa replied when asked by Yahoo News if he wanted to be president one day. "I want to finish this job with a bang. I want to go out with my head up high. I want to say to this city, 'I put everything into this job,'" he added.
"The job I've said to people I would like is I would like to be governor of the state of California," he said. (Paging Jerry Brown.)
It's easy to dismiss Villaraigosa's likelihood of capturing the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, much less the presidency, due to his rocky (and public) personal life, lack of a developed national fundraising base and occasional conflicts with portions of his political base.
But recall that Bill Clinton made it to the Oval Office with the personal baggage of infidelity and Barack Obama became the first nonwhite candidate to achieve the highest office in the land—you can begin to see how Villaraigosa's interest in a 2016 run may yet develop.
Villaraigosa's term as mayor of Los Angeles is up July 1, 2013. He says he will spend his remaining time in office bolstering his accomplishments in crime reduction (a 40.6 percent drop in violent crime, 41 percent drop in homicides), the environment (doubled the Kyoto protocol required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, bringing them down to 14 percent of 1990 levels in seven years), education (reduced schools defined as "failing" according to state scores from 33 percent to 10 percent), and transportation (more on that later). Charlotte provides an opportunity to start road testing his brand beyond Los Angeles' city limits.
"I think I'm going to take a time out. I'll probably associate with a think tank or a university. I want to write. I want to read. I'll probably speak around the country. I certainly get enough invitations," he said of his immediate post-mayoral plans.
Villaraigosa recently wrapped up a one-year tenure as the head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where he wrangled more than 200 mayors to support his successful push for "America Fast Forward," a federal loan program for transportation infrastructure projects that will allow cities to leverage federal dollars over an extended period of time. Obama signed the expanded program into law as part of the larger transportation bill earlier this month at the White House with Villaraigosa by his side.
Now the mayor's travel is mostly on behalf of the Obama campaign, for which he has done no fewer than 20 either official or campaign related events over the last year at various state party gatherings, fundraisers, constituency group conferences and official policy events. The potential benefits of circling the country to meet party activists and elected officials in key states including Florida, Nevada and New Mexico is lost on no one.
The president's re-election team believes Villaraigosa has been one of its most helpful surrogates on the trail this year in wooing Hispanic voters to come out in greater numbers and deliver an even greater margin of victory for the president among those voters.
He won't be the only Hispanic elected official in the Charlotte spotlight. The Obama convention team announced this morning that 37-year-old San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro will deliver the keynote speech on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Hundreds of protesters have set up a protest camp outside the offices of Mexican television network
MEXICO CITY -- Hundreds of protesters have set up a protest camp outside the offices of Mexican television network Televisa, saying the broadcaster favored winning presidential candidate Enrique Pena Nieto.
The protesters say they will stay on the streets surrounding the network's news division until the end of Friday.
The one-day blockade is organized by a student protest movement, union and leftist groups.
Pena Nieto is married to a Televisa sopa opera star. Protesters claim the network unfairly promoted Pena Nieto's image. The network denies those accusations.
Pena Nieto won the July 1 presidential elections by a 6.6-percent margin over leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Lopez Obrador claimed Pena Nieto bought votes, and says the election results should be overturned and an interim president be named until a new vote is held.
The protesters say they will stay on the streets surrounding the network's news division until the end of Friday.
The one-day blockade is organized by a student protest movement, union and leftist groups.
Pena Nieto is married to a Televisa sopa opera star. Protesters claim the network unfairly promoted Pena Nieto's image. The network denies those accusations.
Pena Nieto won the July 1 presidential elections by a 6.6-percent margin over leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Lopez Obrador claimed Pena Nieto bought votes, and says the election results should be overturned and an interim president be named until a new vote is held.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Hornets and Magic to play in Mexico - KansasCity.com
The NBA announced on Thursday that the New Orleans Hornets and Orlando Magic will play a game in Mexico City in the 2012 preseason.
The NBA and Zignia Live, an entertainment company in Mexico, announced a multiyear partnership that includes the Hornets/Magic game which will take place on October 7 at the brand-new Mexico City Arena.
"NBA Mexico Game is an important part of our 2012 international games schedule and a great opportunity for us to connect with our fans in Mexico and across Latin America," said NBA vice president of Latin America Philippe Moggio. "As the most frequent international host for NBA games, Mexico will again provide a great showcase for the game of basketball as the New Orleans Hornets and Orlando Magic put on an exciting show for our passionate fans at the new Mexico City Arena."
This game will be the 20th played in Mexico, and 18th in Mexico City. It has hosted the most games played outside of either the United States or Canada.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/19/3713952/hornets-and-magic-to-play-in-mexico.html#storylink=cpy
The NBA and Zignia Live, an entertainment company in Mexico, announced a multiyear partnership that includes the Hornets/Magic game which will take place on October 7 at the brand-new Mexico City Arena.
"NBA Mexico Game is an important part of our 2012 international games schedule and a great opportunity for us to connect with our fans in Mexico and across Latin America," said NBA vice president of Latin America Philippe Moggio. "As the most frequent international host for NBA games, Mexico will again provide a great showcase for the game of basketball as the New Orleans Hornets and Orlando Magic put on an exciting show for our passionate fans at the new Mexico City Arena."
This game will be the 20th played in Mexico, and 18th in Mexico City. It has hosted the most games played outside of either the United States or Canada.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/19/3713952/hornets-and-magic-to-play-in-mexico.html#storylink=cpy
Ruben Blades joins Gustavo Dudamel for salsa opera - KansasCity.com
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Singer-songwriter Ruben Blades is joining Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel to perform the Panamanian's salsa opera "Maestra Vida," along with more than 140 musicians and actors in central Caracas.
Tens of thousands were expected for Sunday's concert at the former Carlota airport featuring the Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony and Latin-Caribbean Orchestra under Dudamel's baton.
The 64-year-old Blades says he's living a dream with only the second performance of a work he recorded in 1980 with the Puerto Rican Willie Colon.
Dudamel directs the Los Angeles Philharmonic but told The Associated Press that just because he was raised on Mozart and Mahler doesn't mean he doesn't also have "salsa in his veins."
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/22/3717440/ruben-blades-joins-gustavo-dudamel.html#storylink=cpy
Tens of thousands were expected for Sunday's concert at the former Carlota airport featuring the Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony and Latin-Caribbean Orchestra under Dudamel's baton.
The 64-year-old Blades says he's living a dream with only the second performance of a work he recorded in 1980 with the Puerto Rican Willie Colon.
Dudamel directs the Los Angeles Philharmonic but told The Associated Press that just because he was raised on Mozart and Mahler doesn't mean he doesn't also have "salsa in his veins."
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/22/3717440/ruben-blades-joins-gustavo-dudamel.html#storylink=cpy
A brief look at Mitt Romney's foreign policy plan - KansasCity.com
LATIN AMERICA
He wants to encourage greater trade with democracies, while countering Iran's interest in the region and helping contain drug gangs. Romney says he'd improve coordination of intelligence among U.S. allies to combat narco-terrorists and prevent Hezbollah from making inroads. He vows to complete a high-tech fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. But he also proposes greater U.S.-Mexican military training cooperation and intelligence sharing to combat drug cartels.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/24/3721413/a-brief-look-at-mitt-romneys-foreign.html#storylink=cpy
He wants to encourage greater trade with democracies, while countering Iran's interest in the region and helping contain drug gangs. Romney says he'd improve coordination of intelligence among U.S. allies to combat narco-terrorists and prevent Hezbollah from making inroads. He vows to complete a high-tech fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. But he also proposes greater U.S.-Mexican military training cooperation and intelligence sharing to combat drug cartels.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/24/3721413/a-brief-look-at-mitt-romneys-foreign.html#storylink=cpy
KC school board to have special election on November ballot - KansasCity.com
KC school board to have special election on November ballot - KansasCity.com
A special Kansas City school board election will be joining the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
Voters in the 2nd Subdistrict will be deciding who will fill the seat that was vacated by Derek Richey, who resigned because he is moving to take a job out of Missouri.
The filing period has not been set yet.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/24/3721561/kc-school-board-to-have-special.html#storylink=cpy
A special Kansas City school board election will be joining the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
Voters in the 2nd Subdistrict will be deciding who will fill the seat that was vacated by Derek Richey, who resigned because he is moving to take a job out of Missouri.
The filing period has not been set yet.
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/24/3721561/kc-school-board-to-have-special.html#storylink=cpy
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Lopez at the Sprint Center
This dynamic co-headlining tour unites two of the biggest powerhouse performers in music today. You can expect an unforgettable night of chart-topping hits, stunning costumes and choreography. Weighing in at 130,000 lbs, the massive stage productions contains more than 200 moving lights, and two dozen state-of-the-art video screens. The tour touches down in Kansas City at Sprint Center on Saturday, Aug. 4.
Tallying countless chart-topping hits, sold out tours, and accolades from around the world, together the artists are giving fans the ultimate summer concert experience. Joining them on this amazing tour is International musician and singer-songwriter Frankie J.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Academia de Niños
Sixteen years ago Alta Vista was started in the basement of church by the current superintendent, Gilbert Guerrero and the Guadalupe Center. In 1990 Alta Vista became a charter school sponsored by the University of Central Missouri. Over the years Alta Vista has become a safe place for students to attend and graduate high school. In more recent years, Alta Vista has turned its focus to preparing students for college and the work force. Last year the high school outperformed all of the urban schools and all of the suburban schools except for one in Mathematics.
The high school has met Annual Yearly Progress(AYP) for the past two years in Communication Arts and Math and because of this success the middle school was opened in 2010.
A decision was made to open Academia de Niños because there is a need for more high performing grade schools in Kansas City. As a group of educators we know that the earlier we are able to intervene on academic and social development the more successful school years become for students. On a more sentimental note, opening this school has been a dream for many members of the Guadalupe Education System
Learn More Here
http://www.academiadeninos.org/
Northeast soccer complex pulls neighborhood together - KansasCity.com
Saul Rodriguez pulls up at dusk, puts on his shoes and surveys the competition-sized soccer field he’s heard so much about.
“Synthetic,” he says, pointing to the turf with a grin. “You can play in the rain.”
He will be back, and bring his friends.
The fields here are ready, the rest of the new Ninth and Van Brunt complex soon will be, and already people from Kansas City’s Northeast neighborhood are talking about what it will mean for the community.
Next week, the Mayor’s Night Kicks tournament will begin here, attracting soccer players and fans from all over the city to the Northeast. This fall, the Northeast Sports Alliance, a youth soccer league formed in 2010 for neighborhood children, will have a consistent place to practice.
And now, the Northeast neighborhood has a central location, complete with an amphitheater, athletic fields, walking trail and concession stand, to call its own.
With its main field and two practice fields, the new complex may not compare to the massive Overland Park Soccer Complex, which opened in 2009 with 12 regulation-sized fields. But it may be even more important to a neighborhood that previously had to drive miles to find a field that even had a goal.
For decades, the Northeast has been known as a starting point into America. In the past 15 years, the neighborhood has become a true melting pot, attracting immigrants and refugees from all over the world. They hail from Russia, the Sudan, the Middle East, Latin America, Somalia …
Read More Here Northeast soccer complex pulls neighborhood together - KansasCity.com
“Synthetic,” he says, pointing to the turf with a grin. “You can play in the rain.”
He will be back, and bring his friends.
The fields here are ready, the rest of the new Ninth and Van Brunt complex soon will be, and already people from Kansas City’s Northeast neighborhood are talking about what it will mean for the community.
Next week, the Mayor’s Night Kicks tournament will begin here, attracting soccer players and fans from all over the city to the Northeast. This fall, the Northeast Sports Alliance, a youth soccer league formed in 2010 for neighborhood children, will have a consistent place to practice.
And now, the Northeast neighborhood has a central location, complete with an amphitheater, athletic fields, walking trail and concession stand, to call its own.
With its main field and two practice fields, the new complex may not compare to the massive Overland Park Soccer Complex, which opened in 2009 with 12 regulation-sized fields. But it may be even more important to a neighborhood that previously had to drive miles to find a field that even had a goal.
For decades, the Northeast has been known as a starting point into America. In the past 15 years, the neighborhood has become a true melting pot, attracting immigrants and refugees from all over the world. They hail from Russia, the Sudan, the Middle East, Latin America, Somalia …
Read More Here Northeast soccer complex pulls neighborhood together - KansasCity.com
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Sabor de Kansas City
The Young Latino Professionals of Greater Kansas City would like to personally invite you and your guests to join us for our 5 year anniversary event
On July 19, 2012, the Young Latino Professionals of Greater Kansas City will be celebrating this special occasion by showcasing Sabor de Kansas City. (Flavors of Kansas City)
Festivities will include tastings of Latin cuisines from around the world from local Kansas City restaurants, raffles for various prizes, photo booth, music and more.
Young Latino Professionals would like to invite your company to become a sponsor for this event. The primary source of funding for Sabor de Kansas City is from corporate sponsors, such as yourself. All sponsorships and donations are tax deductible.
Your sponsorship will help assure the success of Sabor de Kansas City. Sponsorship levels range from Platinum at $5000 to Bronze at $250. Enclosed is a sheet with more information on all the sponsorship levels. If you any questions or would like more information please feel free to email info@connectinkc.com or contact me directly: maria@connectinkc.com or 913-707-5364.
For more information on the Young Latino Professionals organization, you can visit the website at www.younglatinoprofessionals.com .
Founded in 2007, the YLP began as a group of young professionals dedicated to engaging and supporting young Latino professionals by providing access to professional development and support to fellow emerging leaders in their respective communities. Today, Young Latino Professionals has over 1000 members from all walks of life and who work in a variety of industries, such as engineering, education, arts and health, to name a few. Young Latino Professionals is committed to providing opportunities to these young professionals to promote personal and professional development, networking, philanthropic and civic opportunities throughout the Greater Kansas City area.
$25.00 Presale, $30.00 night of the event.
If you want to buy tickets past this in your browser: http://?events.constantcontact.com/?register/?event?llr=qgzvvzcab&oeidk=a?07e60egppcbc23a86b
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Brazil helps Venezuela join regional trade bloc, ruffling some feathers - KansasCity.com
SAO PAULO -- With the help of Brazil, South America's largest economy, Venezuela has joined the regional economic alliance Mercosur, once heralded as the continent's answer to the European Union.
But the addition of Venezuela has angered one of the 21-year-old trading bloc's founding members, Paraguay, which considers the move retribution for the June impeachment of its president, Fernando Lugo. In addition to Brazil, the other members of Mercosur are Argentina and Uruguay.
Many are also questioning the impact of adding a country led by Hugo Chavez, a staunch critic of U.S. foreign policy and a frequent and capricious intervener in the free-market economy. The 57-year-old Chavez has had three cancer surgeries but says he's in remission and is running for re-election in October.
Read more Here
Brazil helps Venezuela join regional trade bloc, ruffling some feathers - KansasCity.com
But the addition of Venezuela has angered one of the 21-year-old trading bloc's founding members, Paraguay, which considers the move retribution for the June impeachment of its president, Fernando Lugo. In addition to Brazil, the other members of Mercosur are Argentina and Uruguay.
Many are also questioning the impact of adding a country led by Hugo Chavez, a staunch critic of U.S. foreign policy and a frequent and capricious intervener in the free-market economy. The 57-year-old Chavez has had three cancer surgeries but says he's in remission and is running for re-election in October.
Read more Here
Brazil helps Venezuela join regional trade bloc, ruffling some feathers - KansasCity.com
Monday, July 9, 2012
Latino community feels left out of KCMO redistricting - NBCActionNews.com
By: Chris Hernandez
KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Local Latino leaders threaten legal action if their community is shut out of discussions about city council redistricting.
This battle has been brewing at City Hall and in communities all over the city:
The question: Who will be at the table when the most important political decision of the decade is made?
Kansas City's Hispanic leaders are now talking to civil rights lawyers about how to stop the process if they're not included.
They say they are so spread out on the city that they deserve representation.
For example, Taqueria Silvas has been open a few months in a location you might not expect.
It's at 18th and Cleveland, east of 18th and Vine, in the Third District, traditional home of the African-American community.
"Yea, I'm a bit surprised. It was interesting to see an authentic Mexican restaurant down here," said Mark Felkins a customer.
Latino leaders say three of the city's six council districts now now have a Latino population of more than ten percent.
That's why they're outraged that not a single Hispanic is on the city's new redistricting committee.
"We're appalled. We are no longer segregated in one neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. We are mainstream, and we need our elected officials to recognize that we have constituents throughout this city that they need to respond to," said John Fierro, the CEO of the Mattie Rhodes Center, a social service agency that serves predominately Hispanic clients.
The redistricting committee will recommend how to redraw city council lines.
That decision that could affect every political, policy and funding decision for a decade.
A coalition called the Hispanic Civic Engagement Project represents seven large non-profits like Mattie Rhodes and the Guadalupe Center, Inc.
Fierro says they submitted a list of Latino names to council members on July 28, but were completely shut out.
Read more: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/political/latino-community-feels-left-out-of-kcmo-redistricting#ixzz20AyK9vRL
Latino community feels left out of KCMO redistricting - NBCActionNews.com
KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Local Latino leaders threaten legal action if their community is shut out of discussions about city council redistricting.
This battle has been brewing at City Hall and in communities all over the city:
The question: Who will be at the table when the most important political decision of the decade is made?
Kansas City's Hispanic leaders are now talking to civil rights lawyers about how to stop the process if they're not included.
They say they are so spread out on the city that they deserve representation.
For example, Taqueria Silvas has been open a few months in a location you might not expect.
It's at 18th and Cleveland, east of 18th and Vine, in the Third District, traditional home of the African-American community.
"Yea, I'm a bit surprised. It was interesting to see an authentic Mexican restaurant down here," said Mark Felkins a customer.
Latino leaders say three of the city's six council districts now now have a Latino population of more than ten percent.
That's why they're outraged that not a single Hispanic is on the city's new redistricting committee.
"We're appalled. We are no longer segregated in one neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. We are mainstream, and we need our elected officials to recognize that we have constituents throughout this city that they need to respond to," said John Fierro, the CEO of the Mattie Rhodes Center, a social service agency that serves predominately Hispanic clients.
The redistricting committee will recommend how to redraw city council lines.
That decision that could affect every political, policy and funding decision for a decade.
A coalition called the Hispanic Civic Engagement Project represents seven large non-profits like Mattie Rhodes and the Guadalupe Center, Inc.
Fierro says they submitted a list of Latino names to council members on July 28, but were completely shut out.
Read more: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/political/latino-community-feels-left-out-of-kcmo-redistricting#ixzz20AyK9vRL
Latino community feels left out of KCMO redistricting - NBCActionNews.com
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Elections in Mexico
By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO and KATHERINE CORCORAN
Associated Press
Mexico's old guard sailed back into power after a 12-year hiatus Sunday as the official preliminary vote count handed a victory to Enrique Pena Nieto, whose party was long accused of ruling the country through corruption and patronage.
The second place candidate, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, refused to concede, saying he would wait for a full count.
The Federal Electoral Institute's representative count said Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, won about 38 percent of the vote, prompting wild cheers from a party that was voted out in 2000 after 71 autocratic years in power. Lopez Obrador of the Democratic Revolution Party had 31 percent and Josefina Vazquez Mota of the ruling National Action Party had about 25 percent, according to the institute.
Pena Nieto, who sought to cast himself as the leader of a new PRI, called his victory "a fiesta of democracy."
"There is no return to the past," said the youthful, 45-year-old who is married to a soap opera star. "You have given our party a second chance and we will deliver results."
He promised a government that would be democratic, modern and open to criticism. He pledged to fight organized crime and said there would be no pacts with criminals.
"My gratitude tonight is for the millions of Mexican who voted for me," he said. "I will work for all of Mexico ... I will govern for everyone."
Despite a clear victory, more than 60 percent of voters did not support him and it was not the mandate the PRI had anticipated based on the pre-election polls.
Vazquez Mota, 51, was the first to concede, followed by New Alliance candidate Gabriel Quadri, who had only single-digit support.
At the PRI headquarters in Mexico City, a party atmosphere broke out with supporters in red dancing to norteno music.
There were plenty of reasons to celebrate. The party also appeared likely to retake at least at least one of the two houses of Congress and some governorships.
Critics say the party's 71-year rule was characterized by authoritarian and corrupt practices. But the PRI has sought to portray itself as a group that has been modernized and does not seek a return to its old ways.
Enrique Pena Nieto appears to be accomplishing what many thought would never happen again: the return of a strong and dynamic PRI," said Eric Olson of the Washington-based Mexico Institute. "The question: How will they govern?"
Lopez Obrador took hundreds of thousands of supporters to the streets in protest when he narrowly lost in 2006.
"We hope the candidate of the left will act with democratic maturity and also recognize the results," Coldwell said.
Vazquez Mota garnered little more than 23 percent in exit polls released by Milenio and TV Azteca networks and quick count by Mitofsky. Lopez Obrador had about 30 percent of the vote.
The PRI has been bolstered by voter fatigue due to a sluggish economy and the sharp escalation of a drug war that has killed roughly 50,000 Mexicans over the past six years.
Hugo Rubio, 33, a municipal employee in Nezalhualcoyotl, says what he expects is "more jobs, more tranquility in terms of security" under Pena Nieto.
"He has demonstrated that (the party) had changed, that he cares about the people who are most in need," Rubio said at a red-clad crowd of supporters gathered with banners and balloons.
There were very few reports of problems during the vote, though some polling stations ran out of ballots and at least nine people were arrested in the southern state of Chiapas for trying to pass ballots pre-marked for the PRI.
Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire said that across the country federal security forces were working closely with local and state authorities, as well as electoral officials, to guard the peace during the vote.
Sergio Ortega, a 31 year old businessman from the city of Guadalajara, said he would vote against Pena Nieto to try to prevent the return of the PRI.
"He had too much favoritism. They played many tricks," Ortega said.
Pena Nieto has cast himself as a pragmatic economic moderate in the tradition of the last three PRI presidents. He has called for greater private investment in Mexico's state-controlled oil industry, and has said he will try to reduce violence by attacking crimes that hurt ordinary citizens while deemphasizing the pursuit of drug kingpins.
Pena Nieto also has been dogged by allegations that he overspent his $330 million campaign funding limit and has received favorable coverage from Mexico's television giant, Televisa.
University students launched a series of anti-Pena Nieto marches in the final weeks of the campaign, arguing that his party hasn't changed since its days in power.
But many say the PRI would not be able to re-impose its once near-total control even if it wanted to because of changes in society, the judiciary and Congress.
"The context has changed dramatically," said Rodrigo Salazar, a professor at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Mexico City. "Society isn't the same. It's a very critical society, a very demanding society, with a strong division of powers."
Caldwell predicted the party would take two and possibly four of the six governor's seats up for grabs from rival parties. He said the party won in Jalisco and Chiapas, and stood to defeat the PAN in Morelos and Guanajuato, despite tight races and claims from both sides of victory.
Mexico's main leftist party appears to have won big in the Mexico City mayor's race.
Miguel Angel Mancera of the PRD says exit polls favor his victory after voting in the capital ended Sunday.
His closest challenger, Beatriz Paredes of the PRI, says none of the exit polls favor her. The conservative National Action's candidate, Isabel Miranda de Wallace, has not commented on the voting.
The PRD has struggled in the rest of Mexico, but it has held a lock on Mexico City since the mayorship became an elected position in 1997.
All of the parties were accusing rivals of emulating the traditional PRI tactic of offering voters money, food or benefits in return for votes. Lopez Obrador's party says Pena Nieto's campaign has handed supporters prepaid money cards worth nearly $5.2 million (71 million pesos).
"Where do they get so many resources to conduct the PRI campaign, so many billboards?" asked voter Marilu Carrasco, a 57-year-old actress who was lined up to cast her vote for Lopez Obrador in southern Mexico City's Copilco neighborhood. The PRI's return to the presidency "could be the worst thing that could happen to us," Carrasco said.
PRI activists, meanwhile, had published photographs of truckloads of handouts they say were given out by Democratic Revolution backers.
But electoral officials have repeatedly insisted that outright fraud is almost impossible under the country's elaborate, costly electoral machinery.
Lopez Obrador, 58, says he wants to keep state control over the national oil company, make Mexico self-sufficient in energy and food production, and fund new social spending and jobs programs by cutting waste and corruption, not by raising taxes.
By 11 p.m. the leftist candidate still remained confident of victory. At his party headquarters, there were only about 500 people showing support for a man known to draw crowds in the hundreds of thousands.
A group of about five people held up signs that call the election a fraud. One sign read, "General Obrador, I am ready for the revolution!"
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