Baja Governor’s Wife, U.S. Official Feted

Business leaders and politicans from both sides of the border gathered Saturday night at the Hotel Inter-Continental for the Mexican and American Foundation’s 16th annual “An Evening with the Stars,” to honor U.S. Department of Commerce official James H. Richardson and Maria Elena Borja de Leyva, wife of Baja California Gov. Xicotencatl Leyva Mortera.

The event, which featured entertainment by pop recording star Pia Zadora, raised in excess of $200,000 for the Mexican and American Foundation, an organization dedicated both to giving a greater voice to Latinos in the United States and to fostering cross-border relations. Foundation President Tony Valencia, asked to capsulize the purpose of the event, said, “The ultimate objective of the evening is to further trans-border trade relations.”

U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) attended the VIP reception that preceded the event and presented the awards to Richardson and Borja de Leyva. “ ‘An Evening with the Stars’ is a proud moment for the city,” Wilson said. “It is Hispanic in flavor, but it has become an evening in which eyes focus on San Diego as a place in which both physical and spiritual health have been brought about by the efforts of the Mexican and American Foundation.”