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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2005 
Mexican Elite Fetes Marriage of U.S. Envoy, Heiress
 Noel Randewich - Reuters
| | The dark-haired Aramburuzabala, who often signs her name A14 for the number of letters in her name, is ranked by Forbes as one of the world's richest women. |
Mexico City - Mexico's rich and famous celebrated the high society marriage of a charismatic U.S. ambassador to a beer baroness with a fortune worth $1.5 billion on Saturday in a lavish but very private party.
Bride Maria Asuncion Aramburuzabala and groom U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza invited 400 friends to a lakeside resort town for a wedding, billed as Mexico's society event of the year.
Guests invited to the glamorous couple's party near Mexico City included U.S. first lady Laura Bush, Texas Governor Rick Perry and Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, an embassy source said.
"It's a list of their closest friends," he told Reuters.
Garza, 45, a lawyer and judge who is the grandson of Mexican immigrants to the United States, is an old family friend of the Bushes. A Republican, he served as Texas secretary of state when President Bush was governor, and was the first Hispanic to win statewide elected office, winning the key post of railroad commissioner, with regulatory power over the state's huge oil and gas industry.
The White House on Friday confirmed Laura Bush would be traveling from the family's Crawford, Texas ranch to attend the wedding.
Garza was considered one of the most eligible bachelors in Mexico until he announced he was marrying Aramburuzabala, who controls the country's top beer company, Modelo, brewer of the popular Corona lager.
Garza and Aramburuzabala, a divorced mother of two, were due to tie the knot in a civil ceremony on Saturday night.
They held a low-profile Roman Catholic wedding in February. In Mexico, church and civil weddings are traditionally held separately.
The lakeside town of Valle de Bravo is a vacation playground for Mexico's rich and famous, but the presence of burly bodyguards and armored sport utility vehicles this weekend was much more obvious than usual.
Diplomatic staff were close-mouthed about who was at the event, and security was extremely tight.
The newlyweds and friends began the weekend party on Saturday with an early morning stroll through a pine forest and past a waterfall.
The celebrations, centered around an exclusive golf club, were also to include a barbecue with Texan and Mexican dishes, including spicy tacos.
The dark-haired Aramburuzabala, who often signs her name A14 for the number of letters in her name, is ranked by Forbes as one of the world's richest women. Along with her position in Modelo, which her grandfather helped found, she has big holdings in some of Mexico's other major companies.
In 2002, President Bush appointed Garza ambassador to Mexico, where this year he has raised hackles by complaining in a letter to the country's leaders about drug-related violence along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The marriage has raised some eyebrows among Mexicans who are concerned the United States already has too much influence over their politics and big business.
The new multimillionaire status could come in handy for someone with Garza's ambitions. He has made no secret of his desire to return to political office, and there is speculation he will return to Texas at some point to run for governor or senator. |
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