The opening ceremony of the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

took place on October 14, 2011, beginning at 20:00 CDT (1:00 UTC, October 15) at

Omnilife Stadium The Estadio Akron, formerly known as the Estadio Omnilife and Estadio Chivas (''Estadio Chivas'', ), is a multipurpose stadium that is used mostly for football matches. It is the home of Liga MX side C.D. Guadalajara. It is part of the JVC comple ...

Zapopan Zapopan () is a city and municipality located in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Part of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, the population of Zapopan city proper makes it the second largest city in the state, very close behind the population of ...

, a suburb of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The opening ceremony was directed and produced by Five Currents, which also produced the ceremonies at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

and the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

Production

The opening ceremony was originally scheduled to be held at Jalisco Stadium. However, the organizing committee for the Games (COPAG) changed the venue to

, because of its superior infrastructure and technological capability to host the event. Also, its proximity to the athletes village helped expedite the transportation of athletes and helped ensure their safety.

Program

Vicente Fernández Vicente Fernández Gómez (17 February 1940 – 12 December 2021) was a Mexican singer, songwriter, actor, and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente" (short for Vicente), "El Charro de Huentitán" (The Charro from Huentitán), "El Ídolo de México ...

performed the first act, singing the Mexican anthem at the games. Colombian singer

Juanes file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49108.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49211.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (born 9 August 19 ...

performed as did Mexican singer

Alejandro Fernández Alejandro Fernández Abarca (; born 24 April 1971) is a Mexican singer. Nicknamed as El Potrillo by the media and his fans, he has sold over 20 million records worldwide, making him one of the most successful Hispanic music artists. He is the ...

, Vicente’s son, who performed the song "El Mismo Sol" the official theme of the Games at the ceremony.

Parade of the Nations

The participating countries marched in, beginning with

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and ending with the host nation,

. Excluding Argentina and Mexico, the delegations entered by Spanish alphabetical order as per

Pan American Sports Organization The Panam Sports (Formerly Pan American Sports Organization; es, link=no, Organización Deportiva Panamericana; pt, link=no, Organizacão Depórtiva Panamericana; french: Organisation Sportive PanAméricaine) is an international organization whi ...

protocols, which also happened to be the official languages of the host nation.

Dignitaries and other officials in attendance

2011 Pan American Games Opening Ceremony

Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 a ...

President of Mexico The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...

Felipe Calderón estará en la inauguración de JP
*

Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie Rogge, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge beca ...

, President of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

Mario Vázquez Raña Mario Vázquez Raña (7 June 1932 – 8 February 2015) was a Mexican businessman and sports administrator, who served on both national and Olympic committees. He served as a member of the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC ...

, President of the

and

Association of National Olympic Committees The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) is an international organization that affiliates the current 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Each year it gathers all its membe ...

Emilio González Márquez Emilio González Márquez (born 12 November 1960 in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco) is a Mexican politician affiliated with the National Action Party (PAN). He served as Governor of Jalisco. Political career González was an active member of the ...

Governor of Jalisco The following is a list of governors of the Mexican state of Jalisco from 1821. The current Constitution indicates a term six years in length, which cannot be renewed under any circumstances. It also stipulates the qualifications for becoming g ...

Bal Gosal Baljit Singh Gosal (Punjabi: ਬਲਜੀਤ ਗੋਸਲ; born May 4, 1960) is a Canadian politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for the electoral district of Bramalea—Gore—Malton from 2011 until 2015. He served ...

, Canadian Minister of Sport * Andrade Garin, Head of the Guadalajara 2011 Organizing committee for the 2011 Pan and Parapan American Games (COPAG) * Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval, Mayor of

Earl Anthony Wayne Earl Anthony Wayne (born 1950) is an American diplomat. Formerly Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Ambassador to Argentina and Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan, Wayne served nearly four years as Ambassador to Mexico. ...

United States Ambassador to Mexico The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett beca ...

President Obama Announces Presidential Delegation to Mexico to Attend the Opening Ceremony of the XVI Pan American Games
/ref> *

Julie Ertel Julie Ertel (born Julie Swail on December 27, 1972) is an Americans, American water polo player who was the team captain of the US Women's National Team that captured the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She competed in the triathlon at ...

, former

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

and

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

athlete (United States) *

Allyson Felix Allyson Michelle Felix (born November 18, 1985) is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 me ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete (United States) * Julio Maglione, member of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

representing

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and the president of

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current head coach of Spanish team Barcelona Atlètic. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the best defender in Mexico's history and o ...

, Mexican

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Pan American Games open to the sound of mariachi
*

Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...

, Mexican

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

* Michael Fennell, President of the

Commonwealth Games Federation The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is governing body of the ...

* Julio Maglione, President of

Reception

An estimated 130 million people across the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

and the world were expected to watch the opening ceremony.

References

{{Pan American Games ceremonies

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.