A five-member Guadalajara band specializing in a unique, lively and sexy genre of post-World War II bar songs are slated to perform at the Avocado Club Thursday, August 31.
Les Femmes de Serge, as the group is called, performs from 7 to 9 p.m. A three-course French dinner with a vegetarian option will be served starting at 5 p.m. and throughout the evening. French wines will be available by the bottle and glass.
The musicians are raising funds to cover the airfare of two young Kenyans, Dancan Odiambo and James Licavo, who will come to Mexico as volunteers in soccer coaching and social work. The band’s lead vocalist, Maria Camarena, met the Kenyans in 2015 when she herself volunteered as a music teacher at a special-needs school in Kenya for three months.
“Before I met Dancan and James, I’d been an educational volunteer in Mexico,” she said, in British-accented English. “Then, in Kenya, when I saw what a fantastic job these guys did, I told them, ‘You’ve got to come to Mexico.’ Especially with soccer coaching, I know Mexicans will really appreciate them – they’re enthusiastic and well trained. I’ve already set up a volunteer program for them, in Atoyac and around Chapala in disadvantaged areas.
“I’m hoping that in this one evening we can raise the whole amount, 3,000 dollars,” she said, adding that nobody in her band will be paid for this event.
“We’ve played in Ajijic before, including at the big auditorium, and people really liked us. I hope they’ll come back again, make an evening out of it and have some fun with us.”
Camarena explained that she met Avocado Club chef, Ismat Jivani, when she performed in Ajijic recently. When she discovered he is from Kenya – he left as a teenager and was trained as a chef in Hilton hotels around the world – they excitedly hatched the plan for a fundraiser for the two Kenyan volunteers.
Camarena recounts learning chanson française from a French voice student of hers, who then teamed up with her in the band, which has been together for six years. She noted that Les Femmes de Serge (named after a prolific chanson française composer) includes two men, and that several members are both vocalists and instrumentalists – piano, guitar, double bass and drums plus various percussion “toys,” as she calls them.
The Avocado Club is a large, roofed, open-air terrace with great views of both mountains and lake, and has well-separated areas for non-smokers and smokers, its owners said.
Les Femmes de Serge, chanson française concert and French dinner at the Avocado Club, Ajijic, Thursday, August 31, 5-9 p.m. Tickets include a three-course dinner and two hours of entertainment: 350 pesos, available at the Avocado Club, Diane Pearl and Gossips Kitchen. Those who don’t wish to dine may pay 100 pesos at the door.
Avocado Club, Hidalgo 376, San Antonio Tlayacapan, Ajijic, on the top floor of the Rose Bowl shopping center and across from the Chula Vista Golf Course, (376) 766-7000. On Facebook, see Avocado Club Ajijic. On YouTube and Facebook, see Les Femmes de Serge Guadalajara.