The Guadalajara Reporter
Guadalajara's Largest English Newspaper
The Music Appreciation Society (MAS) has held open community meetings to garner more support and even brought in new volunteers but President Kathleen Phelps believes the 25-year-old iconic Lakeside organization may still be forced to close.
Generally by this time of the year, about 65 tickets for the coming season have been sold, Phelps says. This year MAS has sold just 16.
The rousing strains of traditional Mexican music will raise the rafters at Chapala’s Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo (CCGG) during the Encuentro de Arpas, Salterios y Mas (Festival of Harps, Psalteries and Other Acoustic Instruments) scheduled for Tuesday, June 18, from 2 p.m.
Le Femmes de Serge, a quartet of young performers that is gaining steady popularity in Guadalajara, pays homage to “chanson francaise,” the genre of music popularized in the 1940s and 50s in France, at El Piano Rojo (Morelos 14, Ajijic) on Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8.
The newly formed Orquesta Filarmonica Infantil de la Ribera de Chapala (Lakeside Philharmonic Youth Orchestra) will make its debut on Saturday, May 18, 7 p.m. on the Ajijic plaza. The ensemble, operating under the umbrella of Golden Strings of Lake Chapala, is made up of interested and talented kids from the Lake Chapala area aged between 8 and 18. Directing the orchestra is youthful (21 years old) Daniel Medeles.
Female impersonator Chi Chi Rones begins an indefinite run on Sundays with “The Chi Chi Rones Show,” beginning May 12 at El Piano Rojo in Ajijic.
Audiences will remember Chi Chi Rones, who played numerous times at El Piano Rojo this past winter season, with her shows “The Burro and Churro Tour” and “Aye! Chihuahua!”
Fearless female equestrians will make an encore appearance at Ajijic’s Lienzo Charro bullring, Saturday, May 11 for the Feria de Escaramuza team riding tournament. The competition starts at noon, complemented by a Mexican-style food fair set up on the grounds.
For those unfamiliar with the sport, escaramuza tournaments involve drill teams made up of eight riders who mount sidesaddle while performing dramatic high-speed routines set to a backdrop of traditional Mexican music. Each team appears in distinctive coordinated outfits, opting for either the full-skirted Revolution era Adelita style costume or the lady’s version of the tailored charro suit.
Ajijic’s waterfront park has been embellished by the installation of a towering stone fountain and statue of Buddah donated to the town by private sponsors. The fountain will be dedicated to the memory of Julia Ramos, Neill James, Juanita Reed and Zara Alexeyewa in gratitude for their contributions to the community.