Hot
MAS Musica presents a show of flamenco dance featuring Viva Flamenco from Mexico City on Tuesday, March 13, 7:30 p.m. at Auditorio de la Ribera del Lago.
This first-rate troupe has been voted Best Flamenco Company by the National Association of Broadcasters of Mexico. Under the direction of Leticia Cosio, their concerts have electrified audiences in the United States, Spain and Latin America.
The program slated for Ajijic is titled “Pasiones En Rojo” (Red Passion).
Tickets cost 350 pesos and will be available from February 27 through March 13 at the Lake Chapala Society Tickets, Etc. booth weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon, Charter Club Tours, and at the new MAS ticket venue on the Guadalupe Victoria Walkway leading to the Ajijic plaza on Sundays, March 4 and 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You’ll also find them at the tianguis in Ajijic on Wednesdays, February 29 and March 7.
For more information contact Kathleen Phelps at 766-0010.
Viva Flamenco
Viva Flamenco from Mexico City will perform March 13 at Auditorio de la Ribera del Lago. The theme of the show is “Red Passion.”
Eating out
Due to popular demand, John Keeling has assembled a new restaurant guide and it’s hot off the presses.
The seventh edition of “Restaurant Guide to the Chapala Riviera” includes more than 120 restaurants situated on the lakeshore from Chapala to Jocotepec. They are rated on food, service, price, ambience and washrooms. Also included is a listing of 40 of the “better” restaurants in Guadalajara.
Find the guide on sale at Diane Pearl’s Colecciones, Paz Liquor, the Book Store in Plaza Bugambilias, the Lake Chapala Society and from the author at 766-1801.
Latin dance
Next up for Viva la Musica! (VIVA) is the return to Ajijic of Fernando Serna and his Danza con Clase on Thursday, March 8, 6 p.m. (note the early time).
This popular show from Guadalajara is scheduled for the Auditorio de la Ribera del Lago and features 23 dancers from the Centro Cultural Danza con Clase. They will present an “Anthology of Danzon” in the first part of the program, followed by performances by six dancers from Jalisco’s Ballet Neoclasico Company.
Patrons can enjoy Latin dances, such as salsa, cumbia, bachata, son, tango and west coast swing, in the second half of the show.
Tickets are available at the Lake Chapala Society Tickets, Etc. booth on weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon, Charter Club Tours, Diane Pearl’s Colecciones and the Auditorium. The price is 250 pesos for VIVA members and 300 pesos for non-members.
Circus circus
The Clown Circus – the jugglers and stilt walkers who made such an impression in Ajijic’s Mardi Gras parade – will appear on Saturday and Sunday, February 25 and 26 on the Ajijic Plaza. Shows are scheduled for 4 p.m., 6:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Admission is 20 pesos for adults and 10 pesos for kids. Their European circus style acts are truly stunning.
Really big show
Local artist Efren Gonzalez opens his annual show at the Ajijic Cultural Center on Friday, March 2, 3 p.m. The exhibit will feature watercolors and oils, with new styles, techniques and perspectives. Refreshments will be served.
To the JPO
VIVA la Musica! plans to offer a bus trip to Guadalajara for the evening concert of the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) season on Friday, March 9.
The program features Mozart’s “Don Giovanni Overture,” Mendelssohn’s “Symphony No. 4,” Boccherini’s and Berio’s four original versions of “La Retirata de Madrid” and De Falla’s “Three-Cornered Hat Suites Nos. 1 and 2.”
They will stop for dinner on the way at the patrons’ choice of Italian, Thai Fusion or Indian restaurants.
The cost of the trip, including the bus and the concert, is 250 pesos for VIVA members and 350 pesos for non-members, payable on registration.
Call Marshall Krantz at 766-2834 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to go on the trip, indicating your choice of restaurant and when payment will be made.
For the full JPO season schedule see page 27.
Furniture
Dr. Antonio Pinto, his wife Patti and Sybilla Mannsfeldt are sponsoring an open house exhibition and sale of original painted furniture by “Olivares” and his assistant David Parra, on Saturday, February 25, 2-6 p.m. at Ramon Corona 98 in San Antonio Tlayacapan.
The painting is a reflection of primitive figurative painting in a lighthearted Mexican naïf style. Wine and appetizers will be served.
Important collection
An exhibit of paintings from the private collection of Dr. Jose Ainza opens Friday, March 2, 7 p.m. at the Gonzalez Gallo Cultural Center in Chapala. Included in “Petalos y Espinas” (Petals and Thorns) are works by distinguished Jalisco painters Jose Fors, Lucia Maya, Alejandro Colunga, Miguel Garcia Rulfo, Carlos Larracilla and others. Admission is free.
Pianist
Also appearing at the Gonzalez Gallo Center is pianist Rosi Valdez, a teacher in the University of Guadalajara’s Music Department, on Friday, March 9, 7 p.m. As well offering a recital, she’ll be presenting her new CD.
Hebrew melodies
Violist Madalina Nicolescu and pianist Timothy G. Ruff Welch team up for a concert Saturday, March 10, 4 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Riberas del Pilar.
The title of the My, My How Nice Productions event is “Hebrew Melodies: A Musical Journey Through the World.” The program will also include Argentine tangos by Piazzolla.
Tickets are 200 pesos and can be purchased at Diane Pearl Colecciones and Mia’s Boutique or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The cash bar opens at 3 p.m.
The labyrinth
Check out the goings-on at the Peace Labyrinth set up in front of the Old Posada in Ajijic on February 25, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. According to organizers, the purpose is to raise consciousness in Ajijic and send it out into Mexico and the world, thereby reducing violence and establishing a permanent frequency or wave of peace.
The labyrinth was left as a gift to the Lakeside community by the Mayan walker Ac Tah. The event is synchronized with 52 cities in Mexico and other countries.
All are welcome. Take your instruments to play and share (drums, rattles, whistles and such), a bottle of drinking water to place in the heart and a small plant that you will take home to plant peace with or share with a friend.
Photographer
Congratulations to Maria Di Paola Blum. A new coffee table book recently published by the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce features photographs by Di Paola. She is the only female photographer whose work is featured in the tome and “her” pages are the only ones showcasing Ajijic.
“Descifrando Guadalajara” (Discovering Guadalajara) celebrates Guadalajara’s 470th birthday and will soon be on the shelves at airports and local galleries in Spanish and English.