Fantastic flamenco
MAS Musica ends its 2011-2012 season with a fiery flourish, presenting VIVA! Flamenco on Tuesday, March 13, 7:30 p.m. at Auditorio de la Ribera del Lago in La Floresta, Ajijic.
This outstanding company, formed in 2004 and directed by Leticia Cosio, comprises professional dancers, musicians and actors, many schooled in the flamenco art in Spain. In recognition of their talents, they were named “Best Flamenco Dance Company in Mexico” in 2010 by the National Association of Broadcasters of Mexico. Tuesday’s program promises to be a burst of living heat, complete with sensual dance, singing and instrumentals.
Tickets cost 350 pesos each and are being sold at the Lake Chapala Society Tickets, Etc. booth from 10 a.m. to noon, at Charter Club Tours, the auditorium and on the Guadalupe Victoria walkway near the Ajijic plaza on Sunday, March 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information call 766-0010.
Art show
The Ajijic Society of the Arts (ASA) opens its annual Judged Show with a reception on Saturday, March 17, 5-7 p.m. at the Ajijic Cultural Center.
Following the judging, the artworks will remain on display and for sale until March 29. The public is invited to see a stunning variety of media.
Nuts
The Naked Stage Readers’ Theatre presents a reading of “Nuts” on March 23, 24 and 25, 4 p.m. at the theater located at Plaza de la Ribera on Rio Bravo 10.
The play, directed by Shirley Appelbaum, is a psychological court drama written by Tom Topor, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film starring Barbra Streisand. It’s about a high-class call girl accused of murdering one of her clients, fighting for the right to stand trial rather than be declared mentally incompetent. Because her parents wish to avoid the scandal of a trial, they are strongly against her having one. During the hearing she constantly interrupts with inappropriate remarks until one begins to wonder: Is she “mad” as in angry or just plain nuts?
Make reservations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 766-5986. A donation of 80 pesos, please.
VIVA trips
VIVA la Musica! bus trips to see the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday, March 11 and Friday, March 16 are sold out. Call Marshall Krantz at 766-2834 to go on the waiting list.
Seats are still available for the concerts on Sunday, March 25 (Johann Strauss’ “Die Fliedermaus”) and on Sunday, April 1 (works by Adams, Mozart and Mahler). Contact Krantz to reserve and arrange payment for these concerts. Tickets cost 250 pesos for VIVA members and 350 pesos for non-members. Payment must be made two weeks before each concert.
Live from the Met
VIVA la Musica! is running buses to the New York Metropolitan Opera’s upcoming simulcasts at Guadalajara’s Teatro Diana. Next up is Massanet’s “Manon” on Saturday, April 21. There are still seats available for the trip.
There are no spaces left on the bus going to Verdi’s “La Traviata” on Saturday, April 28 but notify Marshall Krantz if you are interested in going. He says VIVA may arrange a second bus.
Long mural
Artist Janice Kimball, the owner of the Aztec Gallery, has taken on the job of painting a mural on the new retaining wall across the highway from her gallery on the west side of Ajijic beside the Carretera.
She worked out a pattern on graph paper to scale (six inches wide and 20 feet long) for a wall that is four feet wide and a block long. She has hired a sign painter from Chapala to trace the outlines of figures of the undulating serpents intertwined with the monkey god, a crocodile, baby eagle, jaguar and a running jeweled possum.
Permission for the project was given by the Ajijic administration but Kimball is responsible for paying for all the materials. (It wouldn’t hurt to help her out a little bit.) Look out for the figures that will start to come to life this week.
Contact Kimball at 766-3543 for more information.
Kant sale
Maria Di Paola, owner of the Di Paola Gallery (Colon 11, Ajijic), will put artistic creations by Lewis Kant on sale for the last two weeks of his exhibition there. The works are abstract-impressionist paintings, sculptures in bronze and obsidian and tapestries. The works are great and the discount is 20 percent.
Coming up at the gallery from March 20 is an exhibition of figurative oil paintings on canvas, incorporating the past and present, the mythical and the modern in an interpretation of urban society by twins Carlos and Hugo Villalobos of Guadalajara. One studied art and one studied business at the University of Guadalajara. They also studied in Europe for a time and now work collectively on their art.
Auditions
The Naked Stage holds auditions for “Brighton Beach Memoirs” by Neil Simon on Tuesday, March 27, 11 a.m. at the theater at Plaza del la Ribera.
The play, directed by Phyllis Silverman, is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy about a Polish-Jewish American teenager who experiences puberty, sexual awakening and a search for identity as he tries to deal with his family. Silverman is looking for three men and four women for the play.
Actors needed
The Naked Stage needs actors. If you are interested in appearing in one of the readings please let them know so your name can be put on the “notification of auditions” list. Experience is not necessary. Email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
General meeting
Lakeside Little Theatre (LLT) holds its annual general meeting on Wednesday, March 21, 10 a.m. at the theater. The slate of candidates is Pat Carroll and Barbara Clippinger for president and Sally Jo Bartlett, Peter Luciana and Mary Anne Molinari for secretary. Nominations will be accepted from the floor but only with the written approval of the person nominated.
Members may request numbered proxy vote forms (limit of two per member) from Pat Carroll at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 766-3144. The president will provide an annual report at the meeting and board members will comment on their respective departments.
Season tickets
Lakeside Little Theatre will sell season tickets (2012-2013) and renewals after the March 21 annual general meeting, and again on Thursday, March 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the LLT lobby. Season tickets cost only 1,000 pesos per person and include LLT membership and reserved seats for six plays.
Season ticket holders who do not wish to renew should notify ticket manager Paul McTavish at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or leave a message at 766-0954 as soon as possible.