Kids, ASA join up
The Ajijic Society of the Arts has teamed up with Ajijic Delegado Chuni Medeles and the Lake Chapala Society children’s art program to help with beautifying the village.
Beginning November 19, 20 large planters will be sanded and primed by city hall and ready for 20 local children enrolled in the arts program to create works of art on them. ASA will provide a kit of paint brushes and templates to each team.
Medeles will give a tutorial to the children explaining the lake and life it contains to give them ideas for the art to reproduce on the planters. The fun and art begins at 11 a.m., so walk around the village and check it out.
Rock
Oscar Rojas, a founder of 1970s Guadalajara rock band Revolucion de Emiliano Zapata, brings his new music group Re Evolucion to the Chapala Malecon, Sunday, November 20, 5:30 p.m. to help celebrate Dia de la Revolucion. The no-cost event will also include an exhibition of motorcycles.
Poetry
French poet Franc Ducros, hailed as one of the most important voices in contemporary European poetry, will join well-known Mexican poets Jorge Esquinca and Gabriel Magaña Merlo for a reading of their work on Wednesday, November 23, 6 p.m. at Lakeside’s newest café, El 133, Calle Independencia 133 in San Antonio Tlayacapan.
Mexico City novelist Javier Garcia Galiano will read fiction. Wendy Penner will accompany Gabriel Magaña Merlo in reading from their book-length translation of poems by Canadian poet Tim Lilburn.
Find a place at a table, order from El 133’s tempting menu of drinks, botanas and full-course meals, and enjoy an evening of poetry in three languages.
Naked Stage comedy
The Naked Stage presents “Art,” a comedy which raises questions about art and friendship Friday through Sunday, November 25, 26 and 27. Serge, indulging his penchant for modern art, buys a large, expensive, completely white painting. Marc is horrified, and their relationship suffers considerable strain as a result of their differing opinions about what constitutes “art.” Yvan, caught in the middle of the conflict, tries to please and mollify both of them.
Directed by Rosann Balbontin, the cast features (left to right) Jon DeYoung, Greg Clarke and Ed Tasca.
Box office and bar open at 3 p.m.; curtains rise 4 pm. The Naked Stage is at Hidalgo 261 in Riberas del Pilar on the north side of the Carretera.
Tunes from yesteryear
Jaramar Soto, a Tapatia singing sensation, is accompanied by Luis Javier Ochoa on guitar and Alex Fernandez on violin in “Todo Mi Vida Os Amé” (All my life I have loved you) – a concert featuring Medieval and Renaissance music, Sunday, November 27, 5 p.m. at the Lake Chapala Society.
Tickets, 100 pesos, are available at FIAGA boutique, La Casa del Café, Centro Cultural Ajijic, LCS offices and the Auditorio de la Ribera.
Jeffery Straker
Singer, songwriter and pianist Jeffery Straker is returning to Ajijic’s Auditorio de la Ribera Tuesday, November 29, 6 p.m.
Straker has performed at Lake Chapala before, including a fundraiser for the youngsters of the Centro Regional de Estudios Musicales (CREM).
Classically trained at the Trinity College of Music in London, England, Straker’s piano playing is superb. His beautiful melodies, inspired lyrics and distinctive voice with its surprising range and signature high notes, make an irresistible combination with his charismatic performance style and innate showmanship.
Tickets (350 for reserved RED center seating, 250 for side BLUE general seating) is available at Diane Pearl and Jose Melendez on the Ajijic plaza. Reservations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Lakeside Little Theatre
Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical play “Chapter Two” examines what it means to truly love someone else, and asks whether finding a soulmate can happen more than once in a lifetime.
Phil Shepherd directs, from left, Collette Clavadetscher, Kevin Leitch, Michele Lococo and Zane Pumiglia in this whimsical and touching comedy at the Lakeside Little Theatre. Show dates are Friday, December 2 to Sunday, December 11.
Collective show
Local artists will put on a collective show, Saturday, December 3, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Parque “El Castillo de la Floresta.” Tacos Arabes Kamellos food truck will be on site to cater to hungry art patrons. A magician will perform at 1 p.m. and a raffle will be held at 2 p.m. to benefit Facharte. Artists include Jaime Barbiery, Heber Barajas, Victor Alcazar, Alejandra Robles Barba and Axuni Soto, among others.
Piano and violin concert
Viva La Musica offers a concert by talented a piano and violin duo, Blandine Tricot (piano) and Alvaro Larez (violin), at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Sunday, December 4, 4 p.m. The varied program includes works by Mozart, Cesar Franck and Wienawsky.
French-born Blandine began her musical studies at age six and moved to Oaxaca in 2004. She is currently a piano teacher at the University of Guadalajara School of Music and at the “Semper Altius” school in Zapopan. Alvaro Larez is from Venezuela and a graduate of the Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva, Switzerland. He was principal second violinist in the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2015-16 season and currently teaches violin at the University of Guadalajara School of Music.
Tickets, at 300 pesos, are available at the LCS box office on Thursdays and Fridays, from 10 a.m. to noon, Mia’s Boutique and Diane Pearl. For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
JPO bus trips
Viva la Musica is sponsoring bus trips from Lakeside to the Degollado Theater in Guadalajara to hear concerts by the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra and see the Jalisco Ballet. The buses leave from just east of Farmacia Guadalajara in Ajijic on the Carretera.
November 25: Live opera “Otello.” Bus departs 4:30 p.m., with a stop at a restaurant.
Sunday, December 18: The Jalisco Ballet performs Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite (500 and 600 pesos). Bus departs 10.30 a.m.
Bus trip tickets are available at the Lake Chapala Society, Thursdays and Fridays, from 10 a.m. to noon. Call Rosemary Keeling, 766-1801, for more information.
Book signing
A book signing and art exhibition to celebrate the launch of “Mexican Kaleidoscope: myths, mysteries and mystique” will be held at the Centro Cultural Ajijic, Friday, December 2, 5 -6:30 p.m. The text of the 2016 book by publisher Sombrero Books is by Tony Burton and illustrations are by Enrique Velázquez. (Sombrero Books, 2016). Wine and light refreshments will be served.
Big band holiday
Viva la Musica is presenting a concert by the popular Rafael Terriquez Big Band at the Auditorio de la Ribera, Thursday, December 15, 6 p.m.
Terriquez, better known as Pili, who plays the trombone, is a native of Guadalajara and played in the orchestra that accompanied well-known singer and songwriter Juan Gabriel for ten years before founding his big band in 2015.
He is a versatile musician who has played with jazz and popular Mexican musical groups, the Jalisco Philharmonic, the Jalisco State Band, as well as in live operas. While most of the band (at least 15 musicians and two vocalists) is made up of Mexican musicians, two saxophonists and one vocalist are expat Americans. They will be playing an eclectic program which includes classics from the likes of Glen Miller and the Beatles, as well as a few surprises.
Tickets (300 pesos) are available at the Auditorio from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the LCS box office, Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Mia’s Boutique, and Diane Pearl. For further information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Gloria!
Los Cantantes del Lago is preparing their holiday concert “GLORIA!” at the Auditorio de la Ribera. The choir will be joined by an a cappella quartet, Vox Ensamble, a French horn player and percussionists from Guadalajara.
The choir will perform John Rutter’s “Gloria” along with many other beautiful works. In addition, the concert will also feature two “future” cantantes (Lakeside male sopranos aged 12 and 15) singing two Christmas duets by Guadalajara composer Domingo Lobato.
Concerts are Tuesday, December 6, 7 p.m. and Wednesday December 7, 4 p.m. The bar opens one hour before each concert. Tickets are 250 pesos, available at Diane Pearl, Mia’sBoutique, the Auditorio, from any choir member or loscantantesdellago.com.
Maestros Feria continues
If you missed the Feria Maestros del Arte because of the rain last weekend you may be in luck. The volunteers at Upscale Resale ponied up 10,000 pesos to buy giftware to resell at their charity bazaar in Riberas del Pilar. Their last-minute efforts to help the crafters, many who depend on making their yearly income at the Feria, will also help the two local children’s homes that
Upscale Resale has been supporting over the last six years.
Find the store on the lake side, near Mom’s Restaurant. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Saturday. For more information, call 106-0882 during open hours.