Patron Saint activities
Cultural presentations coincide with Ajijic’s fiestas patronales (celebration of Saint Andres Apostol) this week in the pueblo’s main plaza, all beginning 8 p.m. daily.
Friday, November 25, Yanin Saavedra and her group entertain with a fusion of traditional and contemporary music spanning Latin folk, jazz and world music.
Saturday, November 26, local artists inaugurate a collective exhibition at the Centro Cultural Ajijic, 5 p.m. and the Ballet Folcklorico Coxala dance in the plaza 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 27, The Ballet Folclorico Ubamari CBTa 64 from Durango puts on a show.
Monday, November 28, Lola la Tequilera belt out tunes with the Mariachi Real Axixic.
Tuesday, November 29, Ajijic musicians La Catrina serenade with son jarocho (Veracruz-style tunes).
Wednesday, November 30, Chapala choral group Coro Cantos y Redes present traditional Mexican songs.
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.
Rosann Balbontin directs; the cast features 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.
Mexican music
Chapala’s Municipal Choir, El Coro Son y Alma, and the Municipal Ballet Folclorico present the concert “Taste of Mexico” at the Auditorio de la Ribera, Saturday, November 26, 6:30 p.m. Special guests are the Musa Children’s Orchestra.
Tickets, at 100 pesos, are available at the Auditorio, Academia Musa, Zaragoza 321 in Chapala and the Centro Cultural Antigua Presidencia.
Tunes from yesteryear
Tapatia singing sensation Jaramar Soto, the 2016 Latin Grammy award winner for Best Classical Music
Album (El Hilo Invisible), 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.
Piano recitals
Pianist Marco Antonio Rodriguez performs at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo (Old Chapala Train Station) Sunday, November 27, 4 p.m. The cost is 100 pesos.
Musica UdeG presents pianists Andrea Ledesma and Juan Servando Banderas at the same venue on Thursday, December 1, 7 p.m.
‘Chapter Two’
Lakeside Little Theatre presents Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical play “Chapter Two” Friday, December 2 to Sunday, December 11.
The play 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. Collette Clavadetscher, Kevin Leitch, Michele Lococo and Zane Pumiglia star in this whimsical and touching comedy.
Tickets, 200 pesos, are available at the LLT box office Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon and during the show every day except Sunday and one hour before curtain time. Call 766-0954 or email: 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..
Ukulele concert
The students of the Academia de Ukuleles de la Ribera are polishing advanced fingering, rhythm and strumming techniques, solos, riffs and other musical and rhythmic embellishments for the Academia’s Winter Concert on Saturday, December 3, 7 p.m. at the Ajijic Cultural Center on the north side of the Ajijic plaza.
Under the leadership of Music Director Eduardo Garcia Espinoza, the students are anxious to demonstrate their skills and finesse in a program including pop tunes, classic rock pieces and the Mexican songs familiar to their families. Even the beginning students who just started learning the friendly instrument in October are ready to perform the dozen chords and special effects they’ve mastered to help make their songs sound interesting.
Admission to the concert is just 100 pesos, with all proceeds being used to support this ukulele program for local children. Tickets are available at Diane Pearl Colecciones, Charter Club or Mia’s Boutique.
The Academia was founded in February 2015 by the local adult’s ukulele group. Club Ukulele de Laguna continues to support and subsidize the lessons that enrich the lives of the 40 children from age 7 to 18 who attend the weekly lessons. Ukuleles and weekly professional instruction by Garcia Espinoza is available to all Lakeside children.
Collective show
Local artists stage a collective show at the Parque “El Castillo de la Floresta” Saturday, December 3, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The 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.
Paint Out Ajijic
The Lake Chapala Painting Guild holds Paint Out Ajijic, Saturday, December 3, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning at the Creperie (next to Maria Isabel restaurant). Bring your brushes, paints, paper or canvas for a fun day of painting scenes around the shores of Ajijic.
Paintings should be finished and delivered by 2 p.m. when a People’s Choice Award will be given. Encourage your friends to come and vote for your painting. Paintings will be on sale from 3 to 5 p.m. with 20 percent of sales going to the Guild. To preregister, email: 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..
Piano and violin concert
Viva La Musica offers a concert by talented 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..
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ASA meets
Ajijic Society of the Arts (ASA) members hold their regular monthly meeting Monday, December 5 at La Bodega. A Holiday Social will be held directly after the meeting, featuring pastries, protein and pink champagne.
Wear something festive and get to know someone new. Many splinter groups and new members will be there and this gives artists the opportunity to exchange ideas and learn from each other. Bring something you are working on or questions you may have on a project.
For more information, see ajijicart.weebly.com.
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.
Friday, 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.
Art exhibit
Claudia Nery will inaugurate an exhibit of her new works Friday, December 9, 4-6 p.m. at Sol Mexicano Galeria del Arte, Colon 13 in Ajijic. Wine and botanas will be served. For more information, call 766-0734.
Big band holiday
Viva la Musica presents 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 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..