American School
The American School in Guadalajara has teamed up with the Lakeside Little Theatre to bring “Lincoln and Mexico: The Untold Story” to Lakeside, Friday, May 19 and Saturday, May 20.
The American School presented the world premiere of the English-language play, adapted by Michael Hogan (the school’s Emeritus Humanities Chair) from his own book “Abraham Lincoln and Mexico,” in late March.
The play recounts the story, discovered by a history teacher and his students, of how Mary Todd Lincoln helped the young Mexican envoy Matias Romero eliminate the French from North America. Junior- and high-school players are augmented by a couple of teachers in major roles.
The play is directed by Ohrt-Billingslea and student Tania Romero.
Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Tickets, 100 pesos, are available at the LLT box office one hour before curtain or via 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..
Free concerts
A series of free half-hour musical presentations at three Ajijic venues takes place Saturday, May 20.
Four musical artists will give free concerts at the Centro Laguna Mall in Ajijic: Violoncheloops, a mix of cello and ambient-experimental music, kicks off the fun at 5 p.m.; Soft Pillow, Mexican guitar pop, takes over at 5:30 p.m.; J.C. Taylor sings and plays the guitar at 6 p.m., and Hector Santiago plays rock on various instruments at 6:30 p.m.
Beginning 7 p.m., the Andador Cultural on the Ajijic Plaza will host Juan Medeles on violin playing a repertoire of jazz and pop tunes; guitarist Manu Betz playing pop/rock at 7:30 p.m.; guitarist Oscar Galoz playing rock at 8 p.m.; James Sidio playing jazz guitar at 8:30 p.m.
Papercraft workshop
Octavio Ignacio Perez, a resident of the state of Hidalgo, will present Cartoneria, a creative workshop of paper modeling techniques focused on promoting Mexican popular art. This is where you’ll learn how to create Mexican craft figures such as Judas, las Lolitas, Calaveras, diablitos, catrinas, masks and alebrijes. Eight sessions will be held Wednesday, May 24 through Thursday, July 1, 6-8 p.m., at the Centro Cultural Ajijic. At the end of the course an exposition of the finished works will be held at the center. The course is sponsored by Chinchorro Oficios y Artes and the Centro Cultural Ajijic. The cost of the classes, 12 years and up, are 450 pesos, materials included. Call 766-2373 for more information.
Piano Recitals
A series of free piano recitals organized by the University of Guadalajara is scheduled at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo (old train station) in Chapala.
Thursday, May 25: Stefania Morales Ponce de Leon, a student at the University of Guadalajara, will interpret a program of pieces by Muzio Clementi, Miguel Bernal Jimenez, Isaac Albeniz and George Gershwin. For more information, call the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo at 765-7424, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Friday, May 26, 7 p.m., pianist Antonio Quiroz Martinez, a graduate of the University of Guadalajara, will interpret works by Mozart, Chopin, Debussy and Mexican composer Armando Montiel Olvera.
Naked Stage
The Naked Stage Readers Theatre presents “Chapatti,” Friday to Sunday, May 26, 27 and 28 at the theater located at Hidalgo 261 in Riberas del Pilar.
“Chapatti” speaks to our shared humanity and its complex emotions, but especially to the isolation often felt by older men and women. The play is a poignant and tender story about two people who learn how to love. Directed by Rosann Balbontin, the cast includes Fred Koesling, Liz White, Mary Hunt and Rich Petersen. Reservations (recommended) can be made 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.. The box office opens at 3 p.m. and the show begins at 4 p.m. A cash bar benefiting local animal shelters opens at 3 p.m. Donation: 100 pesos.
Musical gathering
The Chapala Municipal Cultural Department invites one and all to a Tertulia Musical, where you can enjoy both Mexican and European music in a bohemian atmosphere. The event, at the Centro Cultural Antigua Presidencia, is on Friday, June 2, 8 p.m. Tickets, 50 pesos, are available at the venue on the day of the presentation.
Auditions
Love to sing? The Lake Chapala Chorale will be holding auditions Fridays, June 2-30, 2:15 p.m., at the Little Chapel by the lake. The group is preparing for their next show, “Singing on a Star,” a presentation of Broadway musical hits slated for October, and for their annual Christmas concerts.
Says director Cindy Paul: “There’s no need to prepare anything, nor do you have to read music.” The group has one rehearsal per week and you learn your parts online. For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Viva Bus trips
Viva La Musica will begin bus trips to concerts by the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) next month at the Teatro Degollado. The first trip is Thursday, June 8, for a performance of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, with guest conductor Gunter Neuhold and soloists Ivan Perez (violin), Rolando Fernandez (cello), and Saul Ibarra (piano). The program features Bach’s Little Fugue in G Minor, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2. The bus departs 4.30 p.m. from the Carretera next to Farmacias Guadalajara in Ajijic, and will stop for dinner at a restaurant before the concert.
Sunday, June 18, Marco Parisotto will conduct the JPO in a performance of Claude Debussy’s La Mer, with soloist Anton Dubatovka on flute. The program also includes Arnold Bax’s “Tintagel Symphonic Poem,” Sergei Prokofiev’s Concerto for Flute and Orchestra in D Major, and Félix Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides Overture”(Fingal´s Cave). The bus departs at 10.30 a.m.
Sunday, June 25, the JPO will perform Mozart’s Symphony No. 31 “Paris”, Symphony No. 36 “Linz” and Symphony No. 38 “Prague”, under the baton of Marco Parisotto. The bus departs at 10:30 a.m.
Sunday, July 2, guest conductor Sacha Goetzel presents “1001 Arabian Nights,” with soloist Philipee Quint on violin. The program includes Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” Barber’s “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra” and Rimski-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade.” The bus departs at 10:30 a.m.
Tickets, 450 pesos (550 pesos for non-Viva members), are available at the Lake Chapala Society Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or though Rosemary Keeling, 766-1801.
Guitars
Saturday, May 27, 6 p.m., a free concert will be given by the Guitarreto Ensamble at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo (old Chapala train station). The group consists of David Navarro Luna, Roy Joel Perez Sahagun, Marco Helio Mondaragon Alvarez and Edgar Guadalupe Romo Garcia. Cover is 100 pesos.
Summer concerts
The first Viva Summer in the Village concert will be a viola and piano recital with Manuel Olivares and Rosa Maria Valdez playing music by Glazunov, Moncayo, Schumann, Barbosa and Toussaint, Thursday, June 22, time and location TBA.
Pianist and composer Sergio Parra, winner of the Viva Scholarship, will give a piano recital Thursday, July 27, playing music by Schubert, Berg, Liszt and Schumann, time and location TBA.
Mezzosoprano Michele Bogdanivich and tenor Ernesto Ramirez will sing pieces by DeFalla, Tosti, Donaudy and Caccini, plus operatic arias and duets from La Boheme, Carmen, Madame Butterfly, Thursday, August 24, time and location TBA.
Series tickets are 800 pesos and individual concerts are 300 pesos, available at the Lake Chapala Society once times and locations are confirmed.