Concerts in Chapala
The Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo (old Chapala train station) hosts two concerts this weekend.
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. Free admission. And on Saturday, May 27, 6 p.m., a concert will be given by the Guitarreto Ensamble. The group consists of David Navarro Luna, Roy Joel Perez Sahagun, Marco Helio Mondaragon Alvarez and Edgar Guadalupe Romo Garcia. Cover is 100 pesos.
Naked Stage
The Naked Stage Readers Theatre presents “Chapatti,” Friday to Sunday, May 26-28, 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 and Mary Hunt.
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.
Piano recital
Saul Ibarra Ramos, 16, will give a piano recital Friday, May 26, 7 p.m. in a private home. The event is a fundraiser to finance his entry into the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Astana, Kazakhstan. Tickets, 300 pesos, must be purchased beforehand from Notario No. 2, Parque Oriente 60, near the Modelo store, in lower Chula Vista.
Casa Luna
Casa Luna hosts a cocktail opening for the exhibit “Expresiones de la Vida,” by Miguel Angel Marquez, Saturday, May 27, 6 p.m. Casa Luna is located Ocampo 22 in Ajijic.
Arts Society
The Ajijic Society of the Arts holds its next monthly meeting Monday, June 5 at La Bodega in Ajijic. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. to elect the president and treasurer, followed by a presentation of the works of five budding artists from the LCS art program.
The young artists who will be on hand to show and sell their art are: Erika Morales, 17, who works in watercolors and dry pastels; Karina Gutierrez, 16, who has been in the program for 10 years and works in watercolors, oils, pencil and acrylics; Oscar Ibarra, 18, a five-year participant in the program who plans to pursue arts studies in Spain and/or South America; Samantha Sanchez, 17, who uses pencils and also does watercolors and dreams of becoming a professional artist and Alonso Romero, 15, who has been in the program for seven years and may be known to expats for the holiday cards he paints each year.
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 will learn how to create Mexican craft figures such as Judas, las Lolitas, Calaveras, diablitos, catrinas, masks and alebrijes.
Sessions will be held on Wednesdays, through 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, for anyone aged 12 years and up, are 450 pesos, materials included. Call 766-2373 for more information.
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 hold auditions Fridays, June 2-30, 2:15 p.m., at the Little Chapel by the Lake. The group is preparing for its next show, “Singing on a Star,” a presentation of Broadway musical hits slated for October, and for their annual Christmas concerts.
Says choir 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..">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.
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.