Theater
Potter Productions presents “Spoon River Anthology” at the Spotlight Club, Friday to Sunday, October 12-14, 4 p.m.
The play was written in 1915 by Edgar Lee Masters and adapted and arranged as a theater production in 1963 by Charles Aidman.
The cast includes Terry Gibbard, Cindy Paul, Sharon Lowry and Michael Warren.
Tickets are 100 pesos at the door. Seating is limited; reserve 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..
Community Orchestra
The Lake Chapala Community Orchestra will hold its first rehearsal Saturday, October 13, 2 p.m. at the Spotlight Club. Spearheaded by several expat musicians, the organization’s mission will include serving the local communities as a performing arts ensemble and as a vehicle for educational opportunities for young musicians within the Lake Chapala region and beyond.
Musicians who play an orchestral instrument to a reasonable standard are welcome to attend the opening rehearsal. There is no audition and the only requirement is to bring your instrument, music stand and a desire to make music with other like-minded people.
Information: contact Christine Philipson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or 331-570-0829.
Fall Viva bus trips
Viva plans three “Live at the Met” bus trips to see opera on the big screen at the Teatro Diana Saturdays in Guadalajara.
October 13: “Aida” by Verdi; November 3: “Samson and Delilah” by Saint Saens; and December 15: “La Traviata” (The Fallen Woman) by Verdi.
Tickets, 450 pesos for members, 550 pesos non-members, are available at the LCS ticket area, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to noon or by calling (376) 766-1801.
Viva also sponsors trips to performances by the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO), the Ballet de Jalisco and a live opera presentation.
October 14: Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 (JPO); October 25: Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (JPO); November 4: Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 (JPO); November 27: Live opera, “Turandot” by Puccini, featuring Oksana Kramereva, Riccardo Massi and the Zapopan Municipal Choir and JPO; December 9: JPO puts on a Baroque Fest with music by Vivaldi, Geminiani, Gabrieli, Bach and Lully; December 13: Ballet de Jalisco performs the “Nutcracker.”
Information on times and ticket prices available at the LCS ticket area, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to noon, or by calling Rosemary Keeling, (376) 766-1801.
Scottish dancing
Have fun, laugh and exercise both body and mind at Scottish country dances beginning Thursday, October 18, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the LCS Gazebo. The first few classes of the year will be easy dances for everyone to try. Low impact, no partners required. This is the social dancing of Scotland, not the highland fling! Classes will continue Thursday, through the end of March or April. They are included in the price of an LCS membership. Information: Phyl, (376) 766-2722.
Film Aficionados
Lake Chapala Society members can take advantage of Film Aficionados screenings each Thursday, 2 p.m. On October 18, “Chavela” (2017, Mexico/Spain) will be screened. The life of pioneering singer Chavela Vargas from her birth in Costa Rica in 1919 to her death in Mexico City in 2012. Amazing archival videos of Frida Kahlo with narration by Pedro Almodovar who put Chavela in his films. One amazing life story. (93 minutes).
Viva concert
The first fall concert for Viva la Musica will be played by the Janus Quartet, a rising young group of local musicians, on Thursday, October 18, 7 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Riberas del Pilar.
Diana Laguna (violin), Francisco Rivera (violin), Luis Carlo Rincon (viola) and Areli Medeles (cello) will perform an eclectic program, including some Mozart and Brazilian and Mexican compositions, all played with gusto and great delicacy.
The four gifted musicians who make up this quartet have played together for several years, taking time out from their work and studies to practice their love for ensemble work. The results will speak for themselves in this concert.
The concert takes place in St. Andrew’s Anglican church, Riberas del Pilar. A no-host bar will be open in the garden during intermission. Tickets, 300 pesos, are available at Diane Pearl, Mia’s Boutique, Auditorio de la Ribera, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, and the Lake Chapala Society, Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to noon.
Classical concert
Guitarist Eddie Lara and pianist Daniel Flores present a recital at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo in Chapala, Friday, October 19, 7 p.m. Tickets, 120 pesos at the door.
Spotlight Club events
Les Femmes des Serge, a Guadalajara-based group featuring a fresh take on French music classics and some songs of their own, give a performance Friday, October 19, 7 p.m. at the Spotlight Club in San Antonio.
Big Band Rafael Terriquez will get you out on the dance floor Saturday, October 20, 7 p.m.
Female impersonators,The Crazy Bitches, perform Thursday and Friday, October 25 and 26, 7 p.m.
Tickets for these events are available at the Spotlight Club and Diane Pearl, via e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 331-845-1523.
Youth orchestra fundraiser
Perry’s Pizza in Ajijic will host a fundraiser concert for the youth orchestra in San Juan Cosala, as the school is in desperate need of a new roof.
The “Raise the Roof” event is on Friday October 19, 4 p.m. ,and includes a concert with a variety of music groups, as well as all-you-can-eat pizza for 300 pesos. Fifty percent of the proceeds will go to the school.
Groups performing include the youth orchestra, Mariachi Real Axixic, La Pura Pina and Aloha Rock, along with special guest appearances.
Tickets are available at Perry’s Pizza, or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Horror flicks
The Lake Chapala Society offers members and a guest free classic films the first and third Saturdays of each month in the LCS sala. “Young Frankenstein,” the 1974 fun/horror classic, will be shown on Saturday, October 20. Bring your LCS membership card to obtain your ticket. Ticket sales start 12:30 p.m.; doors open 12:45 p.m. Popcorn and water will be for sale.
Cuban Jazz
Sexteto—The Power of Cuban Music, an ambitious project that aims to position itself as one of the best groups in the world in this genre, performs at the Spotlight Club, Sunday, October 21, 7 p.m.
The band includes the group’s director, Cuban pianist, arranger and composer Gabriel Hernandez Cadenas, who is a founding member of the group Fervet Opus; Gilito Piñera, main vocalist and founder of Salsa de Esquina and a singer of such famous groups as Afro Cuban All Stars and Cubanismo; Alfred Tompson, saxophonist with the Cuban group Irakere and a former member of the Buena Vista Social Club; Pacha Portuondo, a drummer and percussionist with the Afro Cuban All Stars and Cubanismo; Pedrito Calvo and Cristobal Verdicia, bassist and bass player, respectively, with the Quinteto Gabriel Hernandez; and Ray Nariño, percussionist with numerous Latin jazz groups, including Quinteto Gabriel Hernandez.
Tickets, 500 pesos, and seating assignment, are available at the Spotlight Club daily from 2-5 p.m., or by calling Mark, 331-845-1523, or Sally, 415-115-7504.
Showstoppers
Los Cantantes del Lago presents Showstoppers 17, Sunday, October 21, 4 p.m., at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Riberas del Pilar. This concert features members of the choir singing solos, duets and trios by many favorite local performers. Also in the show are Ricardo Lavín – a professional baritone from Guadalajara, ukelele by Tim Tillman, trumpet by the fabulous Jimmy Barto and piano by the inimitable Timothy G. Ruff Welch. A local treasure, this popular concert fills quickly, so get your tickets, 250 pesos, from any Los Cantantes member, at Diane Pearl, Mia’s Boutique or loscantantesdellago.com. The bar opens at 3 p.m.
Bare Stage Theatre
Bare Stage, a new reader’s theater group at lakeside, presents its first performance, “Art of Murder” by Joe Di Pietro, Friday, October 26 through Sunday, October 29, at 4 p.m. The group takes over at the venue previously used by Naked Stage Theatre.
The play features Tina Leon, John Ward, Kathleen Morris and Jon de Young. Arleen Pace directs. This comedy mystery thriller involves a not-too-bright successful artist, Jack, his wife, Annie, and his flamboyant art dealer, Vincent.
Says the Press-Journal of the play: “With his usual flair for the outrageous, a sure knowledge of artistic egos and an understanding of the mystery genre as certain as his skill at comedy, Di Pietro has created an insular world in which greed and vengeance and personal recognition are free to play with the sanity and the lives of everyone involved.”
Tickets are 100 pesos. Box office and bar open 3 p.m. Reservations: 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..
Sinatra/Elvis tribute
Frankie Dino and his Tribute Show Band will perform a dinner show at Roberto’s Restaurant, Saturday, October 27. Dinner is at 6 p.m.; the show begins at 7 p.m. and dancing goes from 9 p.m. until closing. Prizes will be awarded for the best costumes (optional). Tickets, 350 pesos, are available at Roberto’s. Call 766-1616.
Music and Moussaka
Linda Buckthorp, community facilitator for Centro Educativo Jaltepec, will once again turn her home into an intimate concert setting, when Bill Dingwall presents another spectacular Sinatra and Jobim melodic musical event, Sunday October 28, 12:30 p.m.
Timothy G. Ruff Welch will provide cocktail music, hors d’oeuvres will be prepared and served by the students and a three-course Greek luncheon will feature Buckthorp’s famous moussaka along with bottomless glasses of wine. Proceeds of this repeat performance event go into the General Scholarship Fund at Centro Educativo Jaltepec to benefit students in need.
Don’t miss this event – the last occasion sold out quickly. Tickets are 1,000 pesos. Reservations or information: (376) 766-1631 or e-mail 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..
Maestros del Arte
The Feria Maestros del Arte will be held November 9-11 this year at the Chapala Yacht Club, Paseo Ramon Corona and the lake in Chapala.
Dozens of Mexico’s top folk art craftsmen will be displaying and selling their finished pieces. Many of the artisans also work on new pieces at the fair.
The Feria is always looking for hosts to accommodate the artist families who come long distances from Chiapas, Oaxaca, Michoacan and Guerrero. For information on hosting, contact Brenda Byrom at (376) 765-2408 or 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 Feria supports local charities including the LCS Children’s Art program, Operation Feed and the Women’s Prison Doll Project.