Spotlight Club
Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz vocalist Bonny Kapp will be part of the The Gabriel Hernandez Trio presenting “Hot Sauce” Friday and Saturday, December 14 and 15, 7 p.m. at The Spotlight Club.
The trio also consists of two-time Grammy winner Alfred Thompson and internationally respected pianist Gabriel Hernandez.
Flor de Quetzal with Eddie Lara on guitar and singer Sofia Ramirez present music from Mexico, Brazil and Puerto Rico Friday, December 21.
Us Two and the Band features a tribute to Abba and Elton John Thursday, December 27 to Saturday, December 29.
Mouth of the Border, a Broadway music and comedy show staring Michael Walters as Dame Edna, is on Monday, December 31, with shows at 6 and 9 p.m. Champagne and hors d’oeuvres are on the bill too.
All shows are at 7 p.m. Reservations: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 331-845-1523.
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
Potter Productions presents “It’s a Wonderful Life,” a holiday favorite as you’ve never seen – or heard – before.
The timeless tale of George Bailey is given a clever twist when they stage it as a live, 1940’s radio broadcast. The cast comprises Graham Miller, Florette Schnelle, Greg Custer, Barbara Pruitt, Terry Gibbard and Maryanne Gibbard. They will give voice to all of Bedford Falls’ memorable residents, accompanied by sound effects created live on stage by Maryanne Gibbard. Rosann Balbontin directs this radio play written by Joe Landry – a timeless tale of a likable fellow down on his luck and ready to end it all, until an Angel Second Class shows him life’s true value.
Two shows will take place at the Centro Cultural Ajijic, Saturday, December 15, and Sunday, December 16, both at 4 p.m. Tickets, 200 pesos, available at Diane Pearl, Mia’s Boutique and at the door before each performance.
Christmas concert
The Janus Quartet presents a special Christmas concert Saturday, December 15, 7:30 p.m. at the Lakeside Little Theatre.
The quartet, formed in 2016 under the guidance of Christopher Wilshere, presents high quality Mexican chamber music. The quartet was founded by violinists Diana Carolina Laguna Rivas and Francisco Vidal Rivera Gonzalez, violist Luis Carlos Rincón Barrios and cellist Areli Medeles Medina. They have studied with leading chamber musicians, including Juan Miguel Hernandez of the Royal Academy of Music, the Gryphon Trio and Mark Skazinetsky. The musicians were a resident quartet and assistant teachers for the last two years at the North Summer Program Orchestra in Owen Sound, Ontario, where they worked with top international musicians, including Canadian violinist Yolanda Bruno and Western’s Aaron Hodgson.
Lake Chapala Chorale
The Lake Chapala Chorale, under dynamic new director Denning Chambers, presents its third annual holiday program in December. Performances of some of your favorite music will take place Saturday, December 15, 4 p.m. at Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Riberas del Pilar. Suggested donation for these performances is 100 pesos.
The Chorale’s third annual holiday dinner show will be Sunday, December 23, 4-7 p.m. at Casa Linda Restaurant, Rio Bravo 7 in West Ajijic. Guests can choose from various items on the menu including gluten-free and vegetarian. Tickets for the dinner show, 350 pesos, can be purchased at Diane Pearl.
CREM Winter Concert
Lakeside’s premier music school for local children, CREM, presents a Winter Concert with the CREM Choir and Orchestra, Sunday, December 16, 7 p.m., at the Auditorio de la Ribera.
Thanks to the support and commitment of the CREM staff and director/conductor Emmanuel Medeles, the repertoire of these gifted, diligent and enthusiastic young musicians becomes more interesting and advanced each year. The program for this concert includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major played by the CREM orchestra. Two students will perform Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, accompanied by the orchestra. The youth choir will interpret a mixed repertoire including various Christmas carols.
Tickets, 200 pesos, are available at Diane Pearl, and the Auditorio. All proceeds support the CREM Music School.
Community Orchestra
“A Christmas Celebration,” the inaugural concert of the Lake Chapala Community Orchestra, takes place Sunday, December 16, 2 p.m. at The
Spotlight Club in San Antonio.
The event includes Christmas-themed readings interspersed with the music, and features two local singers, Dulce del Torro and Karen Procter, who will perform Mozart’s “Alleluia,” “Veni Veni Emanuel” and “Silent Night.”
The Orquesta Filarmonica Infantil de la Ribera de Chapala will also play with the Community Orchestra.
Tickets are 100 and 150 pesos. (Students should get their tickets early as seating is limited.) Reserve tickets by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling (376) 766-4784.
Information: facebook.com/LakeChapalaCommunityOrchestra.
Dance
The School of Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance of the Auditorio de la Ribera will perform “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens at the Auditorio, Tuesday, December 18, 5 p.m. John Ward is the guest artist. Tickets, 50 pesos, are available at the auditorium the day of the event.
Film Aficionados
Lake Chapala Society members can take advantage of Film Aficionados screenings each Thursday, 2 p.m. December 20, “Her Love Boils Bathwater” (2016, Japan) will be screened. A strict but caring mother has an awakening when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer and is told she has only a few months to live. There’s not much time and she has so many tasks to complete. (122 minutes)
Bare Stage Theatre
“Scrooge!” is the next production of the Bare State Theatre, December 28 to 30. Roseann Wilshere directs a cast of Anne Drake, Emily Crocker, Sharon Jarvis, Lynn Phelan, Rob Stupple, Peter James, Paul Kloegman and Tony Wilshire. A little Christmas magic unfolds as the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of a Christmas Eve night, after being visited by the ghost of his former partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.
Tickets are 100 pesos. The show begins 4 p.m. and box office and bar open 3 p.m. Seats are held until 3:50 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.. Bare Stage Theatre is located at Hidalgo 261 on the mountain side of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
Mariachi at LCS
Mariachi Estrellas de Chula Vista from San Diego, California, and Grupo Bella from Los Angeles, California return to the Lake Chapala Society for the fourth annual International Mariachi Concert, Saturday, January 5, 4 to 6:30 p.m. A cash bar will be available. Tickets, 250 pesos, are available at LCS. For VIP seating, 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..