Jazz Fest
Metro area dance halls began to open up to jazz in 1961. Years later, pianist Carlos de la Torre began bringing jazz musicians together in the Copenhagen Jazz Club, located in front of Parque Revolucion just off Avenida Juarez. Now, with a strong interest among local musicians and aficionados, Jalisco has opened up a performance space for jazz at the Casa de Cultura Jalisciense Agustin Yañez, at Constituyentes 21 in the city center. The next Carlos de la Torre Jazz Cycle runs September 1 through November 24. Entrance is free for the weekly Monday evening concerts starting at 8 p.m.
September 1: Jazz Lab, a four-member group playing piano, bass, drums and saxophone, will perform. Apart from one Chick Corea piece and a couple of original arrangements, the majority of the songs are by Jalisco jazz drummer Guillermo Olivera, whose band filled the Copenhagen six nights a week in the 1980s.
September 8: Nu Jazz Funk combines elements of both styles performing contemporary and classic themes with different arrangements. Some of the pieces include Chank Watermelon, Sly and Butterfly by Herbie Hancock, Ain’t it the Truth, St. Louis Blues, Black Out, Green Tea and I want you by the Beatles.
September 15: the Cajetes Power Trio, playing jazz, rock and progressive, offers up “Music for the Migrants.”
September 22: Pianist Willy Zavala’s band (piano, guitar, drums and bass) inclines toward the new school of jazz — rhythm and blues, electronic, funk and drum and bass.
September 29: the Nathalie Braux Project presents some original compositions interpreting music from eastern Europe, including Klezmer.
Couple back to stay
Cam and Cliff Esser are back in City of Roses for good. After 12 years of winter visits from their home in Annandale, Virgina the couple have decided to become Tapatios. Here they are enjoying a banana split at Amsoc’s Ice Cream Social last week.
Walk in Tlaquepaque
Camino Barrio, in conduction with Jane’s Walk, organizes walks in metro area neighborhoods to showcase the good, the bad and the ugly of being a pedestrian in Guadalajara. On Saturday, August 30, 5 p.m., the group is holding a walk in the pretty crafts center of Tlaquepaque.
The two-hour jaunt begins at the Centro Cultural El Refugio, where a large parking facility is located, and continues on to the Ceramics Museum, Nieves Chapalita (a traditional ice cream parlor), the family ceramics workshop of Tomas Preciado (there is a break here), the Santa Cruz de Santa Maria Capilla, and a beautiful house from the early 1900s, before finishing up at Maria Tamales, considered to make the best tamales in Tlaquepaque.
There is no cost to join in the walk. So far more then 150 people have indicated on the Facebook site they are going on the walk. It is suitable for the whole family and older adults are encouraged to join in the event. See www.janeswalk.org/mexico/guadalajara/caminabarrio-tlaquepaque for more information in Spanish and a map of the walk.
Free mariachi
The International Mariachi Festival goes into top gear this weekend, with the opening parade on Sunday, August 31 (see page 1).
Free recitals by local and international mariachi groups, singers, dance groups and other musical outfits are held daily on the stage set up in the Plaza de la Liberacion (facing the Teatro Degollado), from Friday, August 29 through Friday, September 5, beginning at 4 p.m.
The program kicks off August 29 with a performance by the Ballet Folclorico Teocalli, along with mariachi accompaniment. Performers include the Jalisco State Choir (Tuesday, September 2, 6:30 p.m.), Mariachi Vargas (Wednesday, September 3, 4:30 p.m.), the Redes y Cantos de Chapala choir (Thursday, September 4, 6:30 p.m.). The programs end at around 8 p.m. each day.
Cineforo
The Universidad de Guadalajara has installed a state-of-the-art film projector at its Cineforo movie theater located beneath the university’s administrative building on Avenida Juarez.
The new 4K digital projector permits screenings of films of all types, including 3D, and its 22,000 lumens will make the theater’s screen one of the brightest in the country. The cost was around 1.3 million pesos.
The 443-seat theater is renowned for its cycles of art and independent films and is one of the main venues of the International Film Festival held each March.
Next up is a complete makeover of the Cineforo to include the fitting of new seats, a bar and other features, university officials confirm.
For schedules and screening times visit the easy-to-read website www.cineforo.udg.mx.
Charros de Jalisco
The Charros de Jalisco don’t begin their season until October 10 against Los Aguilas de Mexicali, but tickets are now on sale for those who want the best seats in the house. It’s been 19 years since Guadalajara has had a professional baseball team to call its own and fans are anxious to hear the words: “Play Ball!” Tickets purchased before September 18 via Ticketmaster (25 to 300 pesos) include a 20-percent discount.