The front garden of La Ola Home for Children was completely decked out for the second annual Toy Run on Saturday, December 19. Glittering ornaments hung in clusters on the grapevine and tree branches, and Santa’s red leather club chair waited next to the beautiful white Christmas tree.
The 23 residents of La Ola, and their 20 guests – mostly siblings who live in other care facilities in Guadalajara – milled about the yard, played on swings, and gathered in twos and threes under the trees to tell secrets and invent little games.
Meanwhile, a quintet of aloof teenage disc jockeys reluctantly played carols on a sound system with speakers so large they carried the tunes to the far side of Jocotepec. And then, out on the road the thunder of 40 motorcycles drowned out the thumping bass and the screaming sirens and blaring horns drove Bob and Becky Plinke, directors of the home and the rest of the adults to shepherd the kids out the gate to see what was happening.
Coming down a slightly overgrown street at the east side of Jocotepec was a full-size fire truck, loaded with firemen, heaped with presents. At the top, there was Santa, the jolly old elf, waving and “Ho, Ho, Ho-ing” to the adults, some of whom looked more excited than the children.
When the firetruck pulled to the side of the road, pairs of colorful, chrome encrusted motorcycles streamed through La Ola’s gate. On the bikes were Santa’s elves wearing red and green Christmas hats with black leather. In order to create the huge Christmas party for the children, the members of Los Gueros, lakeside’s expat club of motorcycle enthusiasts joined forces with the American Legion Post 7, the Iron Horse Bar, and Mama’s Bar to gather three wrapped gifts, a gift bag and a pre-filled Christmas stocking for the La Ola Toy Run. These good folks also collected over 400 pounds of food and 3,500 pesos destined to fill the pantry of Love In Action, a children’s home in Chapala.
It took all of the motorcyclists, the five firemen, and most of the kids to carry the piles of gifts from the bed of the fire truck and mound them around the tree. Once Santa took his place of honor, he began calling the children to come visit with him. Each child received three gifts.
At a much earlier date the sponsors and patrons who assisted with the party selected the name of one of the children from a Christmas tree decorated with Angel cards. Each sponsor was photographed with Santa and the recipient of their gifts.
Mike Murphy, Los Gueros president; Tim Stern, Legion commander; Dave Roberts, vice president of Los Gueros; and Lee Myers who with his wife Linda Fox Myers works tirelessly for La Ola are credited with organizing the event. However these tough guys in black gave a nod of appreciation for all of the preparations accomplished by a much prettier group: Linda Fox Myers, Pam Lamb, Debbie Reynolds and Deb Murphy.
Special guests at the event were Gloria Perales, government liaison for the expat community, and Zuly Flores de la Torre, candidate for queen of Chapala’s 2016 Mardi Gras festivities. The 17-year-old candidate is receiving fundraising backing from the American Legion, and Lakeside Assistance Group which helps equip the local fire department.
For more information about the American Legion Post 7 be sure to attend their open house on Thursday, January 7 at the post, Morales 114 in Chapala. Visit Los Gueros Lake Chapala on Facebook, or email them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with questions. The local motorcycle enthusiasts’ website is www.losgueros.com.