Outstanding musicians and dancers from Costa Rica and the lakeside region will join up in Ajijic for a week-long cultural exchange and series of public performances scheduled January 23 to 30.
The visiting groups are Danza Costarricense de Cabo Blanco from Santa Teresa de Cóbano and Trío Difase of San José. Local troupes are the Ballet Folklórico de Ixtlahuacán and Mariachi Real Axixic.
The highlight of the transnational encounter – presented by the Chapala municipal government and Delegación Ajijic – will be a gala performance on Sunday, January 28, noon, at the Auditorio de la Ribera, La Floresta. The event will bring together all 92 artists.
The program will feature the Cabo Blanco troupe presenting colorful folk dances representing the provinces of Puntarenas, Guanacaste and the Central Valley, along with the Ixtlahuacan group’s acclaimed repertoire of Mexican dances.
Added to the bill is Trio Defase – composed of Sergio Núñez on cello, Fabián Barrantes on guitar and Dimas Serrano on percussions – offering a selection of boleros, ballads, and Latin American instrumental tunes. Mariachi Real will raise the rafters with signature Mexican numbers.
Tickets priced at 150 pesos per person are available at Mia’s Boutique, Fiaga Boutique, Diane Pearl, the Lake Chapala Society, the Delegación Ajijic office and the auditorium box office. Proceeds will go toward paying travel expenses for the Ixtlahuacan Ballet’s trip to Chile to appear at the Festival Internacional de Folklor in late February, and Mariachi Real’s March visit to Costa Rica for a gig at the Fiestas Patronales de Cóbano.
All four groups will also be lined up for free open-air events to be held in Ajijic, Chapala and Atotonilco el Alto. Dates, times and locations will be announced at the end of next week.