Spay-ghetti Dinner
The fifth annual Spay-ghetti No-balls Dinner to raise funds for the admirable work of Tails of Mexico will be held at the Raquet Club in San Juan Cosala Saturday, January 27, from 5-8 p.m.
The dinner features all-you-can-eat spaghetti (meat or vegetarian), with a Caesar salad, garlic bread, and a cash bar. There will be a dessert auction.
Tickets are 350 pesos each and are available at Diane Pearl, or online 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..
Open Circle
Loretta Downs will present “The Five Wishes” at the next gathering of Open Circle, Sunday, January 28, 10:30 a.m. at the Lake Chapala Society.
Advance Healthcare Planning has evolved from being a casual part of an estate plan to becoming a lifelong practice and medical necessity. It is a personally transformative process that increases the likelihood of having a gentle death. The Five Wishes is a helpful tool for exercising control over your end-of-life care. These wishes will clarify who and what matters most to you when you reach the end of the life line. See www.endoflifeinspriations.com for more information.
Loretta Downs has a Masters degree in gerontology. She is past-president of the Chicago End-of-Life Care Coalition and is a certified senior advisor, advance care planning facilitator and death doula. She’s been a companion to the dying for 30 years and created the Chrysalis Room concept for nursing homes and hospitals to provide private rooms for loved ones keeping vigil with the dying. She has lived the last seven winters at Lakeside.
Jewish Film Fest
The Ajijic Jewish Film Festival celebrates its ninth year at Cine del Lago. Presented by the Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation and shown each Sunday at 1:30 p.m., the festival donates a portion of its 80-peso ticket price to a lakeside charity. On January 28 “Orchestra of Exiles” will be shown. This is the story of Bronislaw Huberman, the celebrated Polish violinist who rescued some of the world’s greatest musicians from Nazi Germany and then created one of the world’s greatest orchestras, the Palestine Philharmonic, which would eventually become the Israeli Philharmonic.
Beginners Spanish
The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) offers a casual class of Spanish to members that covers the alphabet, simple vocabulary and phrases to use about town for shopping, and other useful information about Lakeside and Mexican culture.
Classes are held each month starting the first Tuesday of the month and continue for three weeks. February classes will start February 6, noon-1:30 p.m., and another session from 2-3 p.m.
Sign up is available at the LCS office during regular office hours, Monday through Saturday. Or via www.lakechapalasociety.com. Telephone: (376) 766-1140.
Genealogy forum
The Genealogy Forum will meet Monday, January 29,1 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Riberas del Pilar. The church is located diagonally across the street from Mom´s Deli.
You saw the TV commercial for a DNA test that would “tell you who you were.” You took the test, you have the results. Now what? What can you really learn from DNA tests about your family history? Actually, quite a lot, but it takes some work on your part.
Marci Bowman has been studying genetic genealogy since 2012, when she first spoke to the Genealogy Forum on the topic. Many changes have taken place since then. She will show you how to get started in unlocking your family tree, possibly verifying and expanding the information you already have, meeting new DNA cousins, and finding out about health issues.
The forum will discuss the tests from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, and MyHeritage, as well as a variety of third party resources available to aid you in your research. Bowman will provide additional resource links to help you learn even more on your own.
For more information contact Fran Murphy, (376)766-0067. Everyone is welcome to attend.
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LCS TED Talk
Lake Chapala Society (LCS) members are invited to attend a lecture by neuroscientist and author Lisa Genova titled “What you can do to prevent Alzheimer’s.” Tuesday, January 30, noon to 1:15 p.m. in the LCS Sala.
Fred Harland facilitates this TED talk by Genova, author of “Still Alice.” “Alzheimer’s doesn’t have to be your brain’s destiny,” says Genova. She shares the latest science investigating the disease – and some promising research on what each of us can do to build an Alzheimer’s-resistant brain.
Neill James Lecture
Dr. Rick Rhoda will speak about “Mexico Good, Bad and Ugly: 2018 Update” at the next Neill James Lecture, Tuesday, January 30, 2-3:30 p.m. at the LCS Sala.
Mexico’s size, biological diversity, population and economy make it one of the more important countries on the planet. For example, did you know it is the world’s fourth biggest auto exporter, behind only Japan, Germany and South Korea? On the other hand, it has big time problems such as obesity, corruption, and violence. This update will provide some background for the important Mexican Presidential Election on July 1.
Rhoda and his spouse, Valerie, have lived in Ajijic since 1999. Before moving here, they were with the U.S. foreign aid program and spent 16 years in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Central America. Rhoda published a book on the dynamics of modern Mexico in 2010.
Bass fishing tourney
Lake Chapala’s second annual National Bass Fishing Tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, February 2 and 3, headquartered again at the Nimue Marina Residence & Sport Club (formerly Club Náutico) in La Floresta. This year, the tournament has openings in two categories, one for professional sports fishermen and another for amateur anglers. The contest runs under a “catch and release” mode, with up to four team members allowed aboard each boat.
The top ranking pro competitors will split a purse of 250,000 pesos in prize money, with an award of 60,000 pesos going to the crew scoring the highest accumulated weight for five fish reeled in per day and an equal sum for capture of the heaviest single specimen. Cash awards for amateurs total 50,000 pesos, with 10,000 going to first-place winners.
For information on registration and tournament rules, call (cel) 33-1401-2847, 33-1415-6251 or 33-1845-9183.
Tequila tasting
The Lake Chapala Society will explore your passion for tequila at a cata, Saturday, February 3, 3 p.m. in the sala. Learn all about tequila: where it comes from, how it’s produced, and how to enjoy its flavors by sampling six 100-percent agave tequilas from both the Tequila Valley and the Jalisco Highlands, highlighting the diversity of the category and aroma/flavor differences based on terroir and production methods. This event is for LCS members only and limited to 25 participants. The cost is 200 pesos per person.
British Society
The Lakeside British Society holds its monthly luncheon Saturday, February 3, 1 p.m. at Manix Restaurant, Ocampo 57 in Ajijic. Rod Pye will present “A lunchtime Safari” – a virtual safari through many of Tanzania’s game reserves illustrated by photographs taken during eight years of living there.
Menu choices begin with a small salad or ginger soup; choice of fish a la veracruzana with rice or pork chops, sauce with rice or a chef’s salad. Dessert is chocolate cake. The cost is 150 pesos plus tip.
Contact Sue Morris at (376) 766-0847 or e-mail Sue Sterlini at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to confirm your attendance and menu choice.
Date change
The mega bazaar to raise funds for the free Tarahumara Children’s Hospital, slated for January 27 and 28, has been pushed to the following weekend of February 3 and 4. Tarahumara Project co-founder Libby Townsend, who hosts and organizes the bazar, apologizes for any inconvenience. “It is more important than ever to make sure the sale is a success,” she says. “With the cold and snow they have been getting in the Copper Canyon region of the Sierra Tarahumara, the hospital has seen quite an increase in patients with respiratory problems. They need all the help we can get them.”
The bazaar will be held February 3 and 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 pm at Pescadores 2, in Riberas del Pilar. Look for signs east of Mom’s, turn toward the lake and turn left.
If you would like to donate to the bazar, call Townsend at 333-495-7263.
LCS bus trip
The Lake Chapala Society will go to the Guadalajara Zoo, Thursday, February 8. Tickets, 440 pesos for members and 540 pesos for non-members, area on sale at the LCS service desk and include the bus transportation, a train ride, safari and aquatic show.
Meet the children
Niños Incapacitados is holding a “meet the children” event, Thursday, February 15, 10 a.m. at the Eucalyptus Room of the Hotel Real de Chapala. The non-profit, all-volunteer charity has worked to help lakeside children with disabilities or life threatening illnesses since 1974. Their next fundraiser is the popular Trivia Quiz, Tuesday, February 6, at the Hotel Real. See programaninos.com for more information.
Chiliheads unite!
The 40th Mexican National Chili Cookoff, February 23-25 at Tobolandia waterpark, opens with a fun parade through Ajijic. This three-day extravaganza provides non-stop entertainment and lots of food and handicrafts as a sideline to the margarita, salsa and chili contests, while raising hundreds of thousands of pesos for local charities.
To participate in the opening day parade, call Hector, 331-065-0725. To enter any of the competitions, call Carol, (376) 766-3167.
Buddhists
The Heart of Awareness Insight Meditation Community offers multiple opportunities each week for silent mediation. All sessions are open to the public and chairs and cushions are provided. One-hour sessions are a mix of sitting and walking, and the 45-minute session on Wednesday is a sitting meditation.
One-hour meditation periods are offered Sunday and Monday, 9 a.m. and on Thursdays, 11 a.m. Wednesday, January 31, the 45-minute meditation period which begins at 4 p.m. will be followed by the final video from the series “Freeing the Mind When the Body Hurts,” by Vidyamala Burch. The session ends by 6 p.m.
Four “practice and study” sessions will be offered in February. The group, open to both beginners and experienced meditators, will meet Saturdays from 1-3 p.m. Each session consists of 45 minutes of meditation followed by discussion of selected readings from basic Buddhist teachings. Materials for each week will be distributed in advance, so it is helpful to pre-register. Those interested in attending one or more of these sessions should This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 331-043-4669.
The meditation center is located at Guadalupe Victoria 101 in Ajijic. All are invited regardless of experience or affiliation. For further information, see, heartofawareness.org.