Upcoming fiestas
To Halloween or not Halloween? The spooky day so many expats love to fear has gained popularity during the past two decades. There were plenty of purists (probably mostly expats) who adamantly fought the importation of Halloween. They were concerned that a day focused on ghosts, skeletons and treats might overshadow the overlapping old local traditions on October 31, and November 1 and 2.
The grand finale events of the month-long celebration honoring the patron of the ancient chapel at the Ajijic plaza are scheduled for October’s last day. One of the year’s most colorful processions starts in the late afternoon of Friday, October 31 (usually between 4:30 and 5 p.m.). The Virgin of the Rosary will be carried from the central part of the village down Galleana, Guadalupe Victoria, Aldama and Constitucion/Ocampo to Six Corners before triumphantly returning along the same route to the Templo de San Andrés for a massive outdoor Mass at 7 p.m.
Later, after the town’s favorite icon is returned to her place of honor in the chapel, the fiesta continues with music, dancing and most years with a castillo – a fixed tower loaded with flaming spinning wheels and designs.
North of the border you may remember hearing November 1 and 2 called All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day. The Mexican variation on this theme to honor the deceased is the Day of the Dead. November 1, their own little saints and angels, the children they have lost, are remembered. Then, the rest of the family members are feted on November 2.
Local tradition says that these loved ones return to spend their day with the living members of the family. These visits are also reflected in the origins of Halloween. The very word Hallowe’en is a contraction for “All Hallowed’s Eve,” comes from Celtic tradition in the mid 1700s when it was believed that the damned – the murders, thieves, and other evil types returned in their grave clothes and wrappings to restlessly drag their chains as they stalked the streets. Evidently the current Zombie craze comes from the same source.
Halloween traditions have evolved to embrace spooky fun with costumes and masks to shield the identity of the bands of ghosts and goblins who roam the streets seeking treats. The tradition is now firmly ensconced in local culture with children and parents cramming in visits to expat neighborhoods (where the treats are more plentiful).
The purists were wrong. They misjudged the ability of Mexicans to totally embrace celebrations and all types of traditions. At Lake Chapala, Halloween has been ignored by some and embraced by others, complete with costumes, pumpkins, and cries of, “Queremos (we want) Halloween” in place of the more familiar request for “Trick or Treat.” Many local kids go trick or treating, but also attend the other events honoring the virgin and the dead without missing a beat – and without confusing or overlapping the range of traditions and symbols.
Halloween Bash
The Maria Isabel Restaurant in Ajijic’s Old Posada has announced their First Annual Halloween Bash with music, libations, and an array of traditional Mexican favorites foods on Friday, October 31.
San Antonio Expats
Residents of San Antonio Tlayacapan are invited to gather on Saturday, October 25, 6 p.m. at Cenaduria Elvira, Ramon Corona 127 – look for the blue doors.
Those attending the neighborhood monthly meetings share information and discuss issues pertinent to those living between Riberas del Pilar to La Floresta and on the Libramiento. A recent meeting topic was Seguro Popular. Planning Christmas for Children will be on the October agenda. Only for those interested, updates are given on the progress to stop the 7:40 a.m. daily broadcast of the rosary from the San Antonio church.
Genealogy Forum
The Genealogy Forum will meet on Monday, October 27, 2 p.m. in the Sala at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS). This month’s Forum will discuss various methods for sharing family history research with the next generations. What will get children or grandchildren or nieces or nephews interested in genealogy?
There will be a short presentation but much of the program time will be spent in group discussion. Participants need not be a member of LCS in order to attend. The Forum meets on the last Monday of each month.
Bilingual Toastmasters
Winners of the recent regional competition in Guadalajara from the local division were Arturo Gutierrez from the Lake Chapala Bilingual Toastmasters and Francisco Lopez. They will represent the district in the national competition in Durango next month.
Members of the local group will be joining in the Saturday, October 25 celebration of Toastmasters International’s 90th Birthday.
Join Lago de Chapala for a Spanish session during the Monday, October 27 meeting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the LCS Sala. The side entrance on Ramon Corona will be open for members. For more information in English, contact Guy Jobidon at (376) 766-5181. Information in Spanish is available from Marissa Urrutia at (33) 1600-5937.
British Society
All over Mexico, families remember their deceased loved ones with the old traditions of creating altars, decorating grave sites and planning reunions for the Day of the Dead celebration on November 1 and 2 (All Saints Day and All Souls Day).
Hector and Manuel España of Manix Restaurant will explain the significance of the altar, its colors and items it contains to those attending the Saturday, November 1, 1 p.m. meeting of the Lakeside British Society. The España family continues the beloved traditions of their mother, Doña Julia, by constructing an altar in the restaurant. They invite those attending the meeting to add photos of deceased loved ones.
For reservations call Alicia McNiff (376) 765-4786 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your menu choice of a breaded pork chop with vegetables or grilled sea bass. Both include a salad for120 pesos, including dessert (tres leches cake). Those who prefer a large salad as the entrée will pay 80 pesos.
Help solve the mystery!
Do you remember the lovely lady who is the subject of this recently discovered portrait? The first reader able to identify the mystery lady wins full bragging rights as a certified old-timer.
Lakeside Presbyterian
Pastor Ross Arnold begins a new sermon series entitled “Why We Believe” during the worship service of Lakeside Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 26, 10 a.m.
Arnold explains, “Ultimately, Christians believe in God, and in Jesus Christ as God’s Incarnate Son, because God gives us the gift of faith. God also gives us the gift of reason which, used correctly, can lead us to a clearer and stronger faith. Doubt can be like a starless night of the soul.”
This week Pastor Arnold looks at how and why many people in the Western world deny any form of belief in God and explores why we think skepticism and doubt are not reasonable.
Following the service, the congregation gathers in the garden for refreshments and fellowship. Lakeside Presbyterian Church is on the mountain side of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar, next to S&S Auto. Watch for the sign “You have family at Lakeside!”
Little Chapel
The interdenominational congregation of the Little Chapel by the Lake will share a refreshment time with the congregation of Christ Church Lakeside beginning at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, October 26. The regular worship service begins at 11:15 a.m. with singing, scripture, and prayer. Rev. Gene Raymer will deliver a message on “Name Calling.”
Following the service, members will gather for fellowship and food at La Mission.”La Mission has great food and a great ambiance,” says Raymer, “and proceeds from our purchases go to feed the poor.”
The Little Chapel by the Lake is located on the mountain side of the Carretera just east of the golf course in Chula Vista.
Christ Church
Fr. Danny Borkowski will preside and present the message “More Hypocrisy,” based on Matthew 22:34-46, during the 9:30 a.m. worship service on Sunday, October 26. Christ Church Lakeside meets in the Little Chapel by the Lake, Carretera 10 near the entrance of Chula Vista.
Christ Church and the Little Chapel by the Lake enjoy a common time of coffee fellowship from about 10:35 until 11:10 a.m. each Sunday.
The Tuesday morning Bible Study under the direction of Deacon Rob Wells will not meet again until November 18 as many of the current participants will be out of town.
St. Andrew’s Anglican
Fr. Winston Welty’s sermon for the Sunday, October 26, 10 a.m. worship service of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church reflects the building tension as Jesus nears the end of his earthly life.
He says, “When Christ is challenged by His enemies asking what part of God’s law is most important, he challenges them with a question of his own, ‘Now What?’”
A time of welcome, fellowship and refreshment in the garden follows the service.
The children’s bilingual Sunday School program starts at 9:45 a.m.
The food program supported by St. Andrew’s is always grateful for non-perishable items including beans, rice, lentils, pasta, salt, and oil. Baskets are by the church doors for donations.
The men of St. Andrew’s will meet at noon on Wednesday, October 29 at Roberto’s Restaurant in Ajijic for their monthly lunch. Those attending can sign up on Sunday. St. Andrew’s is located at Calle San Lucas 19, just a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
San Andrés English
“The Commandment of Love” is the title Rev. Basil G. Royston, D. Min. has chosen for the homily for the 9 a.m. English Mass at the Templo de San Andrés on Sunday, October 26
Says Royston, “Today, through the strength that Christ gives us, we can celebrate with the joy of the Holy Spirit that great commandment of love which once had to be imposed on man under threat of God’s avenging anger.”
Members of this English congregation are preparing for the offering of non-perishable food items they present on the first Sunday of each month to help feed the 26 children who live at La Villa de Nuestra de Guadalupe and San Jose on the southwest shore of Lake Chapala.
Heart of Awareness
The Heart of Awareness Buddhist Community meets for meditation and dharma teachings at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at Encarnacion Rosas 9. The film planned for Wednesday, October 29 is from Shambhala Acharyaa Fleet Maul: “Non-Duality and Non-Separateness: Creating Enlightened Society Together.”
Heart of Awareness is a non-sectarian Buddhist practice community grounded in the original teachings of the Buddha as preserved in the Theravada/Vipassana tradition. Membership includes those with Zen, Tibetan, and Shambhala backgrounds as well as people with no prior meditation experience. For more information, call Karin Miles at (376) 766-0020.
Unitarian Universalist
The 10:30 a.m. service of the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Sunday, October 26 will feature the Blessing of the Animals led by Kathy Koches and Bonnie Phillips. Although the talk is on wild animals, those attending are invited to bring their well-behaved pet or a photo or momento of a former pet to be blessed. After the service the group will gather at Daniel’s Restaurant for lunch; pets are welcome there, too.
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meets every Sunday at Plaza de la Ribera, Rio Bravo 10A. For more information please call (376) 766-1458 or visit the website at uuflc.org.
Unitarian Universalists search for truth along many paths and gather around common moral values that include the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This caring, liberal, open-minded community encourages others to seek a spiritual path wherever it leads.
Open Circle
The Sunday, October 26, 10:30 a.m. meeting of Open Circle will feature “Healing from the Inside Out,” a program by David Krest, who holds a degree in holistic medicine, has opened a clinic in Denver and hosted a radio program, “Health Alternatives.”
“Healing from the inside out allows us to actively participate in our own healing,” says Krest. “It allows us to draw on unknown and often unacknowledged resources to live life more fully.”
Krest, who studied at the Kushi Institute of Oriental Medicine, lived with indigenous people in the Himalayas and experienced healing using plants and food. Over a 30-year span, he lived with people healing from disease and illness and with those who were dying of cancer, AIDS and other maladies. During this talk, he will be sharing what he has learned about the opportunities and options for recovering health.
Open Circle meetings begin at 10 a.m. on Sundays at the LCS over coffee, tea and sandwich bites.