Red Cross
Cruz Roja Chapala has extended its annual collection period through the end of this month. This is the area’s number one emergency health organization, so dig deep and pitch in.
Ajijic Corn Festival
The First Annual Ajijic Corn Festival is an outgrowth of the March Against Monsanto/Anti-GMO movement happening on that same day around the globe.
The Guadalajara drumming ensemble, Fer and Friends, will welcome guests with a thunderous call beginning 11 a.m. Art Xik Xik presents a master art lecture series at the Ajijic Malecon amphitheatre, Saturday, May 20, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Guest speakers will present short takes on topics such as “Healthy Food Choices for Kids,” “The History and Importance of Corn in America,” “Organic and Biodynamic Corn,” “Updates on GMOs in Our World Today,” and a closing prayer to Lake Chapala. A Corn Festival Princess and Prince will be crowned; music will be piped in during the afternoon and local corn-based food will be available. Local artisans will sell their work.
If you are against GMOs, then bring signs and banners to the event and help promote a healthy environment, nutritious, non-GMO based food and Mexico’s cultural corn-based heritage. For more information, contact Francisco Nava 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..">.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">Congreso
Francisco Efraín Milian and Antonia Corona Vega have been chosen as the delegates for the Indigenous Community of San Antonio Tlayacapan to attend at the Congreso Nacional Indígena (CNI), taking place May 27 and 28 in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. They will be traveling together with Mezcala natives José Luis Claro Rosales and Blanca Rocio Martínez Moreno, who will represent Jalisco’s ancestral Coca tribe as members of the Indigenous Government Council. The main item on agenda of the Indigenous Congress will be the nomination of a women to stand as a an independent candidate for Mexico’s presidency in 2018.
Adopt a dog
The Ranch offers up four puppies and two adult dogs for adoption at the Saturday Adoption Day, Saturday, May 20, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in front of Zeta Gas, across the Carretera from El Torito.
Open Circle
Sunday, May 21, Carlos Gonzalez Magallon, a Mexican diplomat and former ambassador, will present “Mexico and the U.S. from a Mexican Perspective” at the Open Circle in the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) Sala, 10:30 a.m. to noon.
Gonzalez Magallon served in consulates in St. Louis, Missouri; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Nogales, Arizona, and Houston, Texas. He was the Mexican delegate to the United Nations in New York and at the embassy in Washington, D.C. He also served in Colombia and Greece, was ambassador to Yugoslavia and New Zealand, and Mexican consul in Osaka, Japan.
For more information, see opencircleajijic.org.
Buddhists
The Heart of Awareness Buddhist Sangha offers several opportunities for meditation practice each week. Wednesdays, the center opens at 3:30 p.m., with a formal meditation period from 4-6 p.m. The one-hour sitting and walking meditation is followed by a talk (live or recorded) and an opportunity for discussion. The sangha is open for silent sitting and walking meditation on Sundays and Mondays from 9-10 a.m. and on Thursdays from 11 a.m.-noon.
The Heart of Awareness is grounded in the teachings of the Buddha as preserved in the Theravada/Vipassana tradition. Prior experience or affiliation is not required. The sangha’s location is at Guadalupe Victoria 101 in Ajijic. For more information, visit heartofawareness.org, or call Janet Reichert, (331) 043-4669.
Legion Spanish classes
Grammar classes are held Saturdays, noon, at the American Legion Post 7 in Chapala, while a conversation club is held Thursdays, also at noon. Bring a notebook and pen to class. For more information, email 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.. Post 7 is located at Morelos 114.
LCS Bus Trip
Wednesday, May 24, the Lake Chapala Society hosts a bus trip to Guadalajara’s Galerias Mall, with its adjacent Costco, Sam’s and Super Walmart stores. Major retailers at Galerias include Best Buy, Sears and H&M, while restaurant choices include Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang and Applebee’s.
The trip costs 350 pesos for members and 450 pesos for non-members. The bus departs at 9:30 a.m. from the sculpture in La Floresta.
LCS film aficionados
Thursday, May 25, 2 p.m., the Lake Chapala Society will show “Breaker Morant” (1979, Australia). Set in South Africa during the Boer War, this film is a great anti-war statement.
Open to LCS members only. Bring your card. No food, no pets.
Memorial Day
American Legion Post 7 in Chapala hosts a Memorial Day celebration Monday, May 29 at the post. The ceremony will begin at noon and dinner is served 2 p.m. The menu is a pig roasted in a pit, baked beans, corn on the cob and dessert, all for 200 pesos.
Live music from a hot new Lakeside band, a meat draw, a 50/50 draw and other events will round out the day. Call 765-2259 to get your tickets.
LCS Spanish classes
The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) has announced its next round of Introduction to Spanish language classes for members. This is a casual class offered for the beginner that covers the Spanish alphabet, simple vocabulary and phrases to use about town for shopping, and other useful information about the area and Mexican culture.
Classes are held each Tuesday beginning June 6 and run through June 20 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the LCS campus. Learning materials are included in the 175-peso cost. You must be a LCS member to attend.
Sign up is available at the LCS office during regular office hours. Call 766-1140 for more information.
LCS picnic
The second annual Lake Chapala Society Picnic and Beer Fest is slated for Saturday, June 17, 2-6 p.m.
Music will be by the Ajijic Jamm Band. Various micro breweries will offer their most recent brews for sale. Tickets are 100 pesos for members, 150 pesos for non-members, 180 pesos on the day at the gate (if not sold out) and are available at the Lake Chapala Society.
U.S. Flag Day
If you have an unserviceable U.S. flag that needs to be properly disposed of, you can drop it off at American Legion Post 7, Morelos 114 in Chapala, before U.S. Flag Day on June 14.