Martial arts fight night
Pugilists from Jalisco, Guanajuato and Aguascalientes will duke it out at the Mixed Martial Arts Xstream Tournament Saturday, July 15, 7 p.m., at Ajijic’s Huerta de Serna events center.
Employing techniques from fighting disciplines such as taekwondo, karate, judo and Greco-Roman wrestling, 22 contestants will enter the cage to vie for championship belts to be awarded in three weight classes. The 11 full-contact matches on the bill will be composed of three rounds, each lasting three minutes.
Advance tickets are on sale at the Family Fitness Center, Plaza Bugambilias, priced at 100 pesos for open seating and 200 pesos for the VIP zone. General admission at the gate goes up to 130 pesos. Snack foods and drinks will be available on the premises. The venue is located on the highway west of the village proper, just beyond the local cemetery.
On Your Mark!
Some 700 racers will attempt to win (or at least finish) the Carrera de la Chupinaya Sunday, July 16, with two contests: a 13.8-kilometer “For Savages Only” route that tops out at 2,400 meters above sea level, and a 6.5-kilometer recreational course peaking at a slightly lower elevation. Both races begin and end at the Ajijic plaza, with start times staggered at 10 a.m. for the Savages run and 10:15 for the short race.
Racers trek over cobblestone streets, scrambling up into the hills and back again. They follow markers and trail guides dispersed along the way to navigate narrow, rocky and muddy trails, creek beds, boulders and abundant summer foliage, as well as several steep segments that require highly technical footwork.
La Chupinaya is recognized as a pioneer event for Mexico’s increasingly popular mountain racing circuit, and one of the most daunting contests of its type on the world map.
Competitors register in male and female divisions, each split into various age categories. All runners receive a commemorative tee shirt and a complimentary post-race communal comida at the plaza. Medals and sports gear packages are awarded for the best times in each category. Cash prizes go to runners who break time records set in six divisions at previous full-length runs.
School open house
Insight Academy, a new school to open in August, will hold an open house, Saturday, July 15, noon to 6 p.m. The school is part of a new “Student-Centered” wave in education that does away with teachers, classrooms, timetables and exams. It will be the first of this type in Mexico. The academy is located at Ocampo 165 in Ajijic.
Open Circle
Sunday, July 16, Cuarteto Janus will perform at Open Circle in the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) Sala, 10:30 a.m. to noon.
This recently formed string quartet was started by Chris Wilshere with the mission of placing chamber music within the reach of the public. The musicians are young Mexicans with a great passion and commitment to becoming professionals. The Janus Quartet debuted in Guadalajara’s PALCCO performance hall in August 2016 and has already been invited to attend international festivals. The players are all members of the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Zapopan.
For more information, see opencircleajijic.org.
LCS seminar
Lake Chapala Society members are invited to attend a TED seminar, hosted by Susan Weeks, on “The Life-long Learner,” by Bernie Dunlap, Tuesday, July 18, noon to 1:15 p.m. in the LCS Sala.
Dunlap tells the story of Sandor Teszler, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who taught him about passionate living and lifelong learning. Dunlap is a true polymath, whose talents span poetry, opera, ballet, literature and administration. He is the president of South Carolina’s Wofford College.
Lakeside Freethinkers
The Wednesday, July 19 meeting of the Lakeside Freethinkers will feature a presentation by Sandy Britton entitled “Seeing is believing.”
The group meets at La Nueva Posada restaurant on the third Wednesday of each month. Dinner and additional discussion usually follow.
The Lakeside Freethinkers define a “freethinker” as a person who as an atheist, agnostic, secular humanist, or skeptic. They believe that individuals should not accept ideas proposed as truth without recourse to knowledge and reason. They reject belief in the supernatural and rely on science and reason to guide their lives. If you would like to attend, or just obtain additional information, please 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..
Buddhists
Monday, July 17, 3 p.m., the Heart of Awareness Community screens “Moving from Emptiness: The Life and Art of a Zen Dude.” The monthly films are offered free of charge. Donations are welcome.
The community’s regular meditation and teaching session are Wednesdays, when the center opens at 3:30 p.m., and the formal meditation begins at 4 p.m. and ends at 6 p.m. The meditation period on July 19 will be followed with the third in a series of four videos entitled “Life Hurts: Responding with RAIN”, hosted by Zen teacher Teah Strozer. This week’s talk is entitled “How to Be Honest with Ourselves.”
The community offers silent meditation opportunities, Sunday and Monday, 9 to 10 a.m. and Thursday, 11 a.m. to noon, for hour-long silent meditation, consisting of sitting and walking.
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 center is located at Guadalupe Victoria 101 in Ajijic. For more information, see heartofawareness.org, or call Janet Reichert, (331) 043-4669.
Garden Club
Professor David Truly will be the guest speaker at the Lake Chapala Garden Club’s gala lunch Wednesday, July 19, noon, at the Avocado Club restaurant in Riberas del Pilar, to celebrate the garden club’s 40th year.
Sometimes known as the “Barefoot Professor,” Truly, also known as a guitar player for The Tall Boys Band, will present results from his previous retirement migration studies here and upcoming 20-year anniversary survey study.
“As the first wave Baby Boomers now fully retire, it may signal the end of the boom and bust migration cycle,” Truly says. “This raises questions on the future of the Boomers’ permanent effect on the local economy and culture. Lake Chapala is fast becoming a more popular retirement destination due to driving factors — mainly from the United States — such as real estate prices, political uncertainty and health costs.”
Truly will examine the various forces at work and the potential positive and negative impacts on this migration.
Children’s Art Program
Come find the Lakeside Picasso at the Lake Chapala Society annual Kid’s Art Sale, Saturday, July 22, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the LCS Gazebo.
The art is produced at the free Summer Art Camp held the week before the sale, when more than 120 local children attend five days of art classes under the direction of ten teachers and 55 volunteers.
The workshops are in watercolor, acrylics, drawing, jewelry making, tabachin pod decorating and daily projects for young children. The kids get a large portion of the proceeds and the remainder helps buy art supplies for the LCS Children’s Art Program, which has given a start to many accomplished artists in its 63-year history.
LCS Bus Trip
The Lake Chapala Society hosts a bus trip to Guadalajara’s Galerias Mall, with its adjacent Costco, Sam’s and Super Walmart stores, Thursday, July 27. Major retailers include Best Buy, Sears and H&M, while restaurant choices include Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang and Applebee’s.
Cost is 350 pesos for members and 450 pesos for non-members. The bus departs promptly at 9:30 a.m. from the sculpture in La Floresta.
Mr. and Miss Ribera
Zona Fitness Gym is bulking up for its annual Mr. and Miss Ribera de Chapala National Body Building Competition, Sunday, July 30, at the Auditorio de la Ribera.
The event, with various age categories and special exhibitions of sport clothes, features special food and drink and begins at 12:30 p.m. For more information on how to participate or just enjoy the show, 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..
Lakeside Assistance BBQ
Ranger BBQ will put on a fundraiser for the Lakeside Assistance Group, Saturday, August 26, 1 p.m. at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo.
This group works with U.S. and Canadian firefighters and other groups to bring high quality used equipment to fire departments in north shore Lake Chapala towns. The cost to ship containers filled with this equipment is about US$4,000. Tickets for the BBQ are available from Vince Britton at American Legion Post 7.