Lakeside resident Robert Sandels, who turns 86 this year, has racked up plenty of jobs in his lifetime. From restaurant worker to history professor to writer on Latin American issues, the one job that stands out as his all time favorite took place on a U.S. naval base in Key West, Florida.

For the past four winters, 67-year-old Jennifer Williams has been coming to Ajijic from Calgary. She’s one of a flock of Canadian “snowbirds” who’s landed each year at the same gated community in La Floresta that becomes their winter home.

Berenice Valdez, the coordinator of the Institute for Women in Migration (Imumi) in Mexico, recently claimed that her country is a “very hostile territory” for migrant women.

Greeting card sales are going well for artist Adriana Perez, especially now during lakeside’s “peak” season. Ajijic residents may recognize this attractive, energetic Mexican woman dressed in a colorful, flowing skirt, with cascading brown curls and a wide smile, toting a bag of greeting cards.

The Middle East and its cuisine seem quite distant from Mexico, yet not only do a surprising number of Middle Eastern restaurants seem to pop up around Guadalajara but there are also some strong cultural connections.

Architecture, art and theater are three prongs in the creative mind of Conrado Contreras, whose exhibit “Art for the Office, Living Room and WC” is hanging on the second floor at the Centro Cultural de Ajijic (CCA) through March 1.