An international benefit organ concert is scheduled for Wednesday, February 11 at 4:30 p.m. at San Andrés Church on Calle Marcos Castellanos in Ajijic. Neal Biggers will perform the same program of music in Ajijic as he recently presented at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Henderson, Kentucky. Biggers has been organist in many churches and has been director of liturgical and musical ministries at Holy Name for more than 12 years. 

The new ShowStoppers is coming! Yes, popular local choir Los Cantantes del Lago is gearing up to present its latest ‘ShowStoppers 10’ concert at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church on Sunday, February 15 at 4 p.m.

Opera lovers are in for a real treat when the Ópera de Cámara de Axixic appears Wednesday, February 4, at 6 p.m., at the Auditorio de la Ribera, La Floresta. The bill for the gala concert will feature masterpieces composed by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Bizet, and Rossini performed by a company that boasts three talented young musicians from the lakeside area along with accomplished performers from Guadalajara.

Clandestine workmen once again outwitted local authorities, sneaking into lot located in a back alley of San Antonio Tlayacapan in the middle of the night to complete the installation of a cell phone tower that was presumably squelched by city hall early last year. 

In a step towards building a stronger bridge to the foreign community, a large party of officials from the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) arranged a public ceremony held Tuesday, January 20 at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) campus, to deliver official ID cards to 25 contented expats who have successfully jumped through all the hoops to obtain temporary or permanent resident immigrant status.

The contingency was led by Ricardo Vera Lira, regional IMN delegate in Guadalajara, and Patricia García Quezada who took charge at the agency’s Chapala office last November. 

Also on board as a special guest was Jorge Arizpe García, commanding officer at Federal Police headquarters in the state capital. He took advantage of the occasion to chat up LCS president Ben White about his own wishes to establish communication ties with lakesiders. 

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Among the recipients of the prized permanente green cards was Kenneth Neely who arrived from San Diego last October to put down roots in Ajijic. “I’ve been planning the move for ten years,” remarked the delighted newbie settler, noting that his experience in going through the immigration process was positive all the way.  “I did my paperwork at the consulate in Calexico. It went as smooth as silk. I was done in two hours and did it all myself, without a facilitator.”

That’s the sort of feedback Lira eats up. “We are very proud that so many foreigners have chosen to move to our country and contribute to its cultural and social development,” he told the Reporter. “We hope you are all pleased with the changes we’ve made to exercise our duties as responsible and committed public servants.”

After presiding at the formalities of handing out the documents and congratulating each of expat residents one-by-one, the INM chief took the mike to briefly address the audience. His message centered on the 12-month amnesty program INM implemented on January 1 to correct the situation of foreigners who are living in Mexico without proper legal status.  

The no-threat  immigration fix is open to individuals of all nationalities who entered Mexico prior to November 9, 2012, provided they are not currently in the process of deportation, are not awaiting pending migration resolutions, and have not provided the authorities with false information or fraudulent documentation.{/access}

If you own a home in a high-end neighborhood and live in a fairly new house built with top notch materials you’re likely to be among the scores of Chapala area residents getting socked with a substantial hike in this year’s predial (property tax) bill.