Chapala’s annual Carnaval blowout is in full swing this weekend, and will run through Tuesday, February 25, keeping the town jumping with all the usual festive happenings, plus a variety of special activities putting guest country India in the limelight.

A U.S. citizen lost his life early Tuesday, February 11, in a head-on crash between his motorcycle and a compact sedan driven by a Mexican motorist.

Chapala’s annual Carnaval celebration blasts into action Thursday, February 20 with the traditional Entierro del Mal Humor (burial of bad humor) wrapped into an evening of inaugural festivities. This year’s Mardi Gras blowout has been pared down to a six-day program running through February 25 that is focused on long-held customs and family appeal.

Although Mexico’s Congress has yet to regulate hemp products for medicinal use, physicians are writing prescriptions, and patients of all ages are feeling the healing effects of cannabinoids (CBD) from a variety of producers, imported products from the United States, and homemade remedies.

Chapala’s regulatory code on ecology and sustainable development took effect Wednesday, February 5, following approval by the City Council at its January 31 session.

Mexican horsemanship at its finest will be on display at the Gran Campeonato Charro VIP scheduled Thursday, February 13 through Sunday, February, 16 at Rancho Los Tres Potrillos, located on the Chapala-Guadalajara highway about halfway between Chapala and the Guadalajara airport. (Motorists heading there from Lakeside need to drive past the ranch on the left side of the road, and loop back via the turn-off to El Salto.)