On November 25, 1816, a ragtag band of Indian rebels surrendered Mezcala Island to General Jose de la Cruz, commander of Royalist troops assigned to hold the Lake Chapala region. The truce closed a remarkable though obscure chapter in the story of the country’s independence movement.

On hand for the opening of the Festival de las Aves, prominent lakeside birders John and Rosemary Keeling (center) joined event organizers Alejandro Juarez and Julieta Reinaldi to show off paper placements given out as souvenirs to encourage conservation of winged species like the roseate spoonbill, northern shoveler, white pelican and long-billed dowitcher.

Workers this week began to remove seats, wall coverings and the stage floor at Ajijic’s auditorium, as the project to renovate some aspects of the town’s premier performance space finally got underway.

Flying with Aeromexico this month? Be sure to take a look at the November issue of its bilingual in-flight magazine Escala.

The Collective for the Rights of Children (CODENI) will return to Ajijic Saturday, November 24, to open a photography exhibit, “Daily Images 2012,” in the second floor café at the Ajijic Cultural Center on the Ajijic plaza.

Festivities to commemorate the 1910 outbreak of La Revolucion Mexicana along Lake Chapala’s north shore will span November 19 and 20.