The Son de Mexico dance troupe from San Juan Cosala opened its three-performance Dia de Muertos show series on Wednesday, October 30, putting on a magnificent two-hour spectacle for the small but appreciative audience in attendance at the Auditorio de la Ribera.

Local contractor Marco Zaragoza is the brain behind an ambitious plan to develop an aquatic sports center at the Ajijic waterfront. He has drawn up a basic blueprint of a complex to house a semi-Olympic swimming pool, a smaller pool for teaching local kids to swim, a ramp for launching rowboats and kayaks, a gymnastics platform and dressing and restroom facilities.

Jose Luis “Chelis” Vazquez Rios, the ever-cheerful blind beggar who frequented local marts of trade, died in his sick bed early Monday, October 28, aged 56.

Ever since he joined the school 15 years ago, Jose Luis Ayala Larios, director of the Mezcala Secundaria Tecnica 70, has been quietly fostering respect for animals among his students by allowing street dogs on to the  grounds.

The Ajijic plaza was a site of frenzied activity Saturday, October 26 as hundreds of folks congregated for a Halloween season blowout featuring the third annual lakeside Thrill the World performance, complemented for the first time by the pumpkin carving contest sponsored by Diane Pearl Colecciones.

For just over one year Ajijic’s Friday Artisans’ Market has been an active outlet for locally produced art, handmade crafts, homemade foods, fresh produce and other top quality goods.  As of November 1, the established group of 30 affiliated vendors will broaden horizons to open up a new flea market section where folks can rent a space on a one-time or as-need basis.