Gallon after gallon of free-flowing booze, lively Mexican style entertainment and an exhibition gallery for a wide array of Jalisco-made merchandise turned Chapala’s first annual Festival del Tequila into an irresistible a magnet for an estimated throng of 10,000 visitors over its three-day run.

Chapala’s emblematic faro (lighthouse) is looking spiffy following recent renovation work. Local artist Miguel Mora spent several weeks retouching the series of small frescos depicting important episodes in lakeside history that embellish the interior of the structure. He also designed the decorative iron work that has been installed to protect the artwork from vandalism.

Mayor Joaquin Huerta has hit the stump to pitch his plan for an extreme makeover of the eastern leg of Chapala’s waterfront Malecon.

Fans of Mexico’s famed firewater will have the chance to engage in some serious tippling over the three-day run of the Chapala Tequila Festival, which kicks off Friday, July 19 along the center line of the waterfront Malecon.

Festivities surrounding the annual summer visit of the famed statue of the Virgin of Zapopan were replete with all the usual religious pageantry, with a few novel twists for the several thousand devotees in attendance.

Hundreds of off-road enthusiasts roared into Chapala last Sunday to mix it up in the mud at the area’s first Festival del Lodo.