Cantantes del Lago
Lakeside’s own community choir, Los Cantantes del Lago, is starting rehearsals on October 1 for its upcoming holiday concerts celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah.
The choir is always looking for new singers who enjoy the hard work and endless rewards that music performance offers. This year, they will be performing songs in Hebrew, Ladino and Afrikaans, as well as some Christmas favorites. Anyone interested in joining the choir should contact music director Tim Welch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to schedule an audition time and for further information. (Auditions are very gentle, he stresses.)
Rehearsals are held twice a week and MP3 files are provided to make learning the music easier. All those aged 13 years old and above are welcome, as are singers of all nationalities.
Israeli dancers
Israeli dance group Anajnu Veatem (translated as “You and Us” in Hebrew) will return to Ajijic in November for two performances to raise funds for the Lake Chapala Shrine Club.
This traditional Jewish dance group from Mexico City was formed by a group of university students in 1971. Over the years, Anajnu Veatem has participated in important international festivals, including the International Cervantino Festival and the Havana Ballet Festival.
The group played in Ajijic in 2003 and 2005.
Anajnu Veatem will present two performances on November 9, 7 p.m. and November 10, 1 p.m.
Tickets cost 200 pesos and can be obtained from Noble Denny Strole at 766-0485, Noble Perry King at 763-5126, or from any Shriner. They will also be on sale at the Lake Chapala Society and O&A Investments.
A no-host bar will be available one hour prior to each performance, and at intermission.
Funds generated from this event will benefit Lake Chapala Shrine Club activities, most importantly helping lakeside children in need of medical care. Treatments may be performed at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Mexico City, in Guadalajara or at lakeside, as the situation dictates.
Mural makeover
The community is invited to accompany local artist Javier Zaragoza in celebrating the re-inauguration of Sangrias de Mayo, the mural he created to embellish the southern façade of Ajijic’s Delegacion office building. The ceremony and street party will be held on Saturday, September 21, starting at 7 p.m.
Zaragoza had intended to simply touch up details of the painting that had gradually faded over five years of exposure to sunlight. He ended up dedicating seven full weeks on a complete restoration of the mural – the same amount of time it took him to paint the original work. The theme of the mural is an ancient Spring ritual practiced by the area’s indigenous people prior to the Spanish conquest.
Chamber guitars
The award-winning Mexico City guitar chamber ensemble Cuarteto Tetraktys will appear in concert at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo, Chapala’s former railway station, on Saturday, September 21, 4 p.m.
The recital program will encompass interpretations of classical and contemporary compositions, preceded by a brief talk on the guitar as an key element of chamber music. The event is scheduled as a Lakeside extension of Guadalajara’s fourth annual Ciclo de Música de Cámara Joven. Admission is set at 50 pesos per person.
Since its formation in 2009, Tetraktys has earned honors for performances at a number of music festivals held in Mexico and abroad, including first places at the 2011 National Competition for Guitar Ensembles in Taxco, Guerrero and the 2011 International Chamber Music Competition in Villalgordo del Jucar, Spain
Cuban songtress
Silky-voiced Cuban singer-songwriter Niuver has booked a one-night stand at Ajijic’s popular watering hole El Bar Co., marking the second stop on her three-week Mexico performance tour titled Trasnochando. The appearance is set for Friday, September 27, 9 p.m.
There will be a 130-peso per person cover charge to catch the show, with the local flamenco fusion band Collage also on the bill as the opening act.
Born and raised in Cuba’s Matanza province, Niuver trained at Havana’s National School of the Arts before putting down roots in France. Evolving a unique performance style that blends hints of jazz, Cuban trova, Brazilian bossa nova, French chanson and reggae, she has since become a phenomenon on Europe’s music scene. Her 2010 hit song “Quiereme Mucho” was selected for a cut on the Putumayo album “Jazz Around the World.”
The artist’s back-up band is made up by French drummer-percussionist Alexandre Train, Mexican pianist Jorge Pacheco and Cuban bass player Fernando Tort.
The Trasnochando tour continues with a September 28 performance at El Quinto Sabor in Jocotepec, followed by appearances in San Luís Potosi, San Miguel de Allende, Queretaro and Mexico City.
Photography excursions
Accomplished photographer Xill Fessenden has announced plans to conduct two photography workshop field trips during October.
The first will be a full-day excursion to capture images of fields filled with fall wildflowers and the rustic mountain village of Tapalpa, set for Thursday, October 3. Departure from Ajijic is scheduled for 6:30 a.m., with a return at about 6 p.m.
An overnight photographer’s adventure to the neighboring state of Michoacan is on the calendar for October 26 and 27. The trip will include visits to the Camecuaro National Park, the artisan villages of Ocumicho and Cocucho and the indigenous fiesta of Cristo Rey in Patamban, famed for stunning street carpets fashioned from wildflowers, forest plants and colored sawdust.
For full details and reservations for limited spaces, contact Fessenden via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
CASA
The Culinary Arts Society of Ajijic (CASA) held its monthly meeting and competition on September 9, featuring Spanish Main Dish in Category A and Spanish Dessert in Category B.
Winners in Category A were: Monica Molloy (first place) for her Rossejat de Fideus, Sandy Feldman (second place) for her Pollo Chilindron from Aragon and Joan Warren (third place) for her Camerones Marbella. Winners in Category B were: Roberta Hilleman (first place) for her Basque Chocolate Blackberry Cake, Candace Luciano (second place) for her Brazo de Gitano and Sally Myers (third place) for her Mousee de Blanco Chocolate con Arandano y Almendra.
People’s choice awards went to Feldman in Category A and Myers in Category B. Winners for best presentation were Molloy in Category A and Luciano in Category B.
Every year the ultimate goal for a CASA member is to obtain three first-place wins and obtain a BING Award. Congratulations to Monica Molloy, who achieved her BING Award for 2013.
CASA will be holding their first annual CASAFEST on Sunday, October 20, from 2-5 p.m. at the beautiful Villa Encantada on the lake in Chapala. This will be an afternoon filled with gourmet food, dancing, prizes and much more. Tickets are available at a cost of 200 pesos at Diane Pearl or by calling Mary Ann Waite at 766-1436.
For more information on CASA, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 2013 President Annie Green at 766-5243. The next meeting/competition will be at Min Wah Restaurant on Monday, October 21, 4 p.m. You can also visit the CASA website at www.ajijiccasa.org.