If there’s one thing you can say about expats who put down roots at lakeside it’s their tendency to live large.  

There are some who find fulfillment in joining up with one or more of the multitude of social and service organizations. Others who explore or hone talents in the fine arts. And many who generously give time and resources to worthy community causes.  

Today I want to take off my sombrero to all who have adopted the Mexican spirit of living it up with music and dance.

It was the Lake Chapala Society’s recent rock-and-roll bash that made me reflect on the way you see local baby-boomers deal so joyfully with retirement life. Despite encroaching age and infirmities, by all appearances they make up a generation of unrepentant dancing fools. 

I don’t frequent the local hot spots where my contemporaries often gather to party the nights away, but I hear they show up in droves.  

I got a sense of their outlook back in February during the Chili Cookoff’s rock band day.  There was a throng of what local folks would generically label “Gringo old-timers” who got up on their feet to shake and shimmy, among them some in admirable physical form and some in rather flabby shape.  And others seemed equally happy to stay planted in the seats, shaking heads and tapping feet in sync with the upbeat rhythms.

Senior foreigners invariably get a big-thumbs up, especially from the native population, for the outlandish costumes and crazy moves they display at the Thrill the World zombie dance gig put on yearly in Ajijic’s central plaza. In theory, boomers were already over the hill in full adult age when the Michael Jackson hit song soared to the top of the charts in early 1984. No matter for people who remain young at heart and enjoy a rollicking good time. 

Aside from those who remain fans of the popular music of their younger years and homelands, there are also quite a few expats who have gotten into the saucy Latin swing.  They take up danzón and tango classes. They show up at public and private happenings, joining their Mexican neighbors in hot moves to salsa, cumbia, merengue and samba tunes, and even the emblematic Jarabe Tapatio. 

When I arrived here back in the early 1970’s, locals and visitors enjoyed fun times together at popular dance joints like the Beer Garden and Pantera Rosa on the Chapala waterfront and Ajijic’s La Posada and El Tejaban. At these places, village fiestas and family celebrations it was a delight to discover the total absence of generation and nationality gaps. 

Mexico is a land of people who simply love to dance. Perhaps that explains why it consistently ranks as one of the happiest countries on earth. It may also be one of the reasons why elder foreigners instilled with vigor and attitude become hopelessly attracted to this lively and colorful corner of the planet.