Pancake breakfast
The Lakeside Assistance Group (LAG) holds its fourth annual pancake breakfast at Tobolandia Water Park, Saturday, December 9, 9 a.m. to noon.
Tickets, 150 pesos, may be purchased at the La Huerta Tuesday Market, Diane Pearl and American Legion Post 7, or by calling John Kelly 331-758-0676, Karl Dyer 766-0365 or Perry King 763-5126.
The LAG is a registered non-profit dedicated to the importation of donated firefighting, emergency response and medical equipment to benefit citizens in Jalisco and surrounding states.
Since 2014, LAG has imported three containers of donated equipment from Canada, as well secured donations of used ambulances and fire trucks. Currently, two fully loaded containers in Canada are awaiting Mexican customs clearance for final transportation, which costs about US$4,000 each.
Legion Xmas Bazaar
American Legion Post 7 holds its annual Christmas Bazaar focusing on arts and crafts, Saturday, December 9, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
When the bazaar closes, you can watch the Army/Navy football game from 3 p.m. and enjoy Tex-Mex tacos until 6 p.m.
The Legion is located at Morelos 114 in Chapala. Calle Morelos is still under renovation, so attendees should park at Cristiania Park and walk a block to the Legion. Call 765-2295 for more information.
Open Circle
The San Juan Cosala Children’s Orchestra and Chorus will entertain Open Circle guests with their heart-warming annual concert, Sunday, December 10, 10:30 a.m. at the Lake Chapala Society.
The groups now have almost 100 enthusiastic participants and have performed in the Teatro Degollado, the Auditorio de la Ribera and the Centro Cultural Ajijic, as well as other venues. They will perform a mixture of Mexican folk and seasonal music, plus two songs by one of the oldest members of the choir.
Founded in 2014, this children’s orchestra and chorus is part of an education program that uses music as a means of social improvement for at-risk children in a marginalized community. In addition to musical training, the program encourages individual social responsibility, high values, and good citizenship. In only a few short years it has demonstrated its effectiveness in raising school achievement levels, lowering school drop-out rates and drug use, and reducing teen pregnancies.
For more information, go to opencircleajjic.org.
Democrats Abroad
Lake Chapala Chapter of Democrats Abroad (DA) hopes many like-minded liberals will join their holiday social, Monday, December 11, 4 p.m. at Love and Fishes (formerly Just Chillin’) at Constitution 32A in Ajijic.
Daniel Cordero will provide the entertainment and a special appetizer menu and cash bar area planned. No program will be held, just lots of fun and a chance to celebrate the best of 2017 and bond in wishing for a better 2018.
Come one, come all – members, visitors and those curious to know more about the DA’s activities in Mexico and stateside.
The organization will also be collecting donations to support children living in Mezcala as a joint activity with the Sunrise Rotary Club. Their needs are many and items such as kids’ clothes, blankets, toys, toiletries or money will be greatly appreciated.
Regular monthly meetings will begin again in January at the Sunrise Restaurant. For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
P’urepecha Fiesta
P’urepecha Fiesta Ajijic 2017 takes over the Ajijic Plaza Friday, Saturday and Sunday, December 8-10. Events begin, Friday, noon, and Saturday and Sunday the fun goes from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m., the Orquestra Kuerajperi of Cheran, Michoacan (right) will perform. Saturday, a pre-Hispanic P’urepecha Uarhukua fireball game (left) kicks off 5 p.m. with a ceremony in the Ajijic Plaza, continuing at sunset with a participatory game at the edge of the lake. Artisans from more than 20 pueblos in Michoacan will display and sell their beautiful crafts. Also, you shouldn’t miss the typical regional food of Michoacan: bluecorn tortillas, curipu, corundas and atole.
Lakeside Progressives
The Lakeside Progressives will forgo their December meeting and join Democrats Abroad for their holiday social, Monday, December 11, 4 p.m. at Love and Fishes (see previous item). Members are encouraged to attend.
The Lakeside Progressives is a group of like-minded people looking for progressive solutions to political problems. They usually meet the second Tuesday of each month, 4 p.m. at the Peacock Garden Restaurant on Colon in Ajijic. The group’s Facebook page is Lakeside Progressives; email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
LCS seminar
Lake Chapala Society members are invited to attend a TED seminar, titled “Machine Intelligence Makes Human Morals More Important,” Tuesday, December 12, noon to 1:15 p.m. in the LCS Sala.
Techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufekci argues machine intelligence is here, and we’re already using it to make subjective decisions. But the complex way AI grows and improves makes it difficult to understand and even harder to control. In this cautionary talk, Tufekci explains how intelligent machines can fail in ways that don’t fit human error patterns – and in ways we won’t expect or be prepared for. “We cannot outsource our responsibilities to machines,” she says. “We must hold on ever tighter to human values and human ethics.”
Canadian Club
The Canadian Club of Lake Chapala holds its Christmas Gathering Wednesday, December 13, 3 p.m. at La Nueva Posada. The event is pot luck, so bring enough food to share with at least ten people. The club will also hold its second annual arts and crafts fair at the gathering.
Christmas music is by DJ Phil. Cost for guests is 50 pesos and they should also bring something along for the pot luck.
Toys
The 4th annual Lake Chapala Toy Run to benefit children in the Chapala barrio of Tepehua will be held Saturday, December 16, beginning with breakfast at the American Legion Post 7, 10 a.m. and then leaving at noon to bring the toys to the plaza in Tepehua.
Both cars and motorcycles from any club or group are welcome to the ride. Cash donations can be made at the Legion, the Iron Horse Bar, Just Chillin’ and Love and Fishes. Toys can be dropped off at the above-mentioned places and Perry’s Pizza, La Mision, Casa Domenech, El Jardin de Ninette, the Canadian Royal Legion, Have Hammers, Adelita’s Bar and Grill, Christine’s and Mama’s Bar.
All the proceeds benefit the children of Tepehua. Sponsors of this toy run are American Legion Post 7 and Los Güeros Motorcycle Club.
LCS Trivia Quiz
The Lake Chapala Society holds its annual “Judy King” Lakeside Trivia Quiz, a “fun”dratser for the LCS annual fund drive Sunday, December 17, 2- 5 p.m. on the Neil James Patio. This event is in the form of the popular trivia competitions held in the area, with one critical exception: all questions will relate to lakeside/Mexican trivia.
Sign your team of six up now in the LCS office for 250 pesos per person. Prizes are given for first and second place. If you don’t have a team, you can be paired with others. Test your knowledge and have fun competing with the smartest people in town.
King has challenged herself to help LCS offer this unique twist to the popular Trivial Pursuit game. There will be more than 60 questions to tantalize even the most adept trivia whiz, such as: “Who is the world’s leading authority on Mexican cuisine?”
Are you up for the challenge? Space is limited.
LCS bus trips
Monday, December 18, LCS heads to Guadalajara’s Galerias Mall. Major retailers include Best Buy, Sears, Home Store, Liverpool, Zara, H&M; and restaurants Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang, Applebees, Outback Steakhouse and more. Costco, Sams and Super Walmart are also on hand.
The cost is 350 pesos for members and 450 pesos for non-members. The bus leaves La Floresta at 9:30 a.m. Sign up at the LCS office. Upcoming bus trips include Tlaquepaque on December 27.
Garden Club
On Wednesday, December 20, the Lake Chapala Garden Club will celebrate the holidays at Tahawi, a luxury event complex in Riberas del Pilar.
‘’As the finale of the club’s 40th year celebrations, we plan to make a major Christmas splash,” said Garden Club Events Director Karen Calderon, who chose the venue to hold the 2017 Christmas party for the club’s 147 members and their guests.
Manix of Ajijic will cater the menu with traditional turkey and dessert. Tickets, 300 pesos, are on sale at Calderon’s home (Paso de la Colima 5, upper La Floresta) between noon and 2 p.m. Call her at 333-969-0464 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
Lakeside Singers
Lakeside Singers will meet to sing Christmas carols at some Lakeside-area convalescent homes. Participants don Santa hats and festive apparel and bring bells, tambourines, kazoos, etc. and join in the fun. The Singers will meet at Casa Nostra, Santa Margarita 8, in Riberas del Pilar, 10:30 a.m. amd at Casa Anastasia, at Hidalgo 73B in Riberas, at noon. The 40-minute performances will include a break for lunch at 1 p.m. at the Centro Laguna food court. The group continues at Mi Casa, Gonzalez Gallo 70 in San Antonio, 2:30 p.m. and finishes up at Abbeyfield, located across from the Ajijic Malecon skateboard area, 4 p.m. The following day, Thursday, December 21, the group will head to O’Hana’s in San Juan Cosala at 4 p.m. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information, or to request song sheets on the singing list. All are welcome to join in at any of the events.
Buddhists
The Heart of Awareness Insight Meditation Community offers meditation opportunities several times each week. Hour-long silent meditation periods are offered on Sundays and Mondays, 9-10 a.m. and Thursdays, 11 a.m.-noon.
The Community’s regular meditation and teaching session is Wednesday when the formal schedule begins at 4 p.m. December 13, meditation will be followed with reflections on the second of the four Brahma-Viharas (divine abidings), compassion (karuna). The Brahma-Viharas represent the most beautiful and hopeful aspects of our human nature. They are mindfulness practices that protect the mind from falling into habitual patterns of reactivity which belie our best intentions. Wednesday presentations will focus on cultivating these mind states which also include loving-kindness, appreciative joy and equanimity.
Monday, December 18, 3 p.m., the Sanga will screen “Walk With Me,” a documentary about world-famous teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. Filmed over three years in France and the U.S., this intimate and meditative film travels deep inside a world that seems far from our everyday, and reveals how the monastics transform suffering in themselves and in others through their deep inquiry into the nature of existence, suffering, and their true selves. The monthly movies are offered on a “donation” basis.
The Heart of Awareness is grounded in the teachings of the Buddha and anyone with an interest is welcome. The center is located at Guadalupe Victoria 101 in Ajijic. For more information, see heartofawareness.org, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Lefist author has Chapala audience in stitches
Chapala Preparatoria director Juan Ramón Alvarez López (left) welcomed Paco Ignacio Taibo II, one of Mexico’s most prolific writers, for an extraordinary December 1 speaking appearance tied in to University of Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL). During a 90-minute, off-the cuff chat laced with profanities and irreverent commentaries, Taibo kept his audience in stitches as he chained smoked and sipped Coca Cola while reflecting on his writing career and Mexico’s political scene. An avid reader since childhood, Taibo recalled faking illnesses to skip school so he could devour books cover to cover, citing Robin Hood, the Three Musketeers and the Count of Montecristo as the fictional heroes who inspired the ardent leftist leanings and social activism of his adulthood. Although police novels have been his bread and butter as a popular, award-winning author, he has penned numerous books on historical and political themes and a critically acclaimed biography of Ernerto “Che” Guevara.