Open Circle
Michael Warren will present “Seasonal Readings” at the next gathering of Open Circle, Sunday, December 24, 10:30 a.m. at the Lake Chapala Society.
Actor Warren has become a staple at Open Circle during the Christmas season. Attendees may remember his reading such classics as Dylan Thomas’s “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” “Hoodoo McFiggin’s Christmas” by Stephen Leacock, and “The Gift of The Magi” by O. Henry. After some research, he discovered a Sherlock Holmes mystery set during the holiday season, “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle,” which features a Christmas goose.
Warren is a poet and playwright and has published his collected poems under the title “A Particular Blue.” He is also a contributor to “Romancing the Muse” (2017), an anthology of The Not Yet Dead Poets Society. Warren has appeared onstage in nine plays at the Lakeside Little Theatre. For the past several years, he has been writing the theater reviews for El Ojo del Lago under the title “Front Row Center.”
For more information, go to opencircleajjic.org.
LCS bus trip
Wednesday, December 27, LCS heads to Tlaquepaque. Find upscale retailers and fine dining in an historical architecturally significant, pedestrian-only zone. Accommodations will be made those who wish to shop the nearby Forum Mall and Home Depot store.
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.
Green Thumbs
Francisco Nava offers gardening classes to novices and more advanced gardeners Tuesdays and Thursdays, January 9 to February 1 at the south campus board room of the Lake Chapala Society.
The beginners class runs from 1-2 p.m. and is focused on learning the ABCs of gardening at Lakeside, effective communication with your gardener, including beginning vocabulary and phrases; what type of plants grow well in different gardens; planting from seeds; pest and disease management; pruning, weeding, composting, mulching and a host of other topics.
More advanced gardeners will want to take the class that runs from 2-3 p.m. Nava dives into soil testing, horticulture, microorganisms, soil composition, gardening from seed, the range of plant types and forms, weeds, pests, diseases and disorders, management of green spaces, landscaped areas and ornamental gardens and more.
The cost for either class is 700 pesos and you must be an LCS member to attend. Classes must have between 11 and 20 students to be held. Sign up at the LCS office.
LCS Spanish classes
The Lake Chapala Society has announced the start of their next term of Spanish-language classes for members. Classes begin on Monday, January 8 and continue through February 26, meeting two days a week for an hour and a half each session at the Wilkes Education Center (Biblioteca) in Ajijic.
The LCS Spanish program uses the Warren Hardy Spanish language course which is designed for the adult student. Several levels of instruction are available. The program manager will be available to answer questions and take registrations every day during the week of January 2 to 5 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at LCS on the blue umbrella patio.
Introduction to Spanish-language classes for LCS members begins Tuesday, January 9 (noon to 1:30 pm. or 2 to 3:30 p.m.) and continues for three weeks. This is a casual class offered for the beginner that covers the Spanish alphabet, simple vocabulary and phrases to use about town for shopping, and other useful information about the area and Mexican culture.
For more information about the Spanish classes or LCS membership, visit www.lakechapalasociety.com or call 766-1140.
Social Club outing
The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) Social Club invites one and all to take a trip to Guadalajara’s new aquarium, the Acuario Michin, Tuesday, January 9. The aquarium is located beside the Parque Rehilete Alcalde, not far from the city center. The cost of the bus trip is 370 pesos for LCS members and 390 pesos for non-members. The aquarium entrance fee is 199 pesos for adults and 120 pesos for those with an INAPAM card. A café is located at the venue. Sign up at the LCS office.
Burns Supper
Niños Incapacitados will hold its annual Rabbie Burns supper-fundraiser Thursday, January 25, 5 p.m. at the Hotel Real de Chapala.
Cocktails and dancing will be held in the patio area and dinner in the Eucalyptus Room. Tributes and toasts, dancing, singing, a delicious dinner including a bite of haggis, a wee dram of scotch and a no-host bar are all part of this fun evening. Kilts and tartans are encouraged.
For tickets, 500 pesos, contact Anne at 376-766-1609 or at 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..
CASA
Members of the Culinary Arts Society of Ajijic (CASA) enjoyed stunning presentations and delicious dishes at their holiday meeting on December 18.
Judith Greenberg won first place, presentation and people’s choice awards in the holiday botanas category for a pomegranate pistachio relish, and also qualified for a Bing Award (give for three first places in a Ccalendar year). Second place was taken by Hazel Tash for a Mazatlan smoked marlin plate and third place by John Hawks for a Mexican spring roll. Roberta Kalan tied with Greenberg in the People’s Choice award with a Mexican botana platter.
Darleen Pike’s holiday chocolate mousse pie took first place and people’s choice in the holiday desserts category. Carol Westbrook’s eggnog mousse pie took second place and a Christmas strudel by Marina Benz won third place and presentation.
The next meeting of CASA is Monday, January 15 at La Mision restaurant. Categories will be soups and stews and yeast breads. For more information, contact 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..
Buddhists
The Heart of Awareness Insight Meditation Community’s regular meditation and teaching session is on Wednesdays when the formal schedule begins at 4 p.m. December 27 meditation will be followed with reflections on equanimity (Upekkha), the fourth of the Brahma-Viharas – mindfulness practices that protect the mind from falling into habitual patterns of reactivity. These presentations focus on cultivating these mind states which also include loving-kindness, compassion and appreciative joy. The session ends by 6 p.m.
Hour-long silent meditation periods are offered on Sundays and Mondays from 9 to 10 a.m. and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to noon.
Only a few spaces remain for the January 19-21 silent insight meditation retreat with DaeJa Napier, “Patience – the wisdom of slowing down.” This residential retreat is being held at Cinco Elementos in La Cristina. Details and registration information can be found at www.heartofawareness.org.
The meditation center is located at Guadalupe Victoria 101 in Ajijic. All are invited regardless of experience or affiliation. For further information on the community and scheduled activities, visit www.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..">.
The Jalisco School of the Arts dance troupe drew a large audience for a complete performance of Tchaikovsky’s famed Nutcracker ballet staged Sunday, December 17 outside Chapala City Hall. Ajijic’s Escuela de Ballet Clásico y Danza Contemporánea presented several Nutcracker scenes during its December 10 show, while Insituto Loyola de Chapala put on a children’s version of the seasonal classic December 15, both at the Auditorio de la Ribera.
Ajijic’s Wednesday tianguis street market was bustling with activity this week as shoppers took advantage of a last chance to stock up on holiday gifts and goods for the larder. This vendor from San Cristobal Zapotitlán enticed customers with her array of poinsettias, nativity scenes and other items hand-crafted from corn husks.
Children and elders join for a weekly music session in the town of La Peña, east of Mezcala, hosted by a charismatic trio of musicians, Yanin, Gil and Churro, who conduct sound and movement workshops as a form of healing.
Wondering why the baby Jesus is notoriously absent from the manager in most nativity scenes you see on display at public places? The Mexican custom is to keep the Niño Dios in hiding until late on December 24, once Christmas Eve religious services marking his birth are over.
Chapala Christmas paradereset for Friday evening
Postponed due to inclement weather last Saturday, Chapala’s annual Christmas parade has been rescheduled for Friday, December 22.
The cavalcade of holiday floats featuring Santa Claus, Snoopy and other jolly characters is now set to depart from downtown Chapala at 6:30 p.m.
From there, the procession will head out to tour the main streets of San Antonio Tlayacapan, continuing on for a run through central Ajijic.
The route then loops back to the municipal seat for a full lap along the main avenue and finally through various central neighborhoods.