The Guadalajara Reporter

Ribera Arts Review – May 25, 2013

Guitars

Hear some great classical guitar music at Chapala’s Gonzalez Gallo Cultural Center (old train station) on Thursday, June 13, when University of Guadalajara Music School teachers David Mozqueda and Winy Kellner team up for a concert.

Mozqueda is arguably the best classical guitarist in Mexico.

The acoustics in the Gonzalez Gallo building should be ideal for a guitar concert. The admission is just 50 pesos that will go into the coffers to help fund the summer school of arts held each year at the Gonzalez Gallo. The concert begins at 6 p.m.

New store

The official opening of the art store in the Aijijic Cultural Center and the unveiling of a mural by Juan Navarro takes place on Friday, May 31, 6 p.m. The store will feature works in several media by local artists.  If you can’t make it to the opening, regular business hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

ASA meeting

The Ajijic Society of the Arts will meet Monday, June 3, 10 a.m. at La Bodega Restaurant (Calle 16 de Septiembre 124, Ajijic). The guest speaker for the meeting will be glass bead artist Sheila Checkoway. She will speak about her design aesthetic that leans to organic colors with beads looking more like rock than glass,  landscapes “painted” with molten glass, and other one-of-a-kind designs. 

Sheila has worked in hot glass for more than 15 years, beginning with hot shop sculpture sand-casting, then moving to the flame shop and beads.

Arrive early for the meeting. Coffee is ready at 9:30 a.m.

Summer concert

VIVA la Musica! will start its summer concert series with a piano recital by Rosa Maria Valdez on Sunday, June 16, 4 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church.

Her program will include pieces from the baroque to modern Mexican music: Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Manuel M. Ponce, Alfredo Carrasco and Franz Liszt.

Valdez was born in Culiacan, Sinaloa, and started playing the piano at the age of eight. She studied at the University of Guadalajara, where she obtained a degree in concert performance and later obtained a master’s degree in teaching piano.

A virtuoso pianist, she has performed as a soloist with the Jalisco Philarmonic Orchestra, as well as in other Mexican states.  She is currently teaching piano and piano accompaniment at the University of Guadalajara Music School.

Valdez has also recorded two CDs featuring the piano music of Mexican composer Alfredo Carrasco and Mexican music of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The tickets to the concert can be purchased at the Lake Chapala Society ticket counter on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Diane Pearl Colecciones store on Colon corner Ocampo in Ajijic and also at the door.

The price of tickets is 200 pesos for VIVA members and 300 pesos for non-members. This is the last time this season when members can purchase tickets for the whole series at the reduced price of 800 pesos.

The cost of VIVA la Musica membership is 250 pesos a year per person or 450 pesos a year for a couple, and offers savings not only for the VIVA concerts but also for the bus trips to the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra and Live From The Met performances in Guadalajara.

Auction

According auctioneer and Aijijic Cultural Center director Efren Gonzalez, the art auction held on the Ajijic plaza on May 17 was a big success. The fund-raiser to help complete the Miguel Miramontes sculpture netted 11,380 pesos, bringing the final total required down to about 40,000 pesos.

Fiesta time

Next up on the fund-raising agenda is a “Spectacular Fiesta Mexicana” set for Friday, June 21 on the Ajijic plaza. The gala event will feature dance troupes Son de Mexico and the new Sones de Ajijic making its debut. Both troupes are directed by Luis Guzman.

There will be a Mexican buffet of pozole, tamales and tostadas and raffles held with the event tickets. The tickets cost 300 pesos and are available at the Efren Gonzalez Gallery at Marcos Castellanos 7 in Ajijic, La Nueva Posada, Actinver Ajijic and the Ajijic Cultural Center. The ticket entitles the holder to a free margarita. 

Missing book

Alex Grattan is missing a favorite book – “Adventures in the Screen Trade” by William Goldman. He says he lent it to someone interested in screen writing but doesn’t remember who. Grattan says the book is considered a classic. Contact him at 765-3634.

Youth orchestra

The community is starting to take a keen interest in the Orquesta Filarmonica Infantil de la Ribera de Chapala (Lakeside Philharmonic Youth Orchestra), according to its board of directors.

This new social rescue project is a big operation and anything you can give – financial, musical instruments or time – will be greatly appreciated.

Call President Marvin Harthcock at (376) 763-5093 or Coco Wonchee at 045-333-200-5563.