The Guadalajara Reporter

City Living - December 13, 2013

The countryside comes to the city next week when 120 small-scale artisan farmers in Jalisco get an opportunity to show off their products at a special pavilion on one of the metro area’s most prestigious boulevards.

The Pabellón Agro-Artesanal will be open on the pedestrian corridor of Avenida Chapultepec (between Hidalgo and Pedro Moreno) from Monday, December 16 through Wednesday, December 18, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.

Shoppers should expect to find a large variety of food products, many of them organic in origin, as well as health and beauty items.

Additional attractions include a regional food competition (tastings available), folk dancing, theatrical shows, carol singing and a pastorela (nativity play).

The event is promoted by the State Rural Development Secretariat (Seder) and, if successful, will become an annual event.

Poles apart

The centers of Zapopan and Guadalajara will be transformed into the north and south poles over the holiday period.

“Polo Guadalajara” in the Plaza de la Liberacion will host a Santa’s workshop where visitors can see actual toys being made, while  Festive attractions in “Polo Zapopan” in the huge Plaza de las Américas (facing the Basilica) will feature a massive tree, villa navideña (Christmas village) and toboggan rides for kids.

And Zapopan will rival Guadalajara this year by erecting its own ice rink for people of all ages. The rink will open in the plaza on Friday, December 13, 6 p.m.

Meanwhile, Guadalajara’s traditional ice rink opens in the Plaza de la Liberacion on Monday, December 16 and will stay up until January 29.

Guadalajara also plans to install what they call an “interactive nacimiento” (manger scene) and “monumental piñata” in the plaza from Friday, January 20.

Free “trolley-style” buses running between the two “poles” are planned Tuesday through Sunday, between 4 and 9 p.m.

The polar project is organized by the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce and the Jalisco state government.

New orchestras

Two new youth orchestras make their debuts in Guadalajara this weekend. The Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil José Pablo Moncayo and the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil José Rolón comprise young people aged between 13 and 18 from several regions in the interior of Jalisco, including Los Altos, the Ciénega and the more remote north.  All have previously played in their respective municipal orchestras or bands.

The concerts are scheduled for Saturday, December 14, 7 p.m. in the Jardín de San Sebastián de Analco in the Analco neighborhood of the city, and on Sunday, December 15, 7 p.m. by the aqueduct at avenidas Montevideo and Pablo Casals in Colonia Providencia. Both concerts can be enjoyed free of charge.  The musical director will be Mario Rivas Flores.

Cops collect

Guadalajara municipal police officers are collecting toys for underprivileged children in the Plaza de la Liberacion behind the Degollado Theater until December 22. 

Book Fair recap

This year’s International Book Fair (FIL) broke all attendance records in the event’s 26-year history, according to FIL President Raul Padilla.

The final tally of 750,987 visitors was 6.5 percent higher than 2012’s total of 701,857, he said Monday at a press conference summarizing the nine-day literary festival. Padilla apologized for the strong security measures implemented this year at the request of the guest delegation from Israel. He said they would be relaxed next year, when Argentina is the invited country.

Padilla said the FIL cost 80 million pesos to stage but garnered income of 83 million pesos. Sales of books have been  calculated at 41 million dollars – an increase of 15 percent on last year, he noted.  A total of 1,932 publishing houses and 656 authors participated in the fair. Ninety-three cultural and artistic events were held.

First-class ceramics

“Tonalá, Manos Mágicas” (Tonala, Magic Hands) is the name of a new exhibit at the downtown Museo de la Ciudad (Independencia 684) showcasing some the finest work by craftsmen and women in the Guadalajara suburb famed for its ceramics.