The Guadalajara Reporter

City Living - March 7, 2014

U.S. Ambassador Anthony Wayne congratulated this newspaper on its 50th anniversary of publication in a letter that U.S. Consul General Susan Abeyta presented last week to Guadalajara Reporter publishers Michael Forbes and Sean Godfrey. 

“In addition to providing a reliable source of news and community information to its readers, the Reporter has also offered a showcase for bicultural and universal values such as volunteerism, by which many of its readers come to better appreciate their adopted country as they help others,” wrote Wayne.

Chalk art festival

The Guadalajara Zoo holds its annual chalk art festival from Friday, March 7 through Sunday, March 9.  Around 100 artists are expected to compete this year. Many of the designs – this year’s theme is “wild animals”  – are simply stunning.  The artists are limited to a space of two square meters and will battle for three major prizes.

The zoo is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Entry costs 66 pesos for adults and 40 pesos for children.  It is located at Paseo del Zoologico 600, Colonia Huentitaán el Alto. Call (33) 3674-4488 for more information.

Russian Spring

Families from around the world form the congregation at Saint Mark’s Anglican Church. At coffee hour following the 10:30 a.m. English-language mass Sunday, March 9, Veronica Harvey will serve Russian dishes in memory of her father.

“In my homeland, it’s a tradition to honor a deceased family member with a feast,” she explains.

The church is located on the corner of Aztecas and Chichimecas across from the UAG Instituto de Ciencias Básicas. Everyone is welcome.

Women Unite!

Saturday, March 8 is International Women’s Day and Tapatias are taking to the street to demand fairer treatment. All women are invited to participate in a march from Parque Morelos (Calzada Independencia between Juan Manuel and San Diego) to the Andador Escorza (next to the UdG Museo de Arte Moderno — MUSA on Av. Juarez).

Women will be protesting injustices that they face on a daily basis and for a life free of violence, disappearances, assassinations, hate crimes and fear in the streets. Women and civil society in general are encouraged to march and asked to bring instruments or noise makers (pans, pots, bottles, etc), and to show their feminine creativity by making and displaying posters and banners during the march.

Organizers are encouraging participants to stop traffic, shout, scream, cry, dance, move and join together in their struggle, their autonomy and right to be happy. The atmosphere is to be festive and includes music, speeches, theater and a showing of the documentary “Silencia.”

For more information see Facebook or Twitter: #yovoy8demarzo or call Alejandra 331-246-9533, or Paola 333-475-9895.

Spin Chain the Gears

Mark Allen Mothersbaugh, a U.S. musician, composer, singer and painter who was the founder of the new wave band Devo, opened his first solo exhibit at the Museo de Artes de Zapopan (MAZ) last weekend. 

Titled “Spin Chain the Gears,” the multidisciplinary exhibit features a series of murals, as well as ceramic hand-painted figures that allude to the 19th century tradition of square dancing.

Devo, a post-punk band from Ohio, obtained fame in the mid-1980s with the hit single “Whip it,” which reached 14th spot on the Billboard charts.

Play

Congratulations to the American School Foundation of Guadalajara for their recent staging of the ambitious play “I Never Saw Another Butterfly,” based on a collection of works of art and poetry by Jewish children who lived in the concentration camp Theresienstadt.  Primary, secondary and high school students all participated in the work.