The Guadalajara Reporter

Laguna Chapalac - January 10, 2014

The Lake Chapala Chapter of Democrats Abroad Mexico will conduct its first meeting of 2014 on Monday, January 13 at La Bodega Restaurant in Ajijic.

The meeting will start at 4 p.m. Mel Goldberg, lakeside writer, will be the special guest speaker. His topic is the life and times of Eugene V. Debs, the United States’ great socialist of the early 20th century.

US voting assistance

Scott Wiedmann from the U.S. Government’s Federal Voting Assistance Program will conduct a presentation for U.S. citizens on how to vote while residing or visiting overseas. The event will be held on Tuesday, January 14, 2 p.m. on the Bill Schrader Gazebo at the Lake Chapala Society.

Wiedmann will provide information on the resources available online that are designed to guide and assist American citizens abroad.

Progressives

The Lakeside Progressives meet on Tuesday, January 14.  Members will be asked to agree by consensus on the three most serious issues facing the United States, to be followed by discussion of economically and socially progressive solutions to them.  They will also receive a report on the development of the group’s website.  All progressives are encouraged to attend meetings of the Lakeside Progressives, following which the members enjoy dinner. 

To ensure adequate arrangements for the meeting, those wishing to attend it are asked to e-mail Ken Crosby at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  no later than Monday, January 13 for its time and place.

Veggie Growers Group

John McWilliams reports a terrific response to his call for starting up a new gardening group for folks interested in raising of home-grown vegetables. An initial gathering is scheduled for Wednesday, January 15, 10 a.m., at Rio Amazonas 35, Rancho del Oro. For additional information, contact McWilliams at 766-0620 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

 

Casa Braniff

A century ago the San Francisco parish and the Victorian style Casa Braniff stood out as solitary landmarks at Chapala’s waterfront. Construction of one of the town’s most distinctive private homes was initiated in 1903 by Jalisco historian and political figure Jose Pérez Verdia and completed several years later by Mexico City aviation pioneer Alberto Braniff. Built almost entirely from materials imported from Europe, right down to the brick, the stately mansion remains almost intact today as home to the local branch of the Cazadores Restaurant chain.  

 

Canadian Club

Well-known travel editor and publisher Robert Reid will speak and answer questions about his experiences around the world at the Wednesday, January 15 meeting of the Canadian Club.

Reid has been in the travel publishing world for nearly 20 years. He’s written a couple dozen guidebooks (covering Mexico for Lonely Planet’s Central America guide), articles for the the New York Times and ESPN, appeared regularly on television to talk travel as the spokesperson for Lonely Planet, and hosted the “76-Second Travel Show.”

Reid first joined Lonely Planet in 1998 and has worked in the Oakland, London and Melbourne offices and retired from the company in 2012. He lives, without apology, in Jackson Heights, Queens.

This entertaining Canadian Club program will take place in the lower garden of La Nueva Posada, Ajijic on Wednesday, January 15. The social hour begins at 3 p.m. with Reid speaking at 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Guests pay 50 pesos each. Yearly club membership is 200 pesos and includes four 25-peso drink tickets. Come early, seating is limited.

Raquet Club house tour

Lakeside School for Children with Special Needs will hold its next monthly Behind the Walls House Tour on Thursday, January 23. The itinerary for this occasion includes visits to five beautiful homes in the Raquet Club. The tours normally run about two hours in length, with the caravan lining at the Ajijic pier at 10:15 a.m. Tickets, for a 170 peso donation to LSCSN, are available at Charter Club Tours at Plaza Montana and Diane Pearl Colecciones. For more details and information on signing up as a volunteer driver,  contact CeCe Girling at 766-3964 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Open house

All those interested are invited to learn more about the Jaltepec Tecnico Universitario en Hoteleria to an open house on Wednesday, January 29, 11 a.m. There will be a presentation on the history, academics and scholarship program, followed by a tour of the facilities and a luncheon prepared and served by the students.   Seating is limited to 50 guests. 

Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call at 766-1631.  Directions will be emailed with a confirmed reservation.

Robbie Burns Night

Celebrate Scotland’s greatest bard on Robbie Burns Night on Saturday, January 25, 5 p.m.  at the Hotel Real de Chapala. 

For 350 pesos you get a delicious dinner, complete with a bite of haggis, a piper, traditional tributes and toasts, Scottish country dancing and a no-host bar.

To book tickets or reserve a table for 10, or seats at an open table, contact Phyl Gaskell at 766-2722, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  Tickets are also available at Charter Club Tours in Plaza Montaña in Ajijic.  Proceeds go to the children of Niños Incapacitados del Lago.

Tickets are going fast, so book soon.

Singles bus trip

The LCS Singles are headed for Tequila on Tuesday January 28, with an experienced tour guide, stops, tours and tastings at three places (including an historic hacienda).

After the “tequila fix”, the group will have lunch at a lovely restaurant with scenic views, before going on to the town of Magdalena - known as the state’s opal capital.  After an hour to explore (and perhaps a bit of shopping), the bus will head back to Ajijic.

The cost of the trip is 350 pesos per person, not including lunch.

Organizers warn that part of this trip  include walking and possibly some “field work” (such as helping to chop down an agave plant). They advise participants to wear sensible shoes and, bring a hat, sunscreen, water and, perhaps, a snack.  They also recommend eating a hearty breakfast.

The bus departs at 8 a.m. sharp from the sculpture in La Floresta and returns to thew same spot at approximately 6 p.m.

Tickets (with full payment) must be purchased in cash by January 14 from either Maureen Hanright (766-5077 or  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ), Robin Ballin  (766-0317 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) or Sue Hurst (331-405-4911 or  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

Trivia in the afternoon

Niños Incapacitados del Lago are once again hosting their popular trivia quizzes on Tuesday, February 4 at the Hotel Real de Chapala.  Tickets for the 2 p.m. quiz cost 250 pesos and are available from Dawn McGinnis at 766-3408, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  Make up a team of eight or join a partial team.  Bring your own munchies and have a great time!  The evening quiz sold out at breathtaking speed; the afternoon event is just as much fun!

Fiesta Latino

Mark your calendars for the Lake Chapala Society’s annual Fiesta Latino on February 22, from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Proceeds from the event are earmarked for the LCS Scholarship funds.

This year’s theme will be the sights, sounds and tastes of the Caribbean. There will be a silent auction featuring many bargains.  (Feel free to donate an item, meal or service for inclusion.)

Roberto of Roberto’s Restaurant will provide the food, while LCS Scholarship students will be on hand to serve diners and thank them for their participation. Expect the music to be hot and varied. 

You can reserve a table for ten or simply join in with new people. Check out the Lake Chapala Society for updates and tickets, or call Patricia Doran at 766-3853 for more information. 

Open Gaming

Want to learn and play new card/table/board games? Looking to share your favorite games with new players? You can do this at the Lake Chapala Society Gazebo every Monday from 1 to 3:45 p.m. (LCS members and associates only from 1-2 p.m.; the public is welcome after 2 p.m.).

Participants will play only what is brought along (players without games are welcome, too). Nearly anything goes – Uno, Monopoly, Mah Jongg, Fluxx, Scrabble, Cribbage, Clue, Pandemic, etcetera. “Loud” or “party” games that are likely to distract or disrupt nearby games and gamers are not welcome.

Caregiver support group

A caregiver support group meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Being a caregiver can be an overwhelming responsibility.  Managing all the day-to-day chores and caring for the ill person gives little time to meet your own needs. This group serves to help relieve some of the stress, provide ways of coping and taking care of yourself.

The group is run by a professional counselor with extensive group experience. No fee will be charged. Please contact Valerie Rhoda This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at 766-4522.

Pet food drive

The monthly pet food drive will be held on Thursday, January 16, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Animal Shelter pet food store in Riberas del Pilar.

This event occurs on the third Thursday of every month thanks to the support of Geoffrey Kaye and the assistance of Animal Buddies representatives who will be present to help.

With your purchase you help the Shelter cats as well as Anita’s Animals, or your choice of animal rescue group.  You can make a purchase of dog or cat food anytime if you are unable to come to the food drive. When making your purchase, inform the store clerk whether the pet food is for Anita’s Animals, or another animal rescue group, and the Animal Shelter will hold your donation purchase for pickup.

After you have made this purchase, you will need to contact the designated rescue group you have selected. Please let that group know that there is a paid food purchase made by you waiting to be picked up at the Shelter.

Open Circle

Two Lakeside Russophiles and a Russian-born chanteuse will entertain the audience at the Open Circle meeting on January 12, 10:30 a.m. at the Lake Chapala Society.

Mark Sconce and Rene Welter will harness Russian poetry, music and song for an exuberant troika sleigh ride through the cultural landscape of 19th century Czarist Russia.

Sconce has entertained audiences previously at Open Circle with his recitations and commentary on various poets and their poems. His column The Poets’ Niche appears in El Ojo del Lago.

Rene Welte, is an architect by profession with a lifelong interest in music. After working 35 years outside of Canada, he returned to Montreal in 2003. He is a moderator/lecturer at McGill Institute of Learning in Retirement in musicology and architecture since 1904.    

Born in Moscow in 1962, Olga Kaplounenko became an electrical engineer before she became a jazz vocalist. She worked briefly in Sweden before moving to Silicon Valley where she worked 15 years for a laser manufacturer.  While working in Russia, Sweden and the United States, she sang as a soprano soloist in various choirs. She now sings with Los Cantantes del Lago and appears on stage at the Little Theater.

Weekly Open Circle gatherings start with coffee, tea and sandwich bites for socializing at 10 a.m., followed by the program at 10:30 a.m. sharp.

At Open Circle on Sunday, January 19, astrologer Barbara Schermer presents her fifth annual “Cosmic Trends” discussion.  Schermer has been a lover of the stars since age 10, an astrological consultant since 1974, author of Astrology Alive and is an internationally respected speaker. She shows how the principles of in-depth astrology (not to be confused with superficial online horoscopes) may be immensely useful in understanding our lives. She is warm, fun and offers her perceptive, often stunning insights in an affirming and down-to-earth style.

LCS seminars

The Tuesday, January 14 seminar (noon to 1:15 p.m.), available for Lake Chapala Society (LCS) members, will be chaired by Ron Mullenaux.  It features (via TED Internet podcast) writer, director and producer J.J. Abrams talking on “The mystery box: all about movies/mystery.”  Abrams traces his love for the unseen mystery – a passion that’s evident in his films and TV shows, including “Cloverfield,” “Lost” and “Alias” – back to its magical beginnings.

The 2 p.m. lecture is the “History of the English Language” by Karl Homann, a native German speaker who has studied and taught college English for many years.   The lecture will highlight the transformation of English from its Anglo-Saxon roots to the present.  English is the world’s lingua franca, spoken as the native, second or foreign language by over 1.5 billion people.  But according to Professor Higgins of My Fair Lady fame, “in America they haven’t spoken it for years.”

Freethinkers

The Lakeside Freethinkers, whose members reject religious belief and rely upon reason and science to guide their lives, will hold their regular third-Wednesday-of-the-month meeting on Wednesday, January 15. 

A special guest, Michael Jacobson, who is the Nevada State Representative of the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), will review the serious breaches of separation of church and state in the U.S. that FFRF is addressing, and the members will discuss those and related issues. 

All atheists, agnostics, and secular humanists are encouraged to attend meetings of the Freethinkers, after which the members enjoy dinner.  To ensure adequate arrangements for the meeting, those wishing to attend it are asked to e-mail Ken Crosby at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Monday, January 13 for its time and place.

HU Song

Is there something missing in your life?  Are you looking for more contentment and happiness?  Need to lift a grieving heart?  Join  a HU Song held on the third Saturday of every month from 10:30 to 11 a.m., followed by a fellowship time.  The HU Song is a contemplative spiritual exercise.   It is held at the Spiritual Center on Nicolas Bravo 17, Ajijic.  People of all faiths are welcome.  

The January HU Song is scheduled for Saturday, January 18.  The door is monitored and closed at 10:30 a.m., so be sure to arrive no later than 10:20 a.m.   Contact Penny White at 766-1230 for further information.  The event is hosted by Eckankar Mexico.

Presbyterians

Pastor Ross Arnold’s sermon at Lakeside Presbyterian Church on Sunday, January 5 will be “The Word Became Flesh,” based on the text from John 1:1-18. 

In one of the most beautiful passages of the Bible, John the Apostle tells us about the eternal existence and power of the Son of God, who was born as the baby Jesus. 

“The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

These unforgettable words resonate as richly today as when they were first uttered. 

Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m.  There is fellowship and refreshments following the service.  Lakeside Presbyterian Church is in Riberas del Pilar, on the mountain side of the Carretera, between S&S Auto and Vigolari.

St. Andrew’s Anglican

On this Sunday every year we hear one of the accounts of the baptism of Jesus, but none of the stories answers the very basic question of why He was baptized to begin with.  John’s baptism was intended to symbolize repentance and the washing away of sins.  But Christians have always insisted that Jesus was sinless, and had nothing of which to repent.  So why was He baptized?  That’s the thorny theological question Fr. Winston Welty wrestles with in this week’s sermon at St. Andrew’s:  “On the Lice Line with Jesus.”  But it’s not just a dry academic theological puzzle.  On the contrary, it has a lot to do with God’s purpose for each of us. 

Worship services at St. Andrew’s are at 9 and 11 a.m., with a time of fellowship and welcome in the garden between services. Children’s Sunday School start at 10:45.  St. Andrew’s is located at Calle San Lucas 19, just a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.

 

Christ Church Anglican

Christ Church Anglican Fellowship will observe the First Sunday after the Epiphany by celebrating the Holy Eucharist, Rite II at 9:30 a.m. at the Little Chapel by the Lake in Chula Vista.  Fr. Danny Borkowski’s sermon topic will be “Who Saw and Heard?” based on Matthew 3:13-17.

Christ Church shares a fellowship time with the congregation of the Little Chapel by the Lake between their two services.

Deacon Rob Wells is leading a Bible Study at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays.  The study lasts one hour and is currently concentrating on the Gospel of Matthew.  Wells is using the Jerusalem Bible for his source text because of its copious notes and commentary.  It is not necessary to have attended previously, so please come

Little Chapel

The Little Chapel by the Lake will continue in the new year with its regular schedule of services on Sunday, January 12.  The 10:30 a.m. refreshment period shared with the Christ Church Anglican Fellowship will be followed by the regular 11:15 a.m. worship service.

The congregation will share in a communion service following Rev. Gene Raymer’s message, “Heaven.” This week the after service fellowship lunch will be at La Taverna.

The Little Chapel is an interdenominational congregation and is located on the mountain side of the Carretera just east of the Chula Vista Golf Club.

Spiritual Living

The Reverend Tim Schubert will present “What’s the Problem?” on Friday, January 17 at the Center for Spiritual Living (Nicolas Bravo 17, Ajijic).   A social hour will follow. Wednesday classes continue  with “This Thing Called You” by Ernest Holmes from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The Thursday discussion group has selected a new book, “A Thousand Names for Joy” by Byron Katie. The program begins with an optional meditation from 10 to 10:20 a.m. followed by the group from 10:30 a.m. to  noon. The Thursday evening Spanish Group continues in January. 

The Sacred Cinema for Sunday, January 19 is “The Doctor” with William Hurt.  The film begins at 4 p.m. with popcorn provided.