Clarinet & Piano
Viva la Musica presents a summer concert featuring Daniel Estrada Aguayo on clarinet and Hans Peter Aull on piano on Thursday, July 23, 7 p.m. in the Auditorio de la Ribera.
The program will include romantic and contemporary music by Schumann, Saint-Saens, Poulenc and Arturo Marquez.
Clarinetist Estrada Aguayo is a CREM musician who earned a degree in music from the University of Guadalajara.
Aull is a former piano, organ and harpsichord soloist of international renown. Now retired, he devotes his time to accompanying and advising young Mexican musicians.
Tickets for this concert are 200 pesos and available at the auditorium, Diane Pearl Colecciones and the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) box office.
Naked Stage
The next reading of the Naked Stage will be “Sylvia” by A. R. Gurney. Directed by Liz White, the cast includes Amy Friend, Maryanne Gibbard, Clay McAdams, Georgette Richmond, Jim Lloyd and John Ward.
The play is a poignant, whimsical comedy concerning a man in mid-life crisis who becomes addicted to a New York City street dog, was first produced off Broadway with Blythe Danner as his annoyed wife and Sarah Jessica Parker in the title role as Sylvia the dog. Only four months later it moved on to Broadway with most of the original cast where it continued to charm packed houses.
The dates are Friday, July 24; Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26, 4 p.m. at the theater on Rio Bravo in Ajijic. Reservations can be made by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and you’ll get an email confirmation.
Painting Guild Show
Members of the Lake Chapala Painting Guild are hosting a “Meet the Artist” reception to open their current show on Friday, July 25, 5 to 7 p.m. at Arileo Restaurant.
The paintings by the accomplished artists will hang in the restaurant until the middle of August.
For more information about the guild visit www.lakechapalapaintingguild.org.
Flamenco & Talent Shows
Two summer camps for underprivileged children will culminate with a pair of flamenco recitals and talent shows featuring the Camp Estrella founder and organizer and flamenco dancer Cyndie Zikmund and guitarist David McMahon.
The two events take place at Restaurant Viva Mexico in San Juan Cosala on Saturday, July 25, 3-5 p.m. and at the Casa de Cultura in Ajijic on Saturday, August 1, 3-5 p.m.
Each event will showcase flamenco song and dance performed by 30 children who have attended Camp Estrella.
Zikmund and guitarist David McMahon will perform at both shows, as will some of the members of Club Ukulele de Ajijic and other talented residents.
During the afternoon event at Restaurant Viva Mexico, guests will have the opportunity to try some of the dance moves during an audience participation segment.
During the Ajijic event, Casa de Cultura Director Efren Gonzalez will give a live painting demonstration.
Admission is free at both events, but donations to the Camp Estrella fund to benefit children in the community are always gratefully accepted. Those who would like more information about this project or who would like to make a donation can visit www.gofundme.com/dz60bg.
Fiestas Mexicana
The Casa de Cultura in Ajijic is sponsoring a doubleheader Fiestas Mexicanas on Thursday, July 31 and Sunday, August 2.
A highlight will be the performance of the Ballet Son de Mexico, the folk dance troupe from San Juan Cosala. Under the direction of Maestro Luis Guzman, these dancers recently competed in a prestigious festival in Peru. They will have the honor of being the first dancers to try out the new wooden floor of the Casa de Cultura’s Teatro Pueblo.
“We’re hoping with this event to finish the last details to complete the Teatro and the new museum that will house the center’s collection of local antiquities,” says Casa Director Efren Gonzalez.
Tickets for the event are 300 pesos, and include one drink and a serving of pollo (chicken), puerco (pork) and rajas (strips of mild green chile) tamales.
Gonzalez notes that there will be raffles and surprises on both days.
Gonzalez’s term as director of the Casa de Cultura will soon come to the end and he has announced that will give his final informe (report) on September 20.
He says the Casa de Cultura will be jammed with a variety of events during the last ten days of September. Expect to see theatrical performances, dances, musical events and art exhibits, as well as cultural experiences spilling out from the center onto the Ajijic plaza.
All of the events from Monday, September 21 through Wednesday, September 30 will be free of charge.
ASA
The new officers selected during the June meeting of the Ajijic Society of the Arts (ASA) are shown here, from left: First Vice President Marcia Lavender, Secretary Catherine Stephenson and President Barbara Passarello. Retiring President Deena Hafker and Secretary Marion Decker served the organization tirelessly and made enormous contributions to the group. Following the annual August vacation, the next ASA meeting will be held on Monday, August 3, 10 a.m. at La Bodega.
Piano Donation
Keven Brown recently presented Ajijic’s Casa de Cultura with an exceptional upright piano with several distinctive features.
Director Efren Gonzalez has announced that Jesus Moreno Baron has been put in charge of the two pianos now owned by the Cultural Center. Moreno Baron will keep them maintained, tuned and supervise their use for practice sessions and teaching of area children.
Argentine Tango Class
Carole Stern announces a new Argentine tango group class on Saturdays from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the dance studio at Calle 5 de Mayo 260 (upstairs) in Chapala.
The tango is a partnered social dance which draws on spontaneous interpretation to allow dancers to develop a connection with each other, the musical instruments and the environment. As dancers learn the movements of the Argentine tango, they also develop new levels of sensitivity, posture, flexibility, relaxation, spontaneity and creativity as they learn improvisation and the ability to connect from the heart.
Group classes are 60 pesos per person and private instruction is available for individuals or couples. For more information about classes and proper shoes contact Stern at (33) 1489-0100.