Lakeside is bracing itself for Mardi Gras mayhem as thousands of revelers let down their hair for 12 straight days of Carnaval festivities.

Women living in one of Chapala’s most economically challenged neighborhoods are taking advantage of a new maternal health program spearheaded by registered nurse and midwife Sylvia Flores.

The Chapala area’s annual Carnaval festivities kick into action next weekend, running in full-tilt party mode through February 21 – better known in other parts as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.

Sections of Chapala’s central avenue and the Ajijic plaza may have turned into treacherous wastelands as work gets under way.

Lakeside jeweler Daniel Jackson Garcia and his teenage nephew Miguel Angel Rivera Echeverria sustained extensive burn injuries from a gas explosion and fire that gutted the Ajijic workshop where they were working.

Jose Martin Ramos Rojas, 18, and Abraham Sebastian Ibon Reyes, 29, were killed on the Riberas del Pilar segment of the Chapala-Ajijic highway when an automobile crashed into the back of the motorcycle they were riding. The accident was reported at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 21.