New Year’s Day and Peace Parade

On New Year’s Day, under warm sunny blue skies, my friend Gail and I walked in a parade through the streets of Ajijic.  We had gone to “Open Circle” in the grounds of the Lake Chapala Society that morning, and heard about the parade and the fact that we gringos were needed to join the ranks and show our support for the peace initiatives which have been started in this area.  We headed on over to Calle Ocampo and joined in.  We had a wonderful time and got lots of cheers along the way.  What a high that was!

I’ve attached a few pictures which were sent to me by friends because we hadn’t thought to bring along our cameras that morning.  If you want to see more great pictures of the parade, visit my friend Steve’s website at:

http://www.travelpod.com/z/steveandgeorge/1/1325520192

Guaralajara Reporter – January 7 – 13

A Week at the Beach

On December 10th at precisely 9 am six of us piled into Fred and Gail’s van and headed to Puerto Vallarta.   We stayed for a week at Villa del Mar and Villa del Palmar which are sister resorts about 10 minutes by cab from downtown PV.    It was my first experience staying at a time share facility and it was quite lovely.  The only thing I missed from the all-inclusives I usually go to, was not having to think about where to eat every day.  PV is very definitely more expensive than Ajijic but I guess compared to some cities in North America, is still quite affordable.

The weather was beautiful and warm every day and we spent most of the week at one of the two pools at the resort or down on the beach.  We would each go our own way for most of the day, ending up together at the cocktail hour and then out to dinner somewhere.   All in all it was a wonderful, relaxing time with a lot of laughs.

On December 17th at precisely 9 am we piled into the van again, this time with a few more bags because of the non stop shopping we did, mostly at the beach, and headed home.  We only got lost once, going about 10 km out of our way before we realized something was wrong.  We went back and saw the sign we had been looking for to make a crucial turn, laying on the road with the arrow pointing the wrong way.  I guess they had to get it out of the way because of the road construction that was going on so they took it down.   We also noticed a few discrepancies in the mileage signs along the way.  One would say, Guadalajara 90 km, then the next would say, Guadalajara 95 km.  Must be an explanation for that, but we couldn’t figure out what it would be.  It all makes for an interesting drive though.

Here are a few photos of my time with my friends.  To see more photos of Puerto Vallarta, click on My Webshots on the right.

Our Beach

A cool drink after a long drive - Deanne, Me, Len, Bev, Gail & Fred

Cocktail Hour at Gail & Fred’s

Cocktail Hour at the Quiet Pool

Dinner at the Hotel’s Italian Restaurant

Len & Fred Behaving for a Change

Mexican Night

At the Marina

The Restaurant at the Marina

Santa & Me

The Orquesta Axixic

This is an email invitation I received last week from my friend Marie Laframboise.

There will be a fine concert of the Orquesta Axixic on Sat. Evening at 6 in the Cultural Centre. Admission is only 30 pesos. Two works are being done that I commissioned from a talented young music graduate from the University of Guadalajara, Eduardo Garcia, who is also playing cello. One is Cinema Paradiso and the other is Oblivion. They were commissioned as an arrangement for string quartet, piano, bass, and saxafone solo for students . We are playing it with Steve Caver on the sax and Larry and I in the group on viola and bass. The musicians are young talented Mexicans including the members of the famous Medeles family on violin, cello, bass, conducting and voice. Marie Claire Figadere will sing La Vie on Rose and many other talented singers will perform lovely Mexican songs. If you can come I am sure that you will be pleased and also, please let your friends know about this. The two sax solos will be played by Steve Caver who also will fill in on piano and Euphonium playing cello parts.  Young Juan Pablo Medeles will perform a Czardas on violin accompanied by Rodrigo Martin, Emmanuel and Areli Medeles will be singing solos, as well as many others. You will hear many talented up and coming young Mexican musicians, many on scholarships.

How could I refuse, and I didn’t.  I went with two friends and we thoroughly enjoyed the concert.  I’ll be watching to see when and where this group is performing in the future.  I’m sure Marie will let me know.  The video below shows some of the pieces that were performed.  My friend Marie is in the maroon shirt playing the viola and her husband Larry is off to the back right of the stage playing bass.

 

FIESTAS PATRONALES

Every year at this time a Festival begins here at Lakeside that lasts nine days.  It will end tomorrow, I think and I survived it once again.  Most expats head for the hills (or the beach) to escape the noise.  Last Saturday night I had an opportunity to go to the Plaza in Ajijic for the evening to attend a concert featuring La Orquesta Axixic which I will write about soon.  After the concert we stayed to experience some of the excitement of the Festival.  The Mexican people just love parades and shooting off things that explode.

Here’s a description of the Festival as reported in the Guadalajara Reporter:

“The local fiestas revolve around the nine-day novenario of religious activities honoring San Andres Apostol, beginning every day at 6 a.m. with the mañanitas fireworks and music salute.   A celebration of Mass at the village parish follows at 8 a.m. with the jubilant pealing of church bells – the repique – ringing out at noon.  Each evening fiestas’ sponsors gather at the west end Six Corners intersection, 6:30 p.m. for a candlelight procession along Calle Hidalgo leading into the evening mass.

Aside from the religious angle, the fiestas provide a framework for plenty of secular revelry centered at the town square following evening church services.  Throngs gather to socialize, chow down on typical snacks, fuel up on firewater and swing to the beat of live bands.  Youngsters get their kicks from turns on the mechanical rides, games of chance and flinging confetti filled eggs.

Each evening caps off with a towering castillo fireworks display erected at the south east corner of the plaza or inside the church atrium for a fiery blast off between 10:30 and 11 p.m.”

The Handcuff Incident

I finally received some photos showing the handcuff incident at the Little Theater a couple of weeks ago.

 

No Clue – The Rest of the Story

We opened last night to a very receptive audience.  Kind of makes the whole thing worth while when it finally comes together without a bunch of hitches, and is appreciated by a live audience.

After the performance we all gathered on the terrace for a little celebration and the Director, Roseann Wilshere, was presented with flowers and also a game of Clue which her husband, Tony, brought back with him from a recent trip to Canada.   The actors had fun identifying themselves in the cards that come with the game, which they then autographed.

Lakeside Little Theatre

The Terrace

Colonal Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, Mrs. White, Prof. Plum, Mrs. Peacock, Yvette The Maid, Wadsworth the Butler and Mrs. Chow, the Dead Cook

The Props Department

Post Opening Night Party

Me and Gail

 

Where’s the Dog?

After rehearsal tonight I got a ride home with Gail.  I live not far from the theater but since it’s dark, I prefer to ride in a car rather than walk.  As we were driving through the dark, narrow little cobblestone streets of San Antonio Tlaylacapan,  Gail was trying to avoid hitting a young family walking along the road, and we happened to notice a small figure on the road ahead.  It was a cute little brown dog sitting in the middle of the road.  Gail pulled to a stop just in front of him. Our experience up in Canada is that animals respect the largeness and potential danger that cars pose, but not here.  This little dog moved but we couldn’t see where.  A couple of cars pulled up behind us but we were afraid to advance.  I said to Gail “I think I hear a dog barking behind us” but she said, “Can’t be sure that’s the right dog”.  She finally had to get out of the car and walk around to the front.  Sure enough, there he was sitting looking up at her.  She forcefully encouraged him to get off to the side of the road and we proceeded on our journey home.  That’s just one of the dangers of driving here.  There are many others.

I HAVE “NO CLUE”

For the past week I’ve been having a new experience here and what it is, I have “No Clue”.  While I was socializing at the Canadian Club Thanksgiving Dinner earlier in October I seem to have offered to help out on props for “No Clue”, a Lakeside Little Theater production being directed by my lovely and very experienced friend Roseann Wilshere.   I’ve always kept my involvement with theater to buying a ticket and showing up to sit in the audience to enjoy the thing, but what a great experience it’s been to see what goes on in order to put the play up on that stage.

Last Monday was the first rehearsal that my friend Gail and I attended.  The actors, who had been in rehearsal for several weeks already, were given their costumes to try out.  Just before the end of Act II a pair of handcuffs was used that hadn’t been fully checked out.  We props people were completely innocent because we didn’t know anything about the props at that early stage.  The handcuffs were affixed to the actress’ wrist and when it came time to remove them, it was discovered that there wasn’t a key.  Instead of my trying to recall the details of the unfortunate event, turns out it was fully reported in the local newspaper which I just bought today and I quote:

Guadalajara Reporter – October 29th, 2011

SHACKLED!  LLT REHEARSAL GOES AWRY

Demonstrating how to work the handcuffs to be used in Lakeside Little Theater’s upcoming production of “No Clue” director Roseann Wilshere fastened them around the wrist of actress Kathleen Morris, who immediately said she felt “uncomfortable”.  Wilshere assured her that there was no problem getting out of the cuffs and looked for the release button.

Unbeknownst to Wilshere, the handcuffs had been switched and had no release button, so a locksmith was called.

Nearing panic when the locksmith failed to show up, Wilshere called the Chapala police department.  They arrived ready and willing to help, but their handcuff key didn’t fit.  While they were trying to release Morris, they got an emergency call and went running off.

Not to worry.  Firefighters soon arrived with their lock cutters.  However, the cuff was on so tight that there was no room to use the big cutters.  Finally, just as the locksmith arrived, one of the firemen asked for a piece of wire.  The cuff sprang open after about ten seconds of picking.

It just goes to show, sometimes it really does take a village – and a hair pin.

After I missed photographing that little happening, I’ve started to bring my camera to every rehearsal, hoping that something else newsworthy will happen.  In the meantime I’ve requested some photos from those who had their cameras at the ready and I’ll put them up soon.

The rehearsal tonight was a very tedious one.  It’s a big challenge to get all the sounds and lights working smoothly, plus, for us props types to knock down the candlesticks and ironing board and shoot off the guns at the right time.  We open next Saturday night and have so much to get right in the meantime.   Show business is not easy!  Stay tuned.

Amities Francophones #132

Last Saturday my friends Marie and Larry had a few of their friends over to their house near the Plaza in Ajijic.  Marie asked if I would drop by and take a few photos which I happily agreed to.  These were just their French friends, they have others.  It was actually the monthly meeting of the Amities Francophones and their President, Roland Vanhoundt was leaving to go back to Belgium after holding the position for 10 years, so it was a special occasion for them to say farewell to him.

I made a little movie with all the photos and video clips I took.

A Sunday Stroll

I’m back home on Lake Chapala, Mexico.  I arrived here two weeks ago and am feeling almost back to normal.  It takes a few days to acclimatize to the altitude and different way of living here.

Today was a bright sunny day so I decided to walk into Ajijic for lunch.  On the way there I went through the back streets of  La Floresta which is a large upscale housing area.  Everything is still very green here because the rainy season has just ended.  At least we hope it has.

A New Baby

His or Her Mother or Father. I don't know the difference

I stopped by the pier in Ajijic for lunch.  I like to go there on Sundays to watch the families enjoying their waterfront.  The little Mexican children are so cute.  One of the reasons I love the restaurant on the pier is for their “Ensalada Destilando Amor Con Pollo”  which everyone calls the “Love Salad”.  It’s pretty delicious with grilled chicken over a bed of baby spinach, other types of lettuce, mango, cashews and dried cranberries.

Tequila Republic Restaurant

The Love Salad

On my way back to San Antonio I stopped to say hello to my friend Marie who lives near the Plaza.  I found her practicing her new electric violin.  It’s really cool looking and sounds great too.  She knows how to handle it.

After a short visit I headed back to San Antonio Tlay. by way of the Carretera (highway) which runs through the upper part of Lower La Floresta.  Across the highway is the Lower part of Upper La Floresta.  Not difficult to figure out once you’ve lived here for a few years.  I stopped for a few minutes to watch the young girls playing soccer.

Soccer field on the Carretera

Walmart is located just before the turnoff road to my place so I stopped in there and did a bit of shopping.  It’s a busy place on Sunday.  Things have really changed here since Walmart moved in.  Except for the names of the products on the shelves, you might think you were in Detroit or Ottawa.  Not a good thing in the opinion of most of the snowbirds who live here.

Well dressed customers. Probably just on the way home from her Confirmation