The Guadalajara Reporter

Ribera Arts Review – August 10, 2013

Viva

The third concert in Viva La Musica’s 2013 summer season takes place at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church on Sunday, August 18, 4 p.m. The concert features the duo of Andres Sarre on piano and Issac Ramirez on cello.  These talented musicians have been playing together for eight years and have participated in numerous competitions, both individually and as a partnership.

Ramirez is a longtime a member of the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra and has also performed with them as a soloist, as well as with the Blas Galindo chamber orchestra.

He is involved in directing and producing the radio program “Retro Conexion” that popularizes classical music and is co-director of the educational television program “Contratiempo.”

Together with Sarre, Ramirez has won prizes at the Aguascalientes Chamber Music Festival and the International Chamber Music Festival in San Miguel de Allende.

The August 18 program will include works by Eugenio Toussaint, Ernest Bloch, Manuel de Falla, Gabriel  Faure  and Astor Piazzolla.

During the intermission champagne and drinks will be offered at the open bar in the garden.

Tickets are available at the Lake Chapala Society, on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon, and also at Diane Pearl Colecciones on Colon and Ocampo.

The cost is 300 pesos for general admission and 200 pesos for VIVA members; 100 pesos for students with ID. There is free admission for music students.

St Andrew’s Anglican Church is located at the corner of San Lucas and San Luis in Riberas del Pilar.

All music lovers are invited to come and spend a lovely Sunday afternoon in the company of these two talented young Mexican musicians.

Chapala craft expo

A cornucopia of locally produced arts and crafts will be up for grabs at the 19th edition of Expo Chapala Artesenal, set to open Wednesday, August 14, noon at La Vela plaza  on the far west end of the Chapala Malecon. The exhibition will continue daily through Sunday, August 18, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Shoppers will find bargain prices in cutting direct deals with artisans from Chapala, Ajijic and neighboring communities. Around 50 booths will set up to display items fashioned in ceramics, wrought iron, stone and corn husks, along with leather goods, clothing, jewelry, fashion accessories, hand-loomed textiles, original art works, bonsai plants and other hand-crafted knickknacks. Live entertainment is programmed during peak visiting hours. The fair is open to the public free of charge.

Ajijic culture fest

A three-day festival celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ajijic’s Cultural Movement and the eighth birthday of the town’s rejuvenated Cultural Center will be held Friday, August 16 through Saturday, August 18, with varied activities centered at the plaza.

The program kicks off at 6 p.m. on Friday, with an inaugural ceremony and the cocktail opening of a collective exhibit featuring works by lakeside artists and live music performed by Javier Raygoza. Saturday’s agenda starts at noon with a parade of carros alegoricos (decorated floats) and exhibitions at the plaza that will include artworks created by members of the Ajijic Society of the Arts, hand-made crafts produced in lakeshore area villages and a food fair showcasing typical village cuisine. A musical fest follows from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.  On Sunday there will be free painting and handicraft workshops for kids, 9 a.m. to noon, a music concert at 1 p.m. and the unveiling of a giant sculpture by Daniel Palma at 2 p.m.

The festival commemorates Expoarte Ajijic 89, a street fair art show held in August 1989 that spawned the careers of the first generation of native born professional artists.

Film Festival

The Thursday, August 15, 2 p.m. showing at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) Summer Film Festival will be “Wilson,” an intimate look at the life of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president. All are welcome.LCS membership not required.

Piano Rojo

Back from her successful run on the U.S. East Coast, Chi Chi Rones brings her all-new hit show “Hollywood Legends” to El Piano Rojo on consecutive Sundays, August 11 and 18, both starting at 7 p.m.

Chi Chi Rones sings live in her own soaring voice. Her impersonations of the likes of Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Eartha Kitt, Bette Davis, Shirley Bassey, Doris Day and Marlene Dietrich are uncanny. 

These will be the last two chances to catch her show before she leaves for the summer!  Cost: 100 pesos plus a two-drink minimum.

Reservations are highly recommended. Call (376) 766-2876 for more information.

CASA

The Culinary Arts Society of Ajijic (CASA) held its monthly meeting and competition at Min Wah restaurant on July 15.  The categories for April were Peruvian main dish in category A and fruit dessert in category B. 

Winners in category A were: (1st) Mary Ann Waite with her Peruvian Ceviche con Camotes y Elote, (2nd) Candace Luciano with her Pastel de Alcachofa (Artichoke Tart) and (3rd) Linda Friedman with her Peruvian Beef Saltado.  The Peoples’ Choice winner was Sally Myers with her Aji de Gallina.  Monica Molloy won the Best Presentation prize with her Aji Amarillo Shrimp & Fish Causa with Avocado Sauce.

Winners in category B were: (1st) Hazel Tash with her Apple Cream Pinwheel, (2nd) Marina Benz with her Banana Coconut Meringue Pie and (3rd) Beth Cathcart with her Chocolate Grand Marnier Torte with Spiced Raspberries. Tash won the People’s Choice prize and Cathcart the Best Presentation award.

The judges for this competition were Julie Ray, Marcelo Jakubzick, and Dr. Silvia Carolina Granados Llontop.

Speaker Violeta (Titi) Arbulu filled in for Grace Donovan, who had to cancel at the last minute.

CASA has opened its membership to welcome new members. If you enjoy cooking and want to expand your knowledge of this “art form,” email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call President Annie Green at 766-5243.

The next meeting/competition for CASA will be at Min Wah restaurant on Monday, August 19, 4 p.m.  Visit the CASA website at www.ajijiccasa.org for more information. Membership for the second half of the year is only 75 pesos.

Also, keep an eye open for the upcoming CASA summer picnic which will be announced soon.  Everyone who enjoys preparing good food, or simply eating it, will be welcome to attend.

Painting for Operation Feed

Two paintings are on sale at Viva Mexico Restaurant, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to Operation Feed, which provides much-needed clothing to the children, adults and elderly in San Juan Cosala.

The paintings by Lakeside artist Nancy Greenheart are entitled “Teo Michi Cihualli/The Guardian Princess of Lake Chapala,” and “Una Sabiduria de Huichol/A Wise Woman of the Huichol.”

Greenheart is fascinated with the indigenous cultures of Jalisco and nearby states and has attempted to translate her artist/spiritual name into Nahua. The closest she found to Mother Greenheart was Nantzin Chalchiuh yollotl. After consulting with artist/cultural researcher Jesus Lopez Vega, she simplified her name to Nantzi Chalchuiyotl. This is the name that appears on her paintings that are on sale at Viva Mexico.

Accompanying each painting is an explanatory poem in English, done in the style of high Aztec/Nahua literature.

Greenheart became aware of Operation Feed through the enthusiasm of one of its founders, Loretta Smithburg. This charitable work was started some 20 years ago by Smithburg, her husband and a handful of others to supply food and clothing to needy residents (now totaling 85) of San Juan Cosala. 

Agustin Vazquez Calvaria, owner and head chef of Viva Mexico, has been a great supporter of the Operation Feed charity.

To see these paintings and learn more about Operation Feed, go to Viva Mexico Restaurant in San Juan Cosala, This newly renovated and expanded restaurant is located one and a half blocks west of the plaza, on Porfirio Diaz, open noon to 8 p.m. everyday (except Thursday).