The Guadalajara Reporter

Ribera Arts Review – September 7, 2013

Merry mariachi show

Mariachi Imperial from Bogota, Colombia and Mariachi Nuestras Raices from Los Angeles, California raised the rafters with two hours of rousing music played for the enthusiastic audience gathered for the International Marachi Festival show held last Sunday at Ajijic’s La Huerta events salon.

The seasoned all-male Colombian troupe has attended the Guadalajara musical jamboree for five years running. They delighted the lakeside crowd with a varied repertoire that ranged from a potpourri of classical compositions to romantic ballads to hip-swaying dance tunes.

Nuestras Raices belted out a selection of ranchero songs and other classic mariachi pieces. Formed just three years ago by six young women and five men of Mexican descent, the group holds the distinction of appearing at the 2013 Rose Bowl show where more than 500 mariachi musicians played together to set a Guinness world record. They were looking forward to taking part this week in the Mariachi Festival’s mass performance aimed at breaking that record.

Ajijic’s Ballet Folklorico Xicantzi opened the show with several lively dance numbers. The rebozo fashion parade filled the break between the musical sets, with the first place prize going to Elsie Sherburn, who modeled an elegant silk shawl loomed in shades of blue from her front row seat. Sherburn will celebrate her 100th birthday later this month. Second place went to Blanca Gonzalez, while Monica Garcia and Lourdes Aldana tied for third place honors.

Viva la Musica

Classical guitarist David Mozqueda and flutist Nury Ulate headline Viva la Musica’s fourth summer concert at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Riberas del Pilar on Sunday, September 15, 4 p.m.

The husband and wife duo will present a program featuring solo guitar works as well as duets for flute and guitar.

Ulate was born in Costa Rica and began studying the flute at the age of eight. She graduated from university there in 1985 and immediately joined the Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica. She moved to Mexico in 1990, when she joined the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, rising to principal flute two years later. She has played as a flute soloist with orchestras throughout Mexico, the United States and Europe.

Guadalajara-born David Mozqueda studied guitar in the city and later at USC in Los Angeles, where he completed his post-graduate studies. Mozqueda has taken master classes with Pepe Romero, as well as other great guitarists, and performed at important guitar festivals in Mexico, South America, Europe and the United States. He currently teaches classical guitar at the University of Guadalajara.

Ulate and Mozqueda have been performing together since 1998.

Tickets are available at Diane Pearl Colecciones and the Lake Chapala Society (Thursday and Friday) for 300 pesos for general admission, 200 pesos for members of Viva la Musica and free admission for students. Champagne will be available at the bar in the garden during the intermission.

Upcoming Viva events

The October 13 Viva la Musica concert features a quartet comprising Tania Tourby (piano), Konstantin Zumbilov (violin), Robert Nelson (viola) and Yalissa Cruz (cello), playing works by Mozart and Brahms. Tickets are available at the Lake Chapala Society, Thursdays and Fridays, from 10 a.m. to noon, or at Diane Pearl Colecciones.

Viva la Musica has planned upcoming bus trips to the Teatro Diana in Guadalajara for Live from the Met simulcasts. The 2013 schedule is:

Saturday October 5, noon: Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” (2 hours). Bus leaves at 10.30 a.m.

Saturday November 9, noon: Puccini’s “Tosca” (2 hours). Bus leaves at 10.30 a.m.

Saturday December 14, noon: Verdi’s “Falstaff” (3 hours). Bus leaves at 10.30 a.m.

Tickets are available at the Lake Chapala Society, Thursdays and Fridays, from 10 a.m. to noon. Cost: 300 pesos members, 400 pesos non-members.

Hot off the presses

Mike Alton Headley and Jessica Garcia Mendoza will mark the publication of “Where Do The Tumbleweeds Go?” with a book signing on Saturday, September 7, 10 a.m., at the Lake Chapala Society’s Neill James Patio.

Headley, a U.S. retiree, wrote the whimsical children’s story after settling in Ajijic two years ago. He discovered the talents of Garcia, a 16-year-old Chapala high school student, through the LCS children’s art workshop and recruited her to create two dozen illustrations for the book. Elizabeth Sellars penned the Spanish translation of the text.

The author and illustrator will also showcase the storybook at the LCS Viva Mexico Independence Day party to be held Monday, September 16, 2 to 5 p.m.

Craft workshops

Adobe Studio is offering a variety of craft workshops during September. Basketry classes conducted by Jan Steinbright started on September 5, continuing on consecutive Thursdays, 10 a.m. to noon. Brad Mowers will lead the paper making workshops on September 10 and 17, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. An introduction to basic hand spinning with natural and man-made fibers will be covered in classes on September 16 and 23, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The studio is located in Riberas del Pilar. For further details contact Steinbright at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .


Collective show

Studio 18 Art Gallery will host a collective show of paintings and photographs, opening Friday, September 13, 4:30 to 7 p.m. Local artists participating in the exhibit are Betty Petersen, Antoinette Bullock, Cynthia Du Bois, Paul Hart, Dan Williams, Shirley Thayer, Dona R. Johnson, Inak Gieysztor, Kathy Fallon, Ken Gosh, Linda Dunn and Victor Alcazar. Guests artists from Guadalajara who will be showing works over the weekend are Karla Hernandez, Samuel Lopez Cunché and Alejandro Becerra. The gallery is located at Colon 18, a half-block below the Ajijic plaza.

ASA news

Appearing as featured speaker at the September 2 meeting of the Ajijic Society of the Arts (ASA), Anita Lee retraced her footsteps on a recent three-month trek through Europe to attend artist residency programs in Portugal, Spain and Italy. She shared her viewpoints on the artistic angle of her experiences, as well as giving details about accommodations, meals and costs at diverse locales.

Among other topics covered at the gathering were upcoming ASA events, including one-day group shows scheduled for October 20, November 17 and December 15 at the Ajijic plaza and the Cycles of Nature collective exhibition booked for October 12 through 24 at the Centro Cultural de Ajijic and relocation at Jocotepec’s Casa de la Cultura as of November 1.

Looking further ahead, Ken Caldwell outlined preliminary details of the Open Studio tour program planned for February. Danielle Page gave members a full rundown on the highly successful Lake Chapala Society summer art camp, organized with ASA support.

Storytellers 

Everyone is invited join Storytellers at its first event of the fall season – “Mixed Emotions” – on Tuesday, September 10, 4 p.m.

Some of Lakeside’s best writers will read their own original fiction on the back patio of the Lake Chapala Society (LCS). On the program are Jim Tipton, Margie Keane and Zofia Barisas. Arden Murphy will read one of Jim Collums’ funniest stories.

The event is free but a hat will be passed around, as usual. All donations and bar proceeds are in honor of the Jim Collums Education Fund (JCEF). This money is given to the LCS Student Aid Program for distribution. Currently, the JCEF is proud to have a part in sponsoring 40 college students. The bar opens at 3:30 p.m.

Divas redux

Back by popular demand, Black Swan with Diamonds: the “Divas’ Voices” Show, is booked for Sunday, September 8, at El Piano Rojo (Morelos 14, Ajijic). Lead vocalist Gabriela Martinez from Mexico City, backed by Yann Kostic on piano and keyboard, pays tribute to famed songbirds such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Adele and Edith Piaf. Showtime is 8 p.m. The box office opens two hours in advance.