The Guadalajara Reporter

Laguna Chapalac – December 31, 2011

Celebration of life

An informal gathering of friends and acquaintances of Joan Aslin, who died in November, will be held on the front “Blue Umbrella” patio of the Lake Chapala Society on Wednesday, January 4 from 2-4 p.m. Anyone who wishes to do so may bring botanas to share.

Late Christmas

The Royal Canadian Legion, Lake Chapala Branch 1, will hold a Mexican Christmas event on Friday, January 6, 2-6 p.m. at Bar Tomas in Chapala. D.J. Howie will spin lots of tunes for dancing from the ‘50s and ‘60s and there will be a Chinese gift exchange at 3 p.m. (50 peso maximum). A turkey dinner with all the trimmings will be served at 4 p.m. Tickets are 150 pesos. Call Susannah Kelly for tickets at 765-3757 or write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Bar Tomas is located at Alvaro Obregon 1 in Chapala . The phone number is (376) 765-3897.

Seniors

The English-speaking congregation of San Andres Catholic Church in Ajijic threw their annual posada for local seniors on December 14. More than 100 guests were treated to a delicious dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy and veggies, topped off with cake and Jell-O. Each guest also received a small gift. The event is one that is looked forward to each year by local senior citizens.

For the kids

Casa las Flores B&B; owners Steve Cross and Fernando Gomez took all of the kids sheltered at Villa Infantil Nuestra Señora Guadalupe y San Jose to breakfast at the El Jardin Restaurant last week.

This was their “Three Kings Day” present to the 22 kids. The pair is collecting toys for the ten girls, 12 boys and one baby boy for delivery on January 6. They are also putting out the call for piñatas, party favors, cake and candies. Items can be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Casa las Flores, or call 766-5493. Casa las Flores is located at Zaragoza 38, between Calle Juarez and Calle Achilles Serdan in Ajijic.

Seminar

Lake Chapala Society (LCS) members can participate in the seminar chaired by Bill Frayer on Tuesday, January 3, noon. The seminar will feature (via TED Internet podcast) Mark Britton, food columnist for the New York Times speaking on “What’s Wrong with What We Eat?” It’s a fiery and funny talk with Britton weighing in about how we eat too much meat, too few plants, too much fast food and too little home cooking, and why it’s putting the entire planet at risk.

Cancer support

The Cancer Support Group meets the first and third Monday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The next meeting will be on Monday, January 2. The group is free and run by a professional counselor. It is open to people in treatment, recent survivors and caregivers. For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 766-4522.

Singles

The LCS Singles Group will travel to a clay pot factory in Ixtlahuacan on January 13. The factory, owned by Victor Arrayga casts all sizes of pots and will paint and customize pots to order. His pots come in various shapes, including birds and animals.

The group will carpool at 11 a.m. from the sculpture at the highway entrance to La Floresta (lake side). The group will stop at Cinco Potrillos restaurant in Ixtlahuacan for lunch. Bring some cash to cover your lunch and a little gas money for your driver.

Going green

The Lake Chapala Green Group will meet on Tuesday, January 3, 3 p.m. in the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) gazebo. The speaker will be Rick Cowlishaw, a Green Group steering committee member. He will speak on the new local sustainable co-housing village to be built at Rancho Salud just west of Ajijic.

History reminder

Don’t forget to sign up for Wayne Palfrey’s four history of Mexico classes entitled “Why Your Mexican Neighbor Acts the Way He Does.” The classes will be held January 9, 16, 23 and February 10 in the Sala of the Lake Chapala Society. Call Donna Mansfield at 766-2703.

Learn Spanish

The next term I of 2012 of the Lake Chapala Society (LCS) Warren Hardy Spanish Program begins Monday, January 9. Terms are seven weeks long with two class meetings per week of one and a half hours each. Six hundred pesos are required upon registration per term and there are also materials required. Please visit the website http://palasociety.org/test/Member_Activities/act_06_spanish.php for program description and cost of materials. Register for Term I on January 3 and January 6 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the blue umbrella patio at LCS or on any Tuesday or Friday at the LCS service office. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with questions. Please note that payment must be made at the time of registration. The classes are open to all 2012 members of the Lake Chapala Society.

Brunch

Organizers of the Christmas Brunch held at Abbeyfield/Casa Carinosas want to thank all of the participants that made the fifth annual event such a success. Special thanks to Hector España and Manix Restaurant for providing a delicious meal and excellent service. Frankie Dino provided the entertainment with Frank Sinatra-type music. Again, thanks to all.

The directory

Now is the time to update (add or correct) your residential telephone listings for the 2012 Chapala Directory. Emails are optional. The Directory doesn’t (and has never) published residential addresses for obvious security reasons. Information can be phoned in between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to (376) 762-0403 or emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . It’s okay to send updated commercial listing information, too. All are free.

Bus trips

Cruz Roja bus trips for January will include one to Guadalajara’s Galerias Mall on Thursday, January 5 for 200 pesos; to Tonala and Tlaquepaque on Wednesday, January 11 for 200 pesos; to Galerias Mall again on Tuesday, January 17 for 200 pesos and to the Guadalajara Zoo on Wednesday, January 25 for 300 pesos. Tickets can be purchased at the Cruz Roja table at the Lake Chapala Society, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Unitarians

The Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meets Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at Sta. Margarita 113 in Riberas del Pilar. Sunday, January 1, Pixie Frayer will give a talk entitled “Reclaiming the Peaceful Sky.” It is a service that includes a simple ritual that focuses on atonement, asking for forgiveness for wrongdoings of the past year and on a fresh start in the new year. There will be a coffee social hour following the service. For more information please call 766-1119 or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

St. Andrew’s Anglican

Popular culture calls it “New Year’s Day,” but Christians around the world know January 1 as the Feast of the Holy Name. It is eight days after the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and as the gospel of Luke records: “at the end of eight days … He was called Jesus, the Name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.” In antiquity names had power. A name was thought to indicate something important about a person’s character. The name Jesus is from the Hebrew Joshua or Yehoshuah meaning “Yahweh is salvation” or “Yahweh will save.” Parents still take great care in selecting a name for their newborn, and people who change their names usually do so for important reasons. The name of Jesus has been held in great reverence by Christians down through the ages and so the new year begins by honoring it.

The title of Father Jim Priddy’s sermon for January 1 is “… but a Child,” This week, St. Andrew’s two Sunday services will be combined into a single 10 a.m. service. The church is located at Calle San Lucas 19, just a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar with convenient parking.

Christ Church Anglican

Christ Church Anglican Fellowship (CCAF) will celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus with the Holy Eucharist Rite II at Manix Restaurant on Sunday, January 1 at 10 a.m. The sermon topic will be “What’s in a name?” based on Luke 2: 15-21. One week later, on January 8, the congregation will gather for their annual parish meeting to discuss, among other agenda items, the mission and worship location of Christ Church and the visit of Bishop Lino that is scheduled for February 26. The lay delegates for CCAF at the Diocesan Synod to be held February 3 and 4 are Jim Powers, warden and Rob Wells, vestry member. Alternates are Frances Clemmons and Kay Borkowski.

Presbyterians

The sermon by Pastor Ross Arnold on Sunday, January 1, 10 a.m. at Lakeside Presbyterian Church will be “The Dedication of Simeon and Anna” from Luke 2: 22-40. Thursday, January 5, 10:30 a.m. the Circle of Friends prayer group will meet in the church casita. Friday, January 6, 10 a.m. is Bible Study focusing on the book of Luke.

Lakeside Presbyterian Church is located on the mountain side of the Carretera just west of S&S; Auto and Bubba’s Restaurant.