Jazz with Marie Claire
Melodius Tonk Jazz Quartet, featuring vocals by local favorite soloist Marie Claire Figadere, will be performing at El Bar Co on Friday, May 1, 8:30 p.m. This group has a great jazz repertoire that includes funk, R&B, blues, manouche oldies, and much more.
Ancient Music
You haven’t missed the performance by the great Guadalajara ensemble, Galatea. They will perform a concert of historically documented ancient music on Sunday, May 3, 4 p.m. (not April 26 as reported in the last issue) at the Centro Cultural Cultural Gonzalez Gallo in Chapala.
Using antique instruments and others carefully reproduced to mimic the sound and action of the originals, the group creates a musical tour in the distinct styles developed Baroque era in France, Italy, England and Spain.
Carlos Omar Lopez Gonzalez studied music at the University of Guadalajara (UdG) Music School and today is their head guitar instructor dedicated to the study of antique instruments, including the baroque guitar, renaissance lute and renaissance vihuela.
Avelina de la O. Gutierrez Alcala studied sacred music for five years at the Superior Dioceses, as well as violin technique at the UdG. She is currently in the sixth semester of her music degree with special study in choral direction. She has also participated in a variety of master classes, recitals and choral programs, as well as working with the Giuseppe Verdi Opera Workshop.
Miguel Hoyos Peña began his formal music studies in 2007 and has a special interest in antique music. He has investigated and experimented with diverse techniques for the baroque violin, which has given him the opportunity to participate in a number of courses and madrigals with masters in the genre. He has proven his ability as a baroque violinist in the Ensemble Ritornello y Hortus Musicus and worked with Santiago Cumplido, Ars Antiqua and Hibris Baroque Ensemble.
ASA Reminder
Jesus Lopez Vega will speak at the regular monthly meeting of the Ajijic Society of the Arts (ASA) at La Bodega on Monday, May 4, 10:30 a.m.
During the 10 a.m. business meeting the group will discuss upcoming summer events, and the success of the recent juried show. Ken Caldwell will be on hand to present a large donation from ASA to representatives of the Lake Chapala Society (LCS). These funds represent the income of ASA’s Annual Open Studio event and are earmarked for materials and expenses for the weekly Saturday morning Children’s Art Program held on the LCS grounds.
Graphic Show
Following a tour that has seen graphic prints by well known lakeside artist Pat Apt displayed in several Mexican cities, the exhibit “Fair Share: Entre la Mirada y la Gubia” (Between the Gaze and the Gouge), hosted by Coxala Grafica, will open in Ajijic Saturday, May 9, 6 p.m. at the Casa de Cultura.
The show’s title refers to the work of graphic artists, especially print makers who study a subject and then carve the lines into the plate that goes onto the press. It also recognizes the emotions the artists can express in these lines.
Says Apt: “You cannot stop and not see, everybody suffers at some point in their lives, I can feel what people feel, can´t you?”
This show includes a selection of works created by Apt between 2003 and 2013. Images and reflections on giant linoleum plates that she used to print onto kraft paper demonstrate raw realities that elude to distinct social movements of the past decade.
Built on beautifully simple concepts, the organic nature of the paper and her printing technique, Apt’s prints seem natural, and easily transport the viewer in silence to a new story, to feel profoundly the emotions of the events they imagine they are witnessing.
The artistic sensitivity of Apt, with her comprehension of the reality of the socio-political situations in diverse areas of the globe, allow her to produce these exceptional works in which she uses icons and symbols to represent the history shared and evoked in the collective memory of millions of people around the world.
The linoleum prints of Apt present, above all, the artist’s personal questioning of the world’s problems.
During this show and reception, guests will have the opportunity to discuss these issues with Apt and joyously share the completion of this tour with her.
Fundraisers
Two upcoming concerts at the Ajijic Cultural Center have been scheduled by Emmanuel Medeles, director of the Centro Regional de Estudios Musicales (CREM), the area’s premier music educational program,
The concerts featuring CREM students will assist the Ajijic facility to raise money to complete the ongoing theater project at the center.
First, the center will host a concert by the CREM Children’s Choir on Friday, May 8, 8 p.m. Admission to this event will be just 100 pesos.
It is hoped that by the time of this concert the theater’s curtains will be hanging in place on the stage. Special wood purchased this week for the stage floor – thanks to a recent 10,000 peso donation – will be on show for visitors to inspect.
The CREM Quartet will take the stage Saturday, May 16, 8 p.m. Tickets will also be 100 pesos. All of the income from the ticket sales will go into the theater project coffers.