The Guadalajara Reporter

Ribera Arts Review - March 2, 2013

Aztec

Make a date for the Aztec Studios on Sunday, March 3, noon to 4 p.m.  Show up and share a drink and snacks with artist Janice Kimball and enjoy the beautiful pre-Hispanic-type weavings that have been marked down 50 percent.  Also view a new collection of contemporary wall pieces that will be marked down 30 percent.

Kimball’s paintings and collages will also have drastic reductions. This year, Kimball has invited some of her favorite female authors, Lisa Jorgensen, Nina Discombe, Zofia Barisas and Patricia Hemingway (also James Tipton – definitely not a woman), who will all be in the upstairs salon.

Aztec Studios is located on the service road of the Carretera across from the Rancho de Oro Serpent Mural in West Ajijic,

Naked

The Naked Stage minimalist readers’ theater will present “The Normal Heart,” directed by Jim Lloyd, on March 15, 16 and 17, at 4 p.m.

The bar opens at 3 p.m. and the box office at 3:15 p.m. The donation is 80 pesos.

The Naked Stage is located in Plaza de la Ribera (formerly Sol y Luna). Drive west on the Carretera from central Ajijic and turn south on Rio Bravo. The theater is behind the Don Pedro Restaurant, down two blocks on the left. Reservations are a must. For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call Michelle Boudreau at 765-6408.

CASA

The Culinary Arts Society of Ajijic (CASA) held its monthly meeting and competition celebrating Valentine’s Day on February 19. The categories were A (a romantic main dish) and B (Valentine desserts).The judges were Ruth Baker, Alvin Tung and Patrice Bonnafous. The guest speaker was Marcella Monroy, who spoke about the importance of design in food presentation and her present love: chocolate. Monroy recently opened Mostly Chocolate, Ajijic, a store specializing in chocolate delights.

Winners in Category A were, in first place, Monica Molloy for her Crab and Shrimp Thermidor in Phyllo Cheese Cups; in second place, Beth Cathcart for her Oysters Rockefeller with Pernod Spinach and in third place, Wayne Palfrey for his Coquilles Saint Jacques.  Winners in Category B were Nancy Traill, in first place, for her Chocolate Heart with Roses, Hazel Tash, in second place, for her Gran Marnier Meringue, and, in third place, Pat Carroll for his Fresh Fruit Flan. 

People’s choice awards went to Molloy in Category A and Maureen Martin and Maureen Renz in Category B.  CASA is offering a new award for best presentation in each category.  Winners in the presentation category went to Molloy in Category A and to Tash in Category B.

CASA has opened its membership to welcome new members. If you enjoy cooking and want to expand your knowledge of the “art of cooking,” please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call President Pat Carroll at 766-3144.

The next meeting/competition for CASA will be at Min Wah Restaurant on Monday, March 11 at 4 p.m. Visit the CASA website at www.ajijiccasa.org.

Passion

Supporting the upcoming Passion of Christ enactment set for Good Friday, La Nueva Posada is holding a dinner in their beautiful garden on Thursday, March 21, beginning at 3 p.m.

The menu, prepared by the mothers of the event’s actors will include chicken mole verde, Mexican rice, carrots cooked in milk, Mexican salad with yogurt and fresh mint and corn ice cream for dessert.

There will be an art auction with Efren Gonzalez wielding the hammer on his own works and those of many well-known local artists.

Tickets for the event are 200 pesos per person and are available at the reception desk of La Nueva Posada (Donato Guerra 9, Ajijic).

Feng Shui workshop

Internationally known Feng Shui master Judy Larsen will give a level one, two-day workshop on Feng Shui on March 12 and 13, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Casa Luz (Colon 100, San Antonio Tlayacapan).

Discover how to increase abundance, health, vitality and love in your home, office and business. Please bring scale floor plan and pictures. The first five to register will receive a one-hour free consultation. The 2,700-peso fee can be paid through PayPal.

For more information contact Megan Tingen at 766-3250 or (045) 33-1395-9062 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

A place to stay

Ajijic artist Efren Gonzalez and his wife, Reyna, will attend the annual Plein-Air Painting Convention next month in Carmel, California. Last year, they were the only Mexicans present and put Ajijic on the map.

The Gonzalezes are looking for a place to stay from April 10-14, in exchange for some of Efren’s fine artwork. If you know of a place, contact Efren at (376) 766-5381.

Concert

Don’t miss what promises to be an outstanding concert with classical guitarist Jim Byers and coloratura soprano Katia Sanchez on Sunday, March 10, 4 p.m. at Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo (old train station) in Chapala. They will play a program of music from the renaissance through the baroque periods. The admission fee is 50 pesos. Reservations are not required. The dimensions and acoustics of the Cultural Center should be a perfect venue for the program.

Photo workshop

You can join well-known photographer Xill Fessenden and invited professional photographers for day trips into the Mexican countryside each Thursday beginning March 7.

The workshop will take students to rural towns, old haciendas and fields of sugar cane, where they can encounter people and their village lives, historical architecture and bucolic scenery. These all day photographic field trips are open to any level of visual artists and photographers and technical instruction is included.

Creative tips, historical background and transportation to the villages are included in these workshops and students will get a portfolio review at Quattro Gallery (Colon 9, Ajijic) for each trip taken.

Registration and the monthly schedule for the villages and haciendas to be visited each week is available by emailing  Fessenden at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Weekly sign-up registration must be confirmed by email by Tuesday of each week. Excursions leave from the Waffle House on Carretera Poniente in Ajijic at 8:30 a.m. each Thursday. Advanced registration is recommended as space is limited. The price is 600 pesos for each Thursday excursion.

Dance

The Ballet Folklorico of Ixtlahuacan will present a program of regional dances, complete with live mariachi music, Sunday, March 10, noon, at the Auditorio de la Ribera del Lago in La Floresta. The group is well known for “rescuing” authentic dances and for their lavish and authentic costuming. Admission is 120 and 150 pesos. Tickets are on sale at the Auditorium.

Art exhibition

Several local artists – Linzy Roberts, Dona Johnson, Kathy Fallon, Nancy Gray, Jean Moullineaux and Potter Hansen - will open an exhibition of their work Friday, March 8, 6:30 p.m. at Daniel’s Restaurant located at Rio Bravo 10 in west Ajijic (formerly Sol y Luna).