Angela
bob dylan in guadalajara!
got the poster, didn't get the t-shirt
Bob Dylan and his band have just completed a sixteen-date tour of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico. Couple of friends and I went to see him May 9, and I’m happy to report that at 70 he’s still da Man.
He played in the Auditorio Telmex, a newish and beautiful performance center in Zapopan in the northwest part of GDL. Interesting theatre, the lobby has several McDonald’s-like food counters but with [...]
Flamenco! Jazz! Cuban!
Flamenco!
February 18, 2012
Flamenco at Ninette's
I hadn’t realized how much Flamenco is alive and well in Mexico, not only in Spain. Flamenco is an early love of mine, having danced it in my youth, and witnessed many marvelous performances of famous troupes in Houston growing up. I recently got to see a small group – 4 young musicians and a dancer – perform in one of the quality restaurants here.
Watching and listening, I realized how Flamenco is a Spanish version [...]
recent narco violence in Lakeside
Updated May 19, 2012
Over 500 Lakeside residents participated in peace march May 13
Authorities face public on lakeside security issues May 16
Many of you have read/seen/heard news reports of the recent violent events in the Lake Chapala region. News of this has gone global.
See these articles about in recent events in the English-language newspaper Guadalajara Reporter:
Lakeside kidnap victims among dead in May 9 massacre
Authorities face public on Lakeside security issues
Body parts found in Riberas del Pilar as cops arrest [...]
retirement
Ah, retirement: how do I love thee? let me count the ways…
My time is my own
I can try anything I want, new or old, with or without experience, and not feel like a fool
I can afford to do everything I want (I’m reasonable) – at least in Mexico
As Mexicans say, “I’m not rich, but I’m happy”
I get tired frequently – and so, I take a nap! No wait, I’ve always done that – it’s just that here, it’s accepted, institutionalized, [...]
overheard
I don’t eat out in restaurants alone as often as when I first arrived, but when do I often enjoy the overheard conversations of people at the next table almost as much as my meal. Especially Lakeside where many of us oldsters are hard of hearing and tend to speak loud enough to be overheard. Recently while lunching at La Nueva Posada, a Colonial style hotel and restaurant on the lake in Ajijic, I overheard what I presumed was a [...]
CSI Chapala update
CSI Chapala Update
April 4, 2012
Dear Community Members:
Your Community Safety Initiative Team (CSI Chapala) is pleased to make the following announcements:
We have received countless notifications from you, the community, stating you and your neighbors have begun taking action with Vecinos en Alerta/ Neighborhood Watch. Congratulations. Remember, your window sticker (letting the undesirables know you and your block are now watching out for each other), are available at: Arellano Properties, (off of the Libramiento just past the Pemex and OXXO [...]
it’s home
It’s been a while! My blog got hacked, I lost some posts and lost heart to replace them or to keep this blog going, then realized I needed a break. But here I am again, hopefully re-inspired. Thanks for hanging in there!
I’ve made it through my first 9 months of living in Mexico and yes, it’s home. Who knows what the future will bring, but for now, I’ve really grown into the place, I fit here, and can’t imagine returning to [...]
CSI Neighborhood Watch Alert
March 13, 2012
Dear Community Members,
Your CSI Chapala Team is proud to announce the ‘re-launch’of Vecinos en Alerta/Neighborhood Watch.
As you know, your neighbors can become your lifetime, as they are nearest you should anything unforeseen happen in your home. The Neighborhood Watch/Vecinos en Alerta Program puts the old adage “you are your brother’s keeper” into action. By participating in this program, you are simply asking your neighbors to help you out should you find yourself or your home in danger. When [...]
crime, fear, and action
Note: see update May 2012
Crime in Mexico is nothing new. There’s the evil border crime in places like Juarez where narco turf wars leave corpses piled up on street corners.
Sadly, our own U.S. government [DEA/Justice Dept/ATF] has been providing guns and laundering cartel money in an effort to find out more about and pursue the cartel leadership, with unfortunate consequences, and certainly loss of credibility and respect.
It has become clear that cartel-induced crime also occurs beyond the borderland, in interior [...]
fire!
Yesterday, we had an unusual windstorm (but no rain) during the night that has kept up all day today, and the usually warm temps have dropped 10-15 degrees to no more than 60′s in the daytime, 40′s at night. Feels like Maine Fall! (early Fall). The windstorm had pulled down several dead palm tree branches, about 12 feet long, dry as toast, and much heavier than I expected. Now I see why my gardener was averse to sawing the dead [...]
spa time!
Villa Bordeaux
My friend Diana had two visitors from British Columbia; unfortunately, Diana was sick with a bad cold during their visit, and asked me to help attend to them. What a delight that turned out to be! We ended up spending 2 days (their 3rd and 4th, it was so good) at Villa Bordeaux Spa Termal Cosala / Hotel, one of the local spas & hotel in San Juan Cosala, about a 20 minute drive west of Ajijic.
This unique setting [...]
november celebrations
November may be the most celebratory month of the year here, but I’ll wait for Christmas to confirm this.
Art Festival
Besides the Day of the Dead festivities, the town of Chapala has hosted Feria Maestros del Arte for the last 10 years and is going strong, this year on November 18-20. Artisans and performers from all over Mexico converge in a giant outdoor arts festival. There is a video from the 2009 Feria Maestros del Arte with many of the [...]
day of the dead
This year, Mexico celebrated their Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on November 2, a day which traditionally honors the dead, All Saints Day, and these days, Halloween imported from foreigners. Celebrations began on 10/31 with bombas (fireworks) in the plazas, and a parade of each barrio and school in the native costumes of Aztecs, Mayans, and other Indios, with an occasional living pieta (Mary holding the body of Jesus brought down from the cross) float here and [...]
lake cruise
Lake Chapala Pelicans
I recently bought a ticket for a cruise on Lake Chapala on the new party boat, the Batur. I had left another meeting late, and raced from Ajijic to Chapala hoping I’d make the boat in time. Just as I got there and parked, I could see the stern of the boat several meters from shore and I thought, oh no, missed it. As I approached the gangplank anyway, it turned out that the boat hadn’t launched [...]
the Thriller dance
I didn't even need makeup )
Last night, we did it! We danced the Michael Jackson “Thriller” dance on the Chapala Malecon. This was a global phenomenon: at the same hour across the world, other zombies performed the Thriller dance in their location for their charities and causes. Thank you, MJ, for your fabulous choreography.
talented fearless leader Elliott
Local realtor Elliott Joachim, with a background in ballroom dance, does a fabulous job organizing and guiding us through learning the [...]
lunch in the cloud
There is such good food in Lake Chapala: regional Mexican, of course, (even Tex-Mex), seafood (fresh daily from the Pacific), ranchero-style and other steak, Texas bar-b-que, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Italian, pasta and pizza, rotisserie chicken, nouveau cuisine (whatever that is, these days), the weekly organic market that is out of this world, along with the weekly traditional Tianguis (outdoor markets) in each village, and there are new cafe’s/restaurants opening (and closing) all the time.
Having lunch weekly at the new internet [...]
how busy should we be?
Tropical Storm Irwin in Eastern Pacific
We’ve had rain for about a week, most unusual; hurricane Jova plus 2 tropical storms in the east Pacific churned it up, and Jova crossed land into our state of Jalisco around Puerta Vallarta. In Lake Chapala, we didn’t have high winds or severe rain, only minor flooding here and there, as in the usual rainy season, where nearly all cobblestone streets and sidewalks morph into streams and rivulets to be forded. People have [...]
16th of september
The 16th of September is Mexico’s 4th of July, celebrating Mexico’s hard-won independence from Spain in 1810. For an excellent account of the history – and contemporary celebrations – of this important holiday, please read here (note: if you have to subscribe to that blog to view the article, it’s well worth your money, assuming you want to learn a lot about Lake Chapala.) But here’s a quote:
In the early hours of September 16, 1810, Padre Miguel Hidalgo, the parish [...]
people snapshots
My maid Estella and her husband Chuy (and son)
Estella is a young mother of two of school age children, a boy and a girl. She does an awesome job cleaning my house every week, and converses with me in Spanish. Although she speaks some English, she refuses to with me, to help me advance in my Spanish lessons (she’s right). We enjoy a conversation before she gets down to sweeping (inside and out), mopping, cleaning the bathrooms, changing the beds, [...]
update: climate
Still “Maine summer” beautiful, still have rain at night only it skips a night here and there. Sometimes I have to wear a hoodie and jeans for the chilly morning walk, but it’s toasty again in the afternoon. As we head into fall, we’ll get less rain until it stops completely from about October until June. And it will gradually get cooler, not only in the mornings but the rest of the day too. We’ve had many conversations recently about [...]