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LAKESIDE LIVING
June 2014
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PAST EVENTS TRUTHS AND LIES FROM THE NAKED STAGE The Long Weekend is a Naked Stage reading of a comedy. The play was directed by Don Chaloner.
 Front, left to right: Avril Stephenson and Roseann Wilshere Back, left to right: Dick Yanko, Clay McAdam and Ed Tasca
HOLDING HANDS WITH A STRANGER Margaret Van Every recently read from her new book of poetry Holding Hands with a Stranger at the OasisCloud Café in Riberas del Pilar. Her audience thoroughly enjoyed her commentaries as well as the verses themselves.
 Margaret Van Every
Holding Hands with a Stranger is available at Diane Pearl Colecciones or directly from the author at margaret.vanevery@gmail.com OasisCloud Café hosts “Meet the Writers Luncheons.” The social hour starts at 11:30, the readings at 12. Lunch follows. For reservations call 765-765-3516 or email: info@oasiscloud.mx WE THINK WE ATE ENOUGH Local cooking teacher Luzma Grande has opened a school in Ajijic. Beside her regular classes, she offers tours of street food vendors and local markets. Recently, a group went with her to Jocotepec. They started with tacos sudados (steamed) with shredded cabbage and salsa. Luzma discussed variations on salsa and the individuality of salsas for both restaurant and home cooks.
 Left to right: Luzma Grande, Bob Dietz, Mary and Brad Phelps
The group made a few more stops. The tour ended at the square at Birreria el Tartamudo “The Stutterer”, the best birria (stew) place in Jocotepec, followed by a taste of jericalla (cinnamon custard) at the local mercado. For information about Luzma’s classes, email her at casagrandeajijic@live.com or call 376-766-0955. SQUEAKY WHEEL READINGS La Rueda (the wheel), a new coffee/gallery in San Juan Cosala, stages monthly readings in English. They are held on the first Wednesday of each month. The next reading will be on July 2.
 Poet Isidro Xilonsonchitl
In May three Mexican writers joined the roster. Isidro Xilonsonchitl read a poem in Spanish and Kristina Trejo translated. It was an incredible poem that had the crowd whistling and catcalling at the end. Other readers were Michael Warren, Harriet Hart, Mel Goldberg, Yolanda Ramirez Michel (an English translation read by Michael Warren), Kelly Hayes-Raitt, and Judy Dykstra-Brown reading an English translation of the poems of the late Ernesto Trejo. Writers who want to read, or those needing further information, can contact Judy Dykstra-Brown at 387 761 0281 or email her at jubob2@hotmail.com.
COMING EVENTS The Naked Stage’s June show is Light Sensitive by Jim Geoghan. It will be directed by Robin Lawrason. Show dates are June 27, 28, and 29. The play’s title refers to the blindness of its main character, ex-cabbie Tom, who’s afraid of finding light in his dark world. His best friend, who was helping Tom jump-start his car when the battery exploded and blinded Tom, is riddled with a guilt that keeps him at Tom’s beck and call. Seeking a way out, he brings in a woman–a reader from the Lighthouse for the Blind–to distract Tom. The e-mail address for future reservations: nakedstagereservations@gmail.com. Reservations guarantee a seat until 3:50, after which seats will be sold to those waiting without reservations. The Naked Stage is located at #10A Rio Bravo. Directions: west on the carretera from Ajijic, south on Rio Bravo, about two blocks down behind Daniel’s Restaurant on the east side. Daniel’s is open for lunch and dinner with a no host bar available at 3:00 p.m. The box office opens at 3:15 and the show starts at 4:00 p.m. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY (and he means it) Lakeside Little Theatre Board members, headed by President Peter Luciano, went on retreat to the beach last month and came up with exciting new ideas for the coming year. The theater will be offering an ongoing series of workshop training opportunities for potential new actors and crew members.
 LLT President Peter Luciano
First, on Monday, July 7, there will be a volunteer expo intended for those who would like to be crew members or otherwise help backstage. The free three-hour session will be followed by a theatre tour and a chance for participants to visit with department coordinators on the terrace afterwards. There will be a sign-up sheet at the door, starting at 9.30 am. LLT Production Manager Kathleen Neal is coordinator of the expo. Then, July 9, 10, 11 and 12, there will be an actors’ workshop consisting of lectures, experiential exercises, scene run-throughs with feedback from the facilitator, and independent work on scenes and rehearsals. Roseann Wilshere will coordinate the workshop. Peter envisions that at the end of the workshop the actors will perform in a group of ten minute one act plays, and new crew members will work behind the scenes. Friends and family will be invited on July 26 and 27. Participation is free for LLT members and 100 pesos (the membership fee) for non-members. For further information and early sign-up for the actors’ workshop, go to the LLT website at lakesidelittletheatre.com. IT’S A BUSY MUSICAL SEASON John Keeling, Viva Musica President, has announced the summer program for Lakeside music lovers. JALISCO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Friday June 6 Homage to Richard Strauss No. I (Conductor: Marco Parisotto) Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel, Four Last Songs, An Alpine Symphony. Sunday June 15 Symphonic Jazz (Conductor: Marco Parisotto) Bernstein: West Side Story; Gershwin: Walking the Dog; Ellington: Harlem; Gershwin: I Got Rhythm, Rhapsody in Blue. Friday July 4: Baroque (Conductor: Jean-Christophe Spinosi) Handel: Orlando Overture, Water Music; Telemann: Flute Concerto; Vivaldi: Two Flute Concertos; Handel: Royal Fireworks. Sunday July 13 Impressions of Italy (Conductor: John Nelson) Verdi: Four Sacred Pieces; Puccini: Edgar; Giordano: Fedora; Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana; Respighi: Roman Festival. Friday July 18 Homage to Richard Strauss No.2 (Conductor: Marco Parisotto) Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier; Schumann: Cello Concerto; Strauss: Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Ticket prices for all bus trips are 250 pesos for Viva members and 350 for non-members. Tickets are available at LCS Thursdays & Fridays 10-12. Friday trips leave at 4.30 p.m. and stop at a better restaurant in Guadalajara before the concert. Sunday trips leave at 10.30 a.m. Buses leave just east of Farmacia Guadalajara. Seats are reserved only when tickets are purchased. Viva orders the symphony tickets ten days ahead, so please make your purchase before that time. VIVA SUMMER CONCERTS Sunday June 29 Sergio Parra, pianist and composer, will play pieces by Bach, Mozart, Liszt and Debussy. He is a Viva scholarship winner who will be studying at the University of Illinois.
 Pianist Sergio Parra
Sunday July 20 Cesar Becerro, bass baritone, singing operatic music, accompanied on the piano by Tim Welch. He is another Viva scholarship winner and will be studying voice in Mexico City. Sunday August 31 Guitar Recital by Duo Medina-Gracian, a virtuoso guitar duo from Guadalajara playing wonderful music arranged for two guitars.
 Sergio Medina and Hugo Ernesto Gracian
These concerts will be in the Auditorium at 4.00 p.m. Tickets are 200 pesos and will be on sale at the Auditorium, Diane Pearl Colecciones, and LCS ticket booth Thursdays & Fridays 10-12. DINNER WITH THE BREAKFAST CLUB (go figure…) The Breakfast Club grew out of an idea from the group that plays bridge at the Lake Chapala Society. The club started three years ago this summer. The name refers to John Hughes’ movie The Breakfast Club (available on Netflix), where five high school students–the jock, the recluse, the brain, the beauty and the rebel–meet in detention, where they eventually discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought.
 Only Three Empty Seats
To bring together our maybe not-so-much-in-common Lakeside people, Wesley Fink organized a Thursday evening dinner group that meets at Adelita’s Restaurant every Thursday at 5:30. Wesley says, “it’s a club but not a club.” People who are interested can email him at wes.fink@gmail.com. He sends out the menus weekly and people sign up. Adelita’s offers a one third to one half off discount on meals to the club. The Breakfast Club is open to everyone and their visitors. Wesley says, “We have a pretty good time.” LIFE AS A HUMAN Photographer Jill Flyer has been a part of the arts community at Lakeside since 2003. S Recently, Jill was asked to submit an article for the online magazine, Life as a Human, on her professional life and her progression through photography. You can read it and see some of her recent photos at: http://lifeasahuman.com/2014/photography/photography-adventure-workshops-in-ajijic-mexico/.
Jill teaches photography and Photoshop classes, both group and private. These classes center on basics: composition and lighting, optimizing your camera, using manual settings, portrait photography, understanding movement, texture, depth of field and much more. In Photoshop, students learn about filters, how to change contrast, hue and saturation, how to control light and dark, and to use all other basic tools. Jill also leads photographic tours of the area, which enable both professionals and total amateurs to see and experience different parts of the Mexican culture and landscape. For information, email Jill at fotoflyer2003@yahoo.com. A LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN One way to enjoy a quiet or not so quiet Sunday afternoon is to relax at the Ajijic Plaza with old and new friends. You can do some serious people watching and enjoy excellent coffee at the Café.
A GREAT DEAL ON FURNITURE It was a little known fact (to this editor, anyway) that Have Hammer…Will Travel, the Lakeside program that teaches woodworking skills to Mexican students, also is a fine resource for Spanish colonial furniture and doors. Here’s how it works: visit the well-equipped Have Hammers workshop at Hidalgo (Carretera) #110, near the 7-Eleven, and browse their catalogs or bring in a photo. Master carpenter Lalo Roblado will create your special order. The turn around time on orders is about two weeks. The telephone number is 376-766-4830. Eloi Gonzalez, Have Hammer’s chief volunteer, spent fifteen years creating Spanish colonial style furniture in New Mexico and brought those designs to Lakeside.
 From left: Master Carpenter Lalo Roblado, Student Jorege Santos and Instructor Eloi Gonzalez.
An example: one current order is for a beautiful 66’ long, 18’ deep buffet with hand carved doors and a polyurethane finish (superior to lacquer). It will sell for 5000 pesos. The wood used is #1 pine lumber, kiln dried. The client can also get the benefit of knowing that buying furniture here is helping to pay for Lalo’s salary, which comes in total from the sale of special orders. Have Hammers teaches Lakeside residents the fundamentals of carpentry. Ages range from age ten up. Students go at their own rate. Some of their eventual products are tables, bookcases, night stands, and coat wall racks. AUDITIONS FOR ART Auditions for the July reading Art by Yasmina Reza, to be directed by Jim Lloyd, will be held on Wednesday, June 18 at 10:00 AM at The Naked Stage Theatre. The comedy, which raises questions about art and friendship, concerns three long-time friends, Serge, Marc, and Yvan. Serge, indulging his penchant for modern art, buys a large, expensive, completely white painting. The cast of four men includes the narrator. Check for script copies at jelloydinmex@yahoo.com. Performance dates for Art are July 25, 26 and 27.
ONGOING EVENTS NO MORE GRAFFITI! Nanette and Antonio de Enciso, San Antonio activists, have organized a movement to remove graffiti from buildings and roadways in Chapala, San Antonio and Riberas del Pilar. Their most recent effort was a big job of cleaning the underpass on the libramiento. Volunteers go out every Friday to look for graffiti. The informal committee welcomes information from the public. They appreciate photos, so they can see colors and surfaces, to better decide on what cleaning materials to use. Nanette says: “If you see graffiti, please send an email – preferably with a photo- to nochapalagraffiti@gmail.com, Lakeside residents spotting graffiti in Ajijic can email Dan Houck at houck1022@gmail.com.” HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? Join others every third Wednesday at 10, to share your expertise on growing vegetables and herbs in the Lake Chapala area. The next meeting will be on June 18 at Azul Frida Restaurant, Carretera #62. New members can contact John McWilliams at mcwilliamsmx@gmail.com or by phone at 376-766-0620 FROM BOOK TO MOVIE Check out this review from the LA Times: ONLY ONCE IN A LIFETIME By Richard Vasquez—LA Times Special Correspondent “A movie, a generic ‘first,’ depicting the life of a proud and incorruptible Chicano painter has premiered to standing ovations. It is the first feature film written, directed, and produced by Spanish-surnamed people in that state of mind called Hollywood. After its premiere in San Antonio, Texas, at the San Antonio Film Festival, local headlines read: “Applause Thunders.” Emmy-winning producer Moctesuma Esparza, foremost Chicano filmmaker and an Oscar nominee last year, for the first time had autograph seekers lined up in front of him after the showing.
As did the film’s co-producer, writer-director Alejandro Grattan- Dominguez and its star Miguel Robelo. It was a first for them too…” Grattan’s novel and movie are now at the LCS. – AMERICAN LEGION IN CHAPALA Saturdays: 3:30 – 6:30 p.m. Fish Fry Sundays: Burgers & Dogs 12 – 3 p.m.
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