Ajijic

Mardi Gras is a French word meaning Fat Tuesday. Fat Tuesday refers to eating rich and fatty foods the day before fasting of the Lent Season. Ash Wednesday starts off Lent.  Fat Tuesday is sometimes referred to as Shrove Tuesday from the word Shrive. Shrive means "confess" which relates to the Lent season. Fat Tuesday is the last day of Carnival season, a time of parties and letting go of inhibitions...

The second annual Open Studios Tour was the weekend of February 9th and 10th, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It was a benefit for the Artists of the Ajijic Society for the Arts and the Children's Art Program at the Lake Chapala Society.  The locations of the studios were given out in a booklet form along with photos of artwork done by the different artists. Cost was only 50 pesos for two people. The work...

Christmas in Mexico lasts for many days. Las Posadas start on Dec. 16th and end on Dec. 24, Noche Buena. During those nine days, people are setting off cohetes (Fireworks) and church bells ring often. It is very noisy in Mexico during this time of the year.   Las Posadas are parades of different groups of people walking down the streets. They are from various neighborhoods or sometimes they are specific...

The annual Thrill the World Zombie Dance took place on Saturday, October 27th, 2012. This is an international event to raise money for charities. It was inspired by Michael Jackson's Thriller music video. Thrill the World is an allusion to his song title, Heal the World. People from all over the world danced to his Thriller song at the same time. Zombie coming out of the Bathroom If you had been at...

The Mexican Independence Day celebrations actually start on the night of Sept. 15th.  Every plaza in Mexico has  a reading of El Grito de Delores, just before midnight. That is the proclamation that Father Miguel Hidalgo, a Catholic Priest, read in the small town of Dolores in Guanajuto, MX. on Sept. 15th, 1810. This proclamation started the uprising that became a war against Spain. It lasted for eleven...

Every year there is the Regatta de Globos, hot air balloons. It is held in the main soccer field on Revolution street in Ajijic. It is one of the most popular events of the year in Lake Chapala and is always held on the Saturday before Independence day (Sept. 16.).  The Globos are made weeks in advance by various groups of volunteers. Some of them are sponsored by local churches. Some are sponsored by...

The month of September is one of the busiest months of the year here. The Mexican Independence is celebrated for several days, starting on September 15th. There will be a parade in Chapala and one in Ajijic and parties in restaurants and the plazas. There will be the Globos celebration on the eighth of September. That is where they launch huge balloons made out of paper mache. I will cover it next week....

This year's Can Am Celebration was a huge success. It is held every year on the Lake Chapala Society grounds. It is to honor Canada Day and American's Fourth of July. This year it was on the second of July, which was last Monday, from noon to after four in the afternoon. I was there at the opening of the gate and stayed until the end. There was too much to see and do. I didn't want to miss anything.  I...

The Senior Expo was held at the Real de Chapala Hotel on June 8th through June 9th, in Ajijic, Jalisco. It started at nine in the morning and lasted until seven thirty in the evening on both days. There were lectures going on all day in the inside meeting room and at the same time there was entertainment on the outdoor stage. They had many drawings. I saw one man win a five night, six day trip to an all...

I went with my friend Valerie on a boat ride across the lake to San Luis Soyaltan. It was exciting. I love to be out on the water. This boat can be found at the pier in Ajijic. Right now, it only runs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It stays in San Luis Soyaltan and is only at the Ajijic dock a little while before they take off again for San Luis Soyaltan.  I found out about it through friends at the...