Construction of the second stage is expected to be completed by mid-April. 

Editor. A few weeks before finishing the second phase of the remodeling of the Auditorio de la Ribera in Ajijic, the Director of Planning, Linking and Sectorial Development of the State of Jalisco, Denisse Corona García, said that there is still no completion date or date for the beginning of the third and last stage of the project.

On March 9, state authorities gave a tour to a group of expat users of the auditorium, including course teachers, donors and cultural managers, to show off the work, which is 93 percent complete. 

Corona García, together with the architect in charge of the inspection of the project, estimated that the work will tentatively begin in early 2023. However, for the last phase of the project there is still no authorization from the State Secretariat of Infrastructure and Public Works (SIOP). According to his projections, the second phase will have to be finished by mid-April.  The last phase, which is the exterior areas, should not take more than six months.  

Inside the auditorium seats were added, the carpet was changed and air conditioning was installed

The attendees questioned whether it is possible to use the completed phase of the Auditorio de la Ribera before the full completion of the project. Denisse Corona stated that it would not be feasible due to the risk of having people enter during the ongoing construction. Also, the decisions of the Secretary of Culture of the state depend on the resolutions of the SIOP.

The improvements included an increase in the number of seats, from 429 to 436; change of the carpet, installation of air conditioning and, soon, ramps for wheelchair access. In addition, the dressing rooms and classrooms are being remodeled. 

During his last visit to Ajijic in September 2021, the Governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, announced that the total cost of the project would amount to 58.5 million pesos (about US$2.8 million) as part of the project «Cardinal Culture», which aims to decentralize the culture of the state capital.

Translated by Christalle Dalsted