San Antonio T.
Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)- The new administration will seek to promote the cultural identity San Antonio Tlayacapan through a cultural project that includes a collective of artists, cultural coordinator Octavio Ignacio Pérez told Laguna.
«One of the necessary and difficult issues is the generation of the town’s cultural identity; the lack of it means that the town is not well understood by the residents. They don’t know who creates what. We hope that with historical and heritage information and exhibitions, we can generate an identity or at least provide a sense of it,» Octavio said.
Octavio Ignacio Pérez, a poet, paper mache artist, furniture upholsterer, and Editor of ,the digital magazine Campos y Plumas is new to government service. He is originally from Chapala, but has lived most of his life in San Antonio where his family from. He has been involved in education and with social and cultural training for children, teachers, young people, psychiatric patients, etc., as well as workshops and collectives in San Luis Potosí. He has also collaborated with the community museum Atotonilli, in Hidalgo, where he worked on social and educational issues.
Octavio shared that his work plan for the first 100 days, in collaboration with Director of Culture in Ajijic and San Antonio Santiago Baeza which includes workshops in reading and plastic arts, festivals, plus the creation of a library and a collaboration with the recently inaugurated Community Museum of San Antonio Tlayacapan.
The plan also aims to create murals, promote urban art and cultural and artistic exchanges. In addition, he wishes to bring focus to local monuments, such as the tower of the Cuauhtémoc Primary School, and to publish information about the history of San Antonio Tlayacapan to share with visitors and with the locals.
Backed by the community, officials and artists, Octavio Pérez feels ready to undertake this project that will bring colour and cultural and artistic energy to the community. Although he said that the first 100 days is a short time, he hopes to take the first steps of this ambitious project. Currently, the town delegado is looking for spaces that can accommodate artistic activities.
Tenders will be announced through the Facebook of Cultura Tlayacapan and San Antonio Tlayacapan; Octavio also pointed out that he is waiting for the creation of a community radio station where they will be able to spread the word more widely.
Translated by: Dee Lynn
Structure where fallen water tanks were located.
Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)- Two water tanks above the bathrooms collapsed at the Santos Degollado High School in Ajijic, said the deputy director, José Juan Villanueva, revealing the extent of the infrastructure neglect the educational institution. Despite reports requesting repair, the problems have been largely ignored by the Ministry of Education.
«Reports have been made to different authorities, such as the Institute of Educational Physical Infrastructure of the State of Jalisco (INFEJAL), municipal and state government agencies, but they have been largely ignored. INFEJAL approved a budget, but the money never arrived,» shared the deputy director.
New water tanks have been purchased to replace the tanks that collapsed however, the school cannot install them because neither they nor the parents’ association has the resources.
At the moment, school authorities have rigged a way to use a pump to send water through a hose to drums so that the youngsters can use the bathrooms.
The last government administration demolished the base where the old asbestos water tanks were located, according to Villanueva. However, long-term infrastructure neglect by the authorities of the Secretary of Education has led to a litany of other problems, including deteriorated pipes and fixtures, recurrent lack of water in the school requiring water to be trucked in, bad electrical wiring, a deteriorated cistern broken by tree roots, and the failure to cut down the giant eucalyptus trees.
The Chapala Municipal Hall, through its Social Communication department, confirmed that the Education and Public Works departments did receive official reports about the issues, and they will be addressed in the administration’s first 100 days of work. The Public Works department’s attention is currently in the areas affected by the landslides, but they do expect to address the issue in 15 days.
Translated by Kerry Watson
The Hotel El Pescador is still being cleaned up from the mudslides that occurred on October 5.
Sofía Medeles /Domingo M. Flores (Ajijic, Jal.)-During the mudslides of October 5, the staff of the hotel «El Pescador» worked to drain mud that got into neighboring properties, such as a private home and a restaurant. After 10 days, the hotel workers cleaned the street but have not repaired the holes they made to drain the mud.
According to those in the private home, the mud was drained into an alley that provides access to their home. The workers had to dig a hole both in their wall and in the wall of the restaurant «El Rincón Español,» the neighbors told this newspaper.
The residents of the home said that about 10 days ago the hotel, located west of Ajijic, opened a hole in the wall to drain mud to the alley. When the residents complained to the architect in charge of the work, they say he answered them «in a very rude manner.»
“The architect in charge treated us rudely. He ignored us and also told us that there was no problem because it was a street,” said one of the residents. “But the street is private. Besides, even if it were not, the mud was up to 20 centimeters deep and it was beginning to smell very bad.”
Translated by Mike Rogers
First Ajijic Mágico Trail Running, held on Sunday, October 24 (Photo: Andrés Álvarez)
Sofia Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)- A 10 kilometer trail race through the mountains of Ajijic was held last Sunday, October 24, with 194 participants. The race was organized as part of the Magical Town Festival planned by the last administration.
The winners in the five race categories were:
General Category, first place went to Alberto Arrayga Jiménez; second place, José Refugio Ruiz; and third place, Roberto Carlos Carretero.
Women’s Free Category (20 to 39): first place, Silvia Ortega Galindo; second place, Fanny Oropeza Vázquez; and third place, Cynthia Martínez Guzmán.
Men’s Free Category (20 to 39): José Refugio Ruiz, first; Jonathan Díaz, second; and Aurelio Márquez, third.
Women’s Master Category (40 and over): Rosalba Gudido in first place; María de los Ángeles Garay in second place; and Claudia Zubieta in third place.
Men’s Master Category (40 and over): Alberto Arrayga, first; Roberto Carlos Carretero, second; and Manuel Salvador García, third.
The race organizers are all runners from Ajijic, and include José «Jou» Valenzuela «Chabelo», Esmeralda Márquez, Juan Torres, Gilberto Pérez Vega «Chimpy» and Lilia Rodríguez de la Torre.
Translated by Kerry Watson
Armando Bustos seeks to give logos a touch of elegance.
Armando Bustos enhances business logos with unique Venetian tiles that provide a touch of elegance. He does this by transferring the company’s logo to a handmade work made with Venetian tile, creating a work that is rare and well known, but which is very original and gives a special touch to the business.
“The first thing a customer sees when entering a shop is the Venetian tile logo, which creates an elegant perception of the business”, said Armando Bustos in an interview. He designs logos for various businesses , such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals, funeral homes, among others.
«To make a logo with more impact, to give it a magical touch, and that is also more elegant is a plus. I’ve always had the idea, I’ve been involved in handicraft work for many years,» Bustos told Laguna.
The works are made in squares of 2 X 2 centimetres, always symetrical, unlike the Vincentian tile, in which disproportionate cuts are used. «When talking about mosaics, they are more inexact, and allow you to see the logo in another way which is is surprising», said Armando.
The work requires patience and a calm mind, as careful cuts have to be made; the time to complete a piece of 40 X 80 centimetres is two to three weeks.
For Mr. Bustos, the most complicated thing is to balance the design so that it is perfect and to see it installed is the best thing. «I really enjoy doing this work and it captured my attention».
For a quote, people can contact: 33 3105 0055.
Translated by: Dee Lynn
The village sign in San Antonio Tlayacapan’s main square.
Sofía Medeles (Ajijic, Jal.)– Santiago Baeza, director of culture for Ajijic and San Antonio Tlayacapan, has invited San Antonio residents to take part in traditional community altars in the main square on November 2, Day of the Dead.
Flowers, candles, ofrendas, portraits of relatives to whom they want to dedicate the altar, and other items can be taken to Gustavo Aguayo de la Torre in the San Antonio delegation office, or installed before November 2 in the main square.
“Delegation workers will begin in the next few days, and the people of San Antonio will see the work being done. Once the structure is finished, everyone can put up their own altars as part of the larger San Antonio community altar,” Baeza said.
Translated by Mike Rogers
Wall of the dead.
Sofía Medeles and Arturo Ortega.- Ajijic’s recently named cultural authorities announced that The Day of the Dead celebration will return to the main square of Ajijic this coming Tuesday, November 2, after a year of absence. The announcement was made jointly by newly appointed Ajijic Director of Culture Santiago Baeza, Cultural Center Director Efrén González and professor Bernabé Robled, head of the Centro de Estudios Tecnológicos en Aguas Continentales (CETAC) campus, and the town’s office manager, Maximiliano Macías Arceo.
In a press conference held on Wednesday, October 20, Baeza stated that the tradition of families called upon by the delegado to «adopt» a catrina and place it in the main square will be resumed. Each family will receive $600 pesos to underwrite their creation. Ten catrinas“adopted” by Ajijic families and businesses will be decorated, most of which will be exhibited in the plaza, according to Santiago Baeza.
On November 2nd a parade of Catrinas and Catrines will leave at 6 pm from the CETAC Ajijic (next to the Auditorio de la Ribera) and will arrive at the Plaza at 7 pm. Efrén González said that hundreds of candles will be lit on the «wall of the dead» in front of the Parish of San Andrés Apóstol at 8 PM. The Wall of the Dead is a popular artistic installation created by painter Efrén González.
CETAC teacher Bernabé Robledo, together with the students of the school ,will form a parade of catrines and catrinas, ending in the main square of Ajijic where there will be a sale of Mexican snacks to benefit the school. There will also be the traditional display of Altars in the Plaza , and Dia de Los Muertos presentations in the cultural center. Mexican delicacies and snacks will be sold at the Plaza to raise funds for the school.
Acting Delegado Maximiliano «Max» Macias Arceo said that the invitation to the festival is open to anyone who wants to attend, as long as they respect Covid protocols such as the use of masks. He also refuted the rumor that the cemeteries would be closed, saying that approximately from this Friday, October 22nd, the cleaning of the municipal cemetery of Ajijic will begin so that people can visit their deceased.
In San Antonio Tlayacapan, a call will be issued for the community to come with their ofrendas or images of their loved ones to create a community altar to be installed in the town plaza
Translated by Patrick O’Heffernan
Nancy SAnchez on stage at the Conjunto Santander at FIMPRO2021
Patrick O’Heffernan-Ajijic. FIMPRO, The International Music Fair for Professionals (FIMPRO) the most important gathering of the music industry in Mexico and Latin America wrapped up Friday with a blowout concert at the Conjunto Santander arts complex at the University of Guadalajara.
If you are a music fan and your tastes roam beyond rock and roll covers and jazz standards, FIMPRO brings the world of Latin music to you only an hour’s drive away. The Fair consists of workshops, meetings between bands and artists and VIPs in the music industry , panel discussions, and presentations by some of Mexico’s top music executive and by global music Leaders like TikTok, Sony,Tunecore, Universal Music, and others.
And then there is music – lots of it. Around 600 bands apply to perform at FIMPRO and this year 11 were chosen. Usually there are 50 bands performing, but because of Covid restriction the performances were limited to the Santander auditorium and the plaza outside the huge Santander complex at the edge of Zapopan.
Usually, 50 or more bands are chosen and the showcases – mini concerts – are held at the Santander during the day and at rock clubs across the city at night. There were no official night concerts, but many bands booked gigs at local clubs like the Centro Culture Breton, which are open to the public.
This huge gathering of musical artists from around Latin America, Spain, the US and Canada plus music executives from around the world, has brought the attention of the music industry to Guadalajara. Replete with bands, clubs, producers, recording studios, and all the talent and equipment needed to create, produce and disseminate music, thanks to FIMPRO, artists are flocking to Guadalajara.
Year after year, FIMPRO develops a series of activities that promote agreements and businesses between local creators and national and international event programmers’
Band that played this year include Nancy Sanchez from Los Angeles,(who has played in Ajijic), a Charo from Argentina, the solo project of the multidisciplinary artist Natalia Gómez known as ANAN, Uruguayan singer Papina de Palma., Mexican female-led dream rock band Ella Contra el Tigre , Peruvian multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter Lorena Blume, and the wild Columbian cumbia/rock/folk powerhouse La Pacifica Power.
Videos of some of the performances can be seen at YouTube/Patrick O’Heffernan, or a https://www.fimguadalajara.mx/
Entrance to the current campus of the Chapala UdeG Regional High School.
Jazmín Stengel / Domingo M. Flores – With the return of its traditional Life and Death Festival and various artistic events to be held Friday 29 October and Monday 1 November, Chapala High School will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding. Chapala High School first opened its doors in October 1971 as a cooperative school. It passed into the hands of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) in 1994 thus becoming today’s well-known Chapala Regional High School.
The celebrations will take place entirely on the high school campus, and will include a conference, an exhibition of paintings, photography, musical performances, as well as the presentation of awards to relatives of deceased members of the high school.
The program will open on Friday 29 October at 5:00 p.m. with an exhibition of photography by the student body, entitled «Prepa Chapala» and psychedelic-style painting by former student and current artist, Abril Durán. At the end of the exhibition, the first edition of the magazine Redes Universitarias, a publishing house of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG), will be presented.
At 5:30 p.m. on the 29th, there will be a «Death in Mexico» presentation given by former high school teacher Zaida Cristina Reynoso Camacho. The mariachi band «Gala», also made up of former students of the school, will provide evening entertainment along with a presentation of the Ballet Folklorico de la maestra Zayda Zamudio Terríquez, beginning at 8:00 p.m. The first day of festivities will conclude with the official presentation of the Post Mortem awards to outstanding people who died during their time at the school.
On Monday, November 1st, the traditional «Life and Death» altar festival, which Chapala High School has been holding for almost three decades, will take place. At the same time, there will be an exhibition of painting and photography. The festival will be streamed virtually via the Moodle platform.
Translated by Dee Lynn
Ajijic.
Arturo Ortega (Chapala, Jalisco) – The Chapala Council has announced the names of the people who will serve as heads of their delegations, all of whom are local men.
The positions are provisional until the election is held for those who will occupy the permanent position of delegate, although the new municipal President, Alejandro de Jesús Aguirre Curiel has not yet set a date for the election.
Aguirre Curiel said that, given the pandemic, it would be some time before the municipality will be able to hold an open election. In the meantime, the following men will head the five town offices:
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