Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic (JAL).- Yanin Saavedra formally released her much-anticipated debut album, Búsqueda, at a CD party in Guadalajara’s Creaturas Anónimas venue Thursday night. Reviews of the album are ecstatic, predicting that Saavedra will continue her ascent as singer-songwriter. The album was previously previewed at a private event in Ajijic and some of the songs have been available online for weeks.
The major American music website IndiePulseMusic reviewed a preview copy of the 12-song CD, calling it “a stunning debut album that shimmers with promise.” The California-based Music Junkie Press said “the album Búsqueda stands on its own as a work of musical artistry but promises much more to come”. In the United Kingdom, the music platform Artist Echoes said Saavedra’s Búsqueda” is a debut album that capitalizes on her outlier voice and shimmers with wonder.” In international music site Vents wrote that when you listen to Búsqueda “your ears are in the presence of a unique and exquisite talent.”
Saavedra is well-known in Lakeside where she teaches music in schools and plays in local venues like La Mezcaleria and in her hometown, Guadalajara. She has toured Mexico and Europe, playing festivals and clubs and even streets across the Continent. Influenced by traditional sound from around the world and contemporary Latin music she writes original songs with an up-to-the-minute Latin flavor and a global mixture of traditional rhythms and sensibilities.
The album is available for download or streaming on Bandcamp at https://yanin.bandcamp.com/album/b-squeda
Photo: Internet.
Patrick O’Heffernan (Ajijic, JAL).- In the past few months, a Pemex station in Chapala was robbed at gunpoint; the President of Jalisco admitted that home robbery was one of the Lakeside region’s most frequent crimes, especially in mountain communities like Chula vista Norte and Riberas de Pilar and robberies of three businesses and two private cars were reported. So, is Lakeside becoming a dangerous place? Does the Expat community worry about crime? Do they worry that Ajijic is now crime-ridden?
Recently, an Expat shopper at Walmart left his wallet sitting on a counter and walked out of the store. He had barely made it to the parking lot when no one, but two Mexicans told him he forgot his wallet and that it was inside. His comment after the incident was that in the US, where he was from, not only it is likely that no one would have told him, they would have probably kept the wallet. His perception of crime in Lakeside – at least against Expats, was that it is rare. He knew of one person who had been robbed and a few people who had been the victims of theft over the past couple of years.
His opinion is both substantiated and disputed in Lakeside’s general discussion boards (this excludes the dedicated crime discussion board on Facebook) which offered a range of views on crime. Many conversations focus on scams, thefts of ladders, and warnings not to open your door to people you don’t know, but there is little paranoia. Those who complained of crime and said they were leaving because Lakeside was no longer safe were contradicted by others who pointed out that crime exists everywhere and they felt very safe in Lakeside.
An very informal, very non-scientific, four- question survey conducted of Expats in Lakeside (all questions asked of people in Ajijic, although some lived in other towns) found that 95% think it is a safe place to live, but respondents were split almost evenly on whether or not crime was rising in Lakeside. Two mentioned a personal experience with crime (petty theft), most referred to stories on Facebook or in the media when asked if they knew of specific incidents of crime. The majority said they take routine precautions to protect themselves and their property as they would anywhere.
The perception of safety voiced by the respondents closely matches data. Statistically, Mexico and Chapala are very safe. The website NUMBEO aggregates and analyzes crime reporting from states and cities around the world and scores Mexico at 32.41, a rank of low. Its data show that crime in Mexico has been increasing at a low to moderate rate, but that concern about crime remains low, except for moderate concern for property crimes and vandalism, and a high concern for government corruption.
Closer to home, NUMBEO scores Ajijic with a low 29.73 Crime index – low, and a high Safety index of 70.27. NUMBEO’s survey data show that the perception of safety in Ajijic is high to moderate; examples include the perception that daylight walking alone seen as 92.6% safe and walking alone at night as 58.33% safe. A theory voiced b y a website dedicated to helping Expats move to Lakeside is that two groups in Mexico work to keep crime away from Expats: However, there are at least two groups who try to see to it that crimes against expats and other Americans in the Ajijic / Lake Chapala area are as low as possible: people who work for Expats or the local governments because both benefit from Expats, and organized crime which sells little to Expats but realizes that crimes against Expats could bring in investigations from the US or Canadian government, which are serious problems for cartels.
Comparisons between the US and Mexico reveal that for the most part, Mexico is safer than the US, with differences in some types of crime – more rape in the US, a higher murder rate in Mexico although very rare for Expats. Mexico’s overall crime level is ranked by NUMBEO’s Crime Index by County, Mid- Year 2019 at 35th globally while the US is ranked at 49th (higher ranking equals more reported crimes). Researchers note that crime reporting in Mexico is not as robust as in the USA – something the President of Chapala has complained about because it complicates prosecution – so the actual numbers in Mexico may be slightly higher.
Patrick O’Heffernan (Ajijic, Jal) Last weekend Ajijicans joined with over 8 million people who thronged streets in capitals around the world to demand action to slow climate change. The march was organized by the Lake Chapala Chapter of Democrats Abroad, the largest of the 7 Mexican Chapters of the global organization Democrats Abroad. The march in Ajijic along the Carretera paralleled marches, demonstrations and strikes organized by Global Climate Strike, a worldwide coalition of hundreds of organizations and spearheaded by 16-year old Greta Thunberg of Sweden.
Seminario Laguna talked separately with the organizers of the Ajijic March, Democrats Abroad Executive Committee Member Stephanie Sedway and Board Chairman John Boothby
Laguna. Stephanie, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. How did you go about organizing the march in Ajijic?
Stephanie Sedway. It was not difficult. The national Climate Strike organization provided us with graphics and information. We posted them to social media, to all of the Ajijic/Chapala Facebook groups, and some of our members even made presentations in schools.
Laguna. How many people turned out?
Stephanie. I don’t know exactly, but when I did a head count there were 125. More may have joined, as we walked by.
Laguna. Were you in touch with the national Climate Strike organization?
Stephanie. Yes. Like I said they provided graphics and information. They have a very useful organizing website ( https://globalclimatestrike.net/). I send them photos of our march, but I have not seen them on their follow up posts yet. (Climate Strike continues to post photos and videos from marches around the world, so Ajijic may be on the site at some point.)
Laguna. Were any local Mexicans involved in the organizing or in the March?
Stephanie. Not in the organizing, but we did see some Mexicans at the March, although they may have already been there and joined us. Some of our members did make presentations at local schools.
Laguna. What can people in Ajijic do to slow climate change?
Stephanie. I preach against single use plastic and try to do my part avoiding plastic bottles, straws plastic containers. I try to use electricity and water carefully and encourage recycling. That is a good start.
Laguna. Do you know if climate change has affected Lakeside?
Stephanie. I don’t know about Lakeside but it affected Las Vegas and Los Angeles where I grew up. My friends who used to comment on 102 degrees in Vegas now talk about 115, and the occasional heat waves of my childhood in LA are now almost constant.
Laguna. Is this what motivated you to organize the march?
Stephanie. We each need to take responsibility to do what we can to stop the imminent crisis and save our children and grandchildren.
Laguna. John, you are Chairman of the Lake Chapala Chapter of Democrats Abroad. What is Democrats Abroad?
John Democrats Abroad represents Americans living temporarily or permanently outside of the USA. We are a constituent member of the Democratic Party. We are the 51st state. We have delegates at the Democratic National Convention and we have our own primary.
Laguna. Why did Democrats Abroad take up the issue of climate change and organize a March in Ajijic?
John. Several, if not all, of our board members were aware of the upcoming Climate Strike. At the Executive Committee Meeting we decided that we wanted to have a presence here in Ajijic and to alert the community and educate people about the strike and the global climate crises.
Laguna. Do you know if Lakeside has been affected by climate change?
John. I am not sure we know, but it is logical to say if we don’t feel it now, we will feel an impact in the future. Storms are getting more dangerous and frequent around the world. It will affect us at some point. Reports of serious impacts by 2050 should be sobering to everyone. The current Administration is actively trying to accelerate climate change through regulation rollbacks, policies, and Executive Orders to make the climate crisis worse.
Laguna. What can the people of Lakeside do to slow climate change?
John. Democrats Abroad does not have an official position on that, but the consensus among members was the need for a drastic reduction on the reliance on fossil fuel, the US re-engagement in the Paris Climate Agreement, recycling like Reciclaje Ajijic, and emphasis on renewable energy sources. Being an organization that represents ex-pats, the most important things they can do is register and vote for candidates who will support laws and policies that slow climate change. That is the easy step. We also need to educate ourselves and work with the local Mexican population.
Laguna. Does the Democrats Abroad plan to continue to promote interest in climate change?
John. You can count on it. Many of our members are interested and Stephanie has a passion for it.
Patrick O’Heffernan. (Ajijic, Jal). The Mexican-American writer Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs called the Robozo “our cultural blanket”. That was clearly evident at the Usos y Costumbres de Rebozo Parade Saturday afternoon at the Ajijic Plaza where a dozen women and girls showed off their Rebozos and paraded around then Plaza in the late afternoon sun.
Mistress of Ceremony Paola de Watlerlot explained to the diverse crowd that overflowed the red, green, and blue plastic chairs in the Plaza that the Rebozo is thought to have ancient roots, possibly from India, possibly from Spain and definitely from native peoples in Mexico and the tilma – the muslin cloth around the Virgin. The making of a Rebozo, she said, is an art form involving spinning the yarn, dying the threads and weaving and cutting the final shawl. There are many types of Robozos and throughout their history they have been made from everything from rough fibers to the finest silk (which she said to test by pulling it through a ring).
Led by Las Pohanquitos de Axixic maéstro Erika Navarro Robledo, each woman or girl strode down the runway, twirling and holding out her arms to reveal the beautiful tapestries they wore. During the ceremony the renowned Lola LaTequilera took the stage with a guitarist and serenaded the crowd with the soaring ballads she has been famous for 25 years. Later in the decades-old ceremony, prizes were handed out and the two littlest girls were crowned with flowers by Ajijic’s Princesses while LaTequilera’s songs provided a musical backdrop. After the parade, she reappeared center stage and once again filled the Plaza and the neighborhood with her unforgettable voice.
Rebozos also went on display Saturday evening at the San Antonio Tlayacapan Plaza in the Dia de Muher Indígina exhibition.
Juan Castañón is a musician’s musician who constantly expands the boundaries of his art and the world of jazz.
Patrick O’Heffernan (Ajijic) .- Celebrated Ajijic jazz guitarist Juan Castañón will be featured on jaliscotv.com next week after a taping of his performance at Guadalajara’s Chango Vudú Club. Sara Valenzuela of JaliscoRadio.com interviewed Castañón and his band members live at the club’s bar before the performance. A packed house was on hand for the interviews and the music with patrons serving as a live audience for the cameras and the radio interview.
Castañón is well-known to residents of Ajijic and Chapala for his jazz band Acasia, but he played the Chango Vudú Wednesday night with the experimental jazz trio D/zazter. The same band played the next night in Ajijic at the La Mezcalaria bar on Colon near the Malecon. JaliscoTV.com brought in a full three-camera crew with a mobile editing bay to tape both the music and the interview with Sara Valenzuela. The tape will be edited into a program for broadcast next week (check jaliscotv.com for time and date). He will also appear this Friday on the Ajijic-based radio program Music Sin Fronteras.
Juan Castañón is a musician’s musician who constantly expands the boundaries of his art and the world of jazz. A superb guitarist, he also plays the sarod, has studied at the Monterrey School of Music, the Universitá della Musica di Roma Italy and participated in numerous courses and workshops on improvisation with prominent artists such as Michael Godard, Reggie Workman, and Stomu Takeishi, among others. His list of collaborations in Mexico and Italy is long and varied and ranges from free jazz to traditional Jarocho (music from Veracruz), to experimental and electronic music. His projects include guitar and percussion improvisation in DEMUSE, Radical Freejazz with Classical Music of North India, and electronic and circuit-bending sound art and the Electricity Noise Experiment. D/zazter is an experimental project with Itzam Cano and Gabriel Lauber.
Patrick O’Heffernan
(Ajijic) Bethel New York, the actual site of the Woodstock Arts and Music Festival is 4205 kilometers and 50 years from Ajijic Mexico today, but none of that mattered to the crowd at Bar El Camaleón Saturday and Sunday nights. The iconic watering hole at the corner of Calle Constitución and calle Marcos Catellanos. Although posters all over town said the party would begin at 4 pm – which to most people meant 5:30 or 6 p.m., the Camaleón began filling up around three in the afternoon. Being a local “Cheers” bar, El Camaleón saw many of its chairs and stools occupied by regulars, but not all. Several groups were there specifically for the Woodstock 50th anniversary party and had the tie-dye to prove it.
By 5 pm, it was close to standing room only in the lower levels and the upstairs veranda, mirador tables were filled, and the grill fired up with bratwurst. People told an interviewer that they came to the bar because of the Woodstock celebration, because they loved the music of the 60” and because they wanted to dance (see interviews at https://youtu.be/EkiyDEJgV_s). There was a lot of tie-dye, headbands, peace necklaces, and shits opposing the war in Vietnam. The audience was largely ex-pats but not completely as Mexican locals slid into some of the barstools and floor tables, ready to rock.
The rocking started around 5 pm with Daniel Cordero, a multi-instrumentalist from Ixtlahuacán. Cordero could not bring his band with him but he brought a memory board full of 60’s song accompaniments that he was able to blend in with his gravel-pitched voice, serious guitar chops and harmonica. He also brought stage lights, mixers, and other gear, requiring multiple trips from his van into the bar. He also served as his own light and sound roadie, setting up a very sophisticated system for his act and those of the other bands. Once he had the gear in place, a sound engineer took over, controlling the system quite nicely from his iPad.
Cordero took us through Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe and the Fish, Richie Havens and many others. He blew everyone away with his version of Any Day Now, written in 1961 by Burt Bacharach and Robert Hillard, made famous by Chuck Jackson and covered by everyone from Elvis Presley to The Weeping Willows. Things really were moving when he pulled out his harmonica and launched into a high energy Take a Load off Annie/Fanny. The dance floor filled up and never calmed down. He had hit his stride and the crowd’s dance nerve. The party was on.
Cordero continued to work through the sixties, seeming to never get tired although he had been on stage for almost 2 hours. Part of his energy came from the fun he was having, evidenced by the broad smile on his face when he played and talked between songs, and from an adoring crowd that danced as long as he kept playing.
Next up after a break was Los Tres Mosqueteros, a rock trio made up of locals Paco Casas on electric guitar and vocals, Sergio Casas on bass, and Chelo González on drums. Paco is a first-class guitarist and had tuned his Fender to the 60’s sound before he launched into Creedence Clearwater Revival – known in Mexico as «Los Creedence»– singing Born on a Bayou. That pulled even more people out of their seats and onto the dancefloor. Los Tres Mosqueteros got it pretty close to the original; they could not duplicate the depth of Los Creedence because they had fewer band members, but Paco’s guitar came close and Chelo kept the beat moving perfectly with nice, sharp snare hits and an addictive kickdrum.
Paco really upped the energy with his version of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ 1956 song I Put a Spell on You. The Mosqueteros did not try to duplicate the original (no one can – Hawkins confessed he was drunk when he recorded it and was not sure he could do it again), but stuck closer to the 1969 Creedence cover, including the guitar feedback John Fogerty created by playing his electric into the speaker.
The band took a break while the microphones were rearranged. Everyone had another beer or tequila (at one point very good mezcal samples were served) and folks headed upstairs to the grill for seconds on the bratwurst. The night was getting on but no one looked tired. Even Cordero, who had jumped onto the dance floor himself, was full of energy, talking to fans and even signing a poster.
The third band up for the night was the Los Bad Hombres; a misnomer at least as far as their talent was concerned. Comprised of Esteban Olvera, Kevin, Diego Casas, Dana, and Faridbak on vocals, LBH is no stranger to Bar El Camaleón or many other venues in the Ajijic area. Faridbak even brings a warm vintage condenser microphone with him to give his great voice even more depth and tone. The party continued with them and reportedly way past the end of their set, going until 2:00 in the morning according to one bartender the next day.
The party started again Sunday night, although subdued, with Daniel Cordero playing solo to a smaller but equally happy crowd. Faridbak was there from Los Bad Hombres, but did not sing without the rest of the band. Cordero wrapped up and joined a crowd in the bar celebrating a successful Woodstock 50th Anniversary at Bar El Camaleón with music, beer and bratwurst.
© 2016. Todos los derechos reservados. Semanario de la Ribera de Chapala