LCS

Enrique de Allende  finishes the Concert in the Park with “You Raise Me Up” while LCS  Board President watches from the side.

Patrick O’Heffernan, English Editor. A nearly full house greeted Enrique de Allende  and his piano accompanist last Saturday as he strolled onstage, flashed a 1000-watt smile and greeted the audience with a bit of his personal story delivered in the signature smooth golden voice before kicking off over an hour of music.

He gave the audience thirteen songs, mostly golden age covers, but some Spanish songs and Spanish versions of American classics, interspersed with conversations, shout outs to his girlfriend  at one of the tables and expressions of gratitude to LCS for allowing him to sing in front of an audience – a treat he has been missing due to Covid.

Beginning with a classical love song in Spanish, his operatic tenor filled the lawn and the gazebo.  He wrapped up the concert with the 2001 Secret Garden song “You Raise Me Up” in English and was brought back for an encore, the Spanish “Ver A Mi”. Early in the concert he took off his jacket in a concession to the heat, revealing the muscular body that carried him through an Olympic-level soccer career before he turned to music.  The entire performance was livestreamed on the Facebook pages of both Semanario Laguna and Lake Chapala Society.

Enrique de Allende kicks off the Concert in the Park with a Spanish love song

Some audience embers interviewed by Laguna did not know who he was before LCS promoted the performance, but signed up for the concert because they, like Enrique, craved live music and looked forward to a  sunny afternoon with friends and drinks and food from Angelica’s.  Audience comments to Laguna afterward were along the lines of “a gorgeous voice from a gorgeous man singing songs we know and love – bring him back!”

Next week LCS is bringing back Kim Kuzma and her band, a frequent visitor to Ajijic. Voted Canada’s Best Independent Artist by fans at canadian-music.com and five-time West Coast Music Award nominee, winning ‘ Best Independent Recording’, Kuzma is an international singing sensation whose music and sassy stage conversations with audience members makes her performances at LCS a golden ticket sellout. Tickets will be limited to 100 seats for each performance, advanced purchase only. No tickets sold at the gate. VIP tickets (50 seats, features prime location with table): $500 MXN General Admission tickets (50  seats arranged in rows) are priced at $350 pesos. There will be 2 performances, 2pm and 4:30 pm.

The Concerts in the Park Series is not only a welcome diversion for Ajijic residents but, given the fall off in membership this year at LCS due to the pandemic and many members not being able to come to Ajijic from Canada, the income is important to LCS.

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Spencer Day and Effie Passero at LCS Concert in the Park.

Patrick O’Heffernan, Ajijic.  A full house – or lawn – greeted Spencer Day, Effie Passero and Zoe Wood as they made their way to the outdoor stage on the LCS lawn last weekend. They returned the love with favorites like the Beatles “Come Together”,  and the Mexican classic “La Llorna” plus a slew of applause-generating originals like “Movie of Your Life” And “My Prometheus”.

The packed chairs’ and tables were in response to the popularity and fame of the leads;  Spencer Day is a Billboard #1  modern jazz singer and songwriter best known for his hit jazz single «Till You Come to Me» as well as appearing on the CBS television network show Star Search . Effie Passero was an American Idol star. Originally trained in opera, she is well known in the US and Puerto Vallarta for her powerful vocals and joyful stage presence.  Zoe Wood is  an in-demand singer/guitarist/composer Puerto Vallarta music scene.

The musicians performed two shows, keeping their energy  up at a high level, receiving standing ovations at the end of each set, and staying after each show to chat with LCS members.  The concert was held on the grass and in the gazebo with all audience members socially distanced and masked (except when drinking and eating the snacks and dinners provided  by Chef Ray Domenech from Angelica’s Café at  LCS.

Strolling the grounds during both concerts was Luis Pacheco, new LCS Executive Director, beaming because he not only loved the music, but he loved to see the full VIP tables and  gazebo audience.  

“Yes, we are making money on the concerts: after expenses  and paying the artists we will raise funds  for LCS,” he told Laguna.  Given the fall off in membership this year at LCS due to the pandemic and many members not being able to come to Ajijic from Canada, the income is highly welcome, as is the music.

The series will continue  Saturday March 28 with Kim Kuzman band, a favorite of the Lakeside LCS community.  LCS will produce 2 performances, 2pm and 4:30 pm. Tickets will be limited to 100 seats for each performance, advanced purchase only. No tickets sold at the gate. VIP tickets (50 seats, features prime location with table): $500 MXN General Admission tickets (50  seats arranged in rows) are priced at $350 pesos.

Moonlight & Magnolias 2020.

Patrick O’Heffernan (Ajijic). – Little Lake Theater’s Ajijic Readers Theater (ART) will open the laugh-out-loud comedy Moonlight and Magnolia this weekend, in matinees Oct. 16, 17, and 18. 

Presented by special arrangement with Dramatist Play Services of New York, the play is inspired by actual events surrounding the behind-the-scenes story of Gone with the Wind as seen through the eyes of producer David O. Selznick, director Fleming and writer Ben Hecht.

The play, a live read by LLT actors, opens with the film’s producer five weeks into the shoot of Gone With Wind when he realizes that the script is awful and the director doesn’t have a clue. Over the next five frantic days the script is rewritten by a writer who has not read the book, resulting in some of the most hilarious situations in modern drama.

Tickets are available for all performances at 150 pesos at the box office.  Covid protocols including social distancing will be in place.

Photo: Archivo.

Redacción. – Each February, the Art Society of Ajijic offers an opportunity for local artists and craftspeople to let the public see and buy their work in a unique two-day event. Over the past eight years this event has grown beyond Ajijic and now includes surrounding towns. This weekend the Ajijic Society of the Arts’ 9th Annual Studio Art Walk will visit over 30 locations throughout Lakeside and art walkers will have the opportunity to meet close to 100 artists in mixed media, oils, acrylics, photography, sculpture, jewelry, handicrafts and more.

Some artists  in the Art Walk will be displaying their work in their own studios, while others will be hosted by other artists, art collectors in their homes, or business such as restaurants, with some locations featuring several artists. A full-color. 50-peso catalogue of the artists serves as the ticket to Art Walk.  The catalogue also includes a map of the Art Walk locations and photos of art on display. The Art Walk takes place Saturday, Feb. 22 and Sunday Feb 23 and runs from 10 am to 4 pm each day.

Funds raised will go to support the Lake Chapala Society’s (LCS) Children’s Art Program founded in 1954 by Neill James.  The Program has helped thousands of Mexican children explore their creative talents and has produced many well-known local artists and has helped position Ajijic as a center for art. The legacy of this program can be seen in the lives and paintings of its many famous graduates whose murals now adorn public buildings and beautify villages in the area.

ASA Art Walk Catalogues are available at the Lake Chapala Society, the Art Connection in Centro Laguna Mall, Superlake Market, Diane Pearl Colecciones, Ken Gosh Galleries and the LCS Café.