Mainecoons

As a long term visitor to the Feria, a collector of Mexican folk art and provider of volunteer housing to artisans, I'll share several observations. First, the Feria was organized and based on a strong belief in the preservation of Mexican folk art. It is non-profit and almost entirely run and worked by volunteers from the Lakeside area. All money collected at the gate goes to pay expenses related to the venue plus the sponsorship of the artisans. By charging an entrance fee every visitors helps support the event and the artisans. Remember there are a lot more lookers than buyers. It is a big show and there are limited places to hold it. For a time it was held in Ajijic but the space was just too limiting. It has become a bit crowded at the Yacht club in Chapaa but is still manageable. That site has the needed support facilities and access to parking needed for a show of this size. That is why the Feria is there even though it is true most of the volunteers and hosting are from in and around Ajijic. From the beginning the goal was to find the finest artisans with primary focus on the more rural located and make it possible for them to find a wider following and earn sufficiently to remain in their arts. The most important aspect was to enable them to attend and earn expense free. It has succeeded brilliantly at this, for many of the artisans this is their major annual earning opportunity. So many of them are from isolated areas where their opportunity for exposure and significant sales is limited. For them, this show is the difference between continuing in their art versus not. The show picks up their expense for coming and their housing and meals while here. The latter is provided by the host families. We've found hosting to be one of the most rewarding things we have done in Mexico. Unlike some other places, it is possible to be at the top of your art game in Mexico and still barely make a living. The goal of the Feria is to spot the really good artisans, bring them here and help them continue and grow via access to many more and more affluent buyers and general exposure. The show is strongly attended by gallery owners from the U.S. and Canada who can buy at these prices and still make a nice profit back north. It is a win win for both artisans and galleries, neither of whom would likely meet otherwise. As for pricing, this is strictly up to the artisans. I will say having traveled a fair amount around Mexico and always looking for quality authentic Mexican folk art, for the most part the pricing is pretty good. Of course they price for the audience but still IMO far below gallery prices, even locally. Our particular family of Alibrije artisans price the same here as in Oaxaca. If you could even find their level of quality here or in GDL you would be paying considerably more. For us, the Feria is one of the high points of Lakeside living. We missed it this year but have promised ourselves never again. Our house sitter friend is doing the hosting this year and she is absolutely delighted with it. Speaking personally, I can't recommend attending and/or hosting more highly. Both are a wonderful experience and an opportunity to see a variety of high quality folk art right at home. To do so otherwise would require a tremendous amount of traveling.

Driving tip #1: Only The Paranoid Survive!

Rotten eggs. And aim some at city hall while you are at it.

Very good suggestion. See jrod's post for the link. Do it in Spanish. As a resident of the neglected "Pueblo Trashico" of Ajijic I am sad to see this government is even worse than the last one. What next from them? A NASCAR track?

How many miles on it again? How is the ground clearance and getting over topes?

Are they including airport fees in that number, maybe?

I like celery stick with peanut butter!

Next to the Simapa office?

Several observations about all this. First I would assume they are including the bike lane project as part of the badly needed repair of Hildalgo, which I believe is a state project. One would hope they would be more informative about what is planned but this often doesn't happen here. I suspect it was a bit of an afterthought to the planned repair of the road which has been in the works for a while. The new governor is placing a high priority on the badly deteriorated roads of Jalisco and this is part of that. As to the still incomplete bike path in Ajijic and its fate, the outgoing politicians like to last minute stuff like this as a parting opportunity to line their pockets. It was run through at the end of the last administration. There appears there was no thought given to maintenance and the new administration seems as usual far more concerned with doing stuff in Chapala than even the last one. Ajijic was and remains the largely neglected cash cow for Chapala. Nothing has changed there. In general I've notice there isn't much of a maintenance ethic in this culture. Even when it is built well, more the exception than the rule, the philosophy seems to build it, use it until it needs a major overhaul, rebuild and repeat. To keep the bike path open would require some serious attention from the transitos. You would think the new government would notice what a great little source of revenue this could be but apparently not. Perhaps they are too busy dealing with the double parking on Madero in Chapala. As for La Floresta, to my knowledge only the north side of the carretera is the designated bike path so of course the bicyclists would be riding against traffic. The bike path is on the north side of the road practically the entire distance from Jocotepec.

Yeah I love good pizza too. The secret is moderation in all things lovable but not so healthy.

Boy if you have time it would be great fun to spend a few days in Mazatlan. Not too hot now. From there, a day's drive to here.

My opinion is the strategy is wrong. All this focus on a few top guys who are easily and quickly replaced while the street level thugs operate virtually unchallenged. Some years back NYC made a dramatic reduction in crime by focusing at the street level. Because the troops are operating unhindered the cartels are branching out into everything from stealing gasoline to extortion to highway robbery and even deforestation and hijacking avocados. It is really foolish to believe drug legalization will put these people out of business. They are already diversifying. Mexico needs to understand it is in a war with crime and the criminals are winning. When you are in a war, you don't focus exclusively on trying to get the other guy's generals, you focus on killing and capturing his troops and material on the ground. A general whose troops have been shot or jailed en mass (I like the concept of stockades out in the northern deserts far away from everyone) isn't going to win a lot of wars. I also feel, though I personally like and respect the man, AMLO is the wrong person for these times. The country needs a real butt kicker, not a nice guy. This just isn't working. It is clear the security situation is deteriorating. Those of you with subscriptions to the GDL Reporter check out the letter to the editor there this week. The impunity of the common thieves is growing by leaps and bounds. Just my $0.02 after 12 years of living here.

Quite like the burgers at Bruno's and Cocinart. Liked the one at Food Lake Container but the flies are just too much there. Haven't been back because of that.

I used Carlos for a very long time but had continued problems not with him but with his employees who just didn't seem to know how to keep the chemicals in balance plus they broke my tools and use my chemicals when they were supposed to bring their own. And sometimes they didn't show up at all. When Carlos was doing my service personally he was great. Never would have changed as long as he was doing the service. Had a lot of problems, repeated "green" attacks requiring floccing and losing a lot of water repeatedly, not good since I use fully treated and softened water in my pool. Have had a new guy for 6 months with zero problems even during the rains which often would trigger problems. I think the world of Carlos personally but he couldn't handle the pool personally so I very reluctantly made the change. I don't think my guy would go to Chapala Haciendas but I'll check.

We registered at our legal Texas address in Livingston, TX.