Tag Archives: entertainment

Lake Chapala Promenade, Jalisco, MX

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At sunset, a boat returns to the pier with its passengers.

 

Lake Chapalpa is the largest freshwater lake in Mexico and the village of Chapala has been a  popular weekend and holiday destination for both Guadalajara residents  and international tourist since the 1920’s. The lakefront promenade or malecon has 2 scenic piers, boat rides, restaurants, hotels, playgrounds, skateboard park, mariachi’s, retail vendors and yacht club. One of  the malecon’s landmarks, seen below,  is the old Victorian style mansion built in 1906. It is now a restaurant called Cazadores but was  formerly  owned by the Braniff family of airline fame and fortune, In addition to tourist, ,many local people come to the malecon on a regular basis for picnic’s, see the sunsets or watch the birds who migrate here in the fall.

 

Cazadores Restaurant, formerly the Braniff family home
Birds start migrating to the shores of Lake Chapala in the falll
The main pier and lighthouse
An old boat is used as a planter in the garden on the malcon.
The Lake Chapala Inn on the malecon
There is a skateboard park on the malecon
On Sunday’s many families bring the kids to the playground on the malecon
Here’s a few of the restaurants at the east end of the malecon along with some strolling musicians
another pier is found at the east end of the malecon
Here’s the ever present Mariachi’s entertaining some visitors
The malecon is also the location for annual events such as Day of the Dead and Carnival

A Spring Festival, San Cristobal, Mexico

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San Cristobal is at an altitude of 2300 meters and is surrounded by peaks, pines and oak trees

San Cristobal is at an altitude of 2300 meters and is surrounded by peaks, pines and oak trees

This annual week long celebration of spring  involves quite a variety of events and runs concurrent with the Semana Santa holiday in Mexico. There seems to be something for everyone including art exhibits, sports,  concerts, parades, cultural events, rodeo’s,  bull fights, fireworks and more. Best of all,  most events are free of charge and in San Cristobal de las Casas the weather is spring like almost year around. For more information and a few photos of event activities, see the gallery below.

local people who have no store of their own set up shop behind the main plaza to sell hand made textiles and crafts
past and present festival beauty queens at the El Gato blues concert
El Gato Blues Band rockin’ La Ensenanza Casa de la Cuidad, they were smokin’
A sidewalk art contest in the main plaza
Folk dancing on stage in the main plaza
Flora, a local artist from Korea sells her unique style of artwork on Calle Hildago, one of the pedestrian only streets in Centro during the festival
At the anniversary celebration of El Jardin de Epifitas, there was a plant contest.
Another exotic plant in the epifitas garden plant contest
a flower decorated frame was set up at all four corners around the main plaza
a marimba orchestra performing on one of two stages set up in the main plaza
a fashion show on the main stage in centro
another model wearing one of the latest spring fashion designs in Chiapas
One of the 2 day events was a National motocross competition
The winner flies over the checkered flag
Almost every event in Mexico will have a Mariachi Band as did the spring festival
There were state soccer tournaments at this field, as well as, basketball and baseball tournaments at other locations in the cities large sports park
Here is a handicapped musician who learned to master the marimba with his feet, performing on the main stage in centro
Here’s a 4 piece jazz band performing at the Casa de la Cuidad with a cover of Dave Brubecks “Take Five”
A trational orchestra on the main stage closing out the festival on the 27th of April

 

Playa del Carmen, La Quinta Street Highlights #2

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Mexican Cuisine, no doors, no walls and no windows. The traditional style of building on La Quinta.

Restaurant/Bar with Mexican Cuisine, notice the absence of doors, walls and windows. This traditional style of building is the norm
on La Quinta Ave.,

The pedestrian promenade of La Qunita or Fifth Avenue attracts an international mix of travelers and is the place to see and be seen while in Playa. A party  atmosphere,  created by the nightclubs, bars and restaurants on La Qunita;  keeps  the grown up good time crowd around until the wee hours of the morning. On another level, La Qunita attracts people for it’s down to earth lifestyles and egalitarian spirit characterized  by the very casual style of dress seen everywhere, the variety of businesses that offer both low end and high end merchandise or services and the friendly attitudes of most people around town. The photo gallery of this edition and the prior edition illustrates what has made La Qunita Ave one of Playa’s main attractions.

One of several starbuck’s in Playa, looks like if you drink to much coffee the police will give you a ticket for being under the influence of caffeine.
If it has doors and windows you cannot negotiate prices
Be careful of what you put in these pipes
CD’s and miscellaneous items for sale
leather, bags, mask and miscellaneous items for sale, has no doors so the prices are negotiable
specializes in mexican cusine, has no doors, walls or windows
This plaza currently marks the north end of La Quinta, It offers restaurants, cafes, music and bars
At the north end of La Quinta across from Plaza Luna
Right in front of Plaza Luna. Makes fresh juices for your health
A pavilion hotel lobby with bar and front desk around 34th street and la quinta
Offers speciality merchandise, cuban cigars, a restaurant with cuban food and music
100 percent natural fruit juices freshly squeezed
japanese cuisine and sushi
hats, bags, souvenir’s and local color
The south end of La Qunita during semana santa week (easter)
This is the steepest hill to climb on La Qunita

Playa del Carmen Highlights, La Qunita Street

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a bar and grill with sports betting decorated for saint patrick's day

A bar and grill with sports betting on La Quinta as well as St. Patricks Day decorations.

La Qunita or Fifth Avenue is the entertainment and shopping center of Playa del Carmen. It   is a pedestrian only street parallel to the beach and is somewhat like a boardwalk except that the beach is a block away. What is unique about this street is that the majority of restaurants, cafes, nightclubs and even retailers feature an open air or sidewalk atmosphere. At this time, La Quinta is over 30 blocks in length and still expanding, so you need good walking shoes if you plan to see it all in one night. Here you  will find a huge variety of restaurants, nightclubs, cafes, local bars, specialty retailers, services, hotels, hostels, kiosk’s and art galleries to visit on this strip. While some of the vendors on this street have a reputation for being very aggressive, keep in mind that these are mostly small business owned shops not corporations with advertising dollars to spend. That said, the photo gallery below is just a small sample of what you can expect to find on La Quinta Avenue.

One of several galleries on La Qunita with original art work
Karen’s found on La Quinta specializes in steak and seafood, there is also live entertainment’ here during the afternoon’s and evening’s.
Hand make textiles from the state of Chipas on La Quinta
Tattoo’s and Body piercing art on La Quinta
a pizza stand with slices or whole pies
at the intersection of la quinta and calle corazon
Tequila for sale along with a history lesson
a popular open air restaurant with natural organic foods
One of several alley’s found along la quinta ave. this one is home to the popular casa mediterrain restaurant a several boutique retail shops
This vine covered hotel is one of the first on La Quinta and is also one of the most affordable
The original Katrina image was created in 1910 by artist Jose Posada to symbolize the death of indigenous mexican culture but today the original meaning has been obscured and Catrina is now associated with the day of the dead rituals.
a custom design clothing shop
Enjoy italian ice cream on La Quinta
open air bar on La Quinta
There are several shops that feature Ceramic art work and talavera pottery on La Quinta
Specializing in soccer jersey’s, hats and masks

Mexico hosts LatAms largest balloon festival

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a floating house balloon

Mexico hosts Latin Americans largest balloon festival and  it is located in the city of Leon where the skies are filled with several hundred balloons over a three day period. This is an annual event which is held around the 3rd week of November. In addition to the colorful balloons; the event is packed with exhibitions, presentations, and live music concerts.