This posting will focus on the murals along Colon from 16 de Septiembre to the muelle (pier) that juts out into Lake Chapala. Many of these murals display scenes of everyday life in Ajijic. Another major theme is Lake Chapala, which is so important to the people who live along its shores. The two photos that follow contain more of the mural's images.
This section of the Ajijic mural also contains images of expats who lived in the pueblo when it was painted. Along with some of their cats and dogs are the names of some of the organizations that sponsored the mural. These include the Lake Chapala Shrine Club and the Ajijic Book Club.
Pedro Loco and his white burro are prominently pictured on the right section. He was a local character who passed away several years ago. I was fortunate to meet him several years before he died. Pedro Loco ("Crazy Peter") had been a criminal lawyer in Canada. He gave all that up for a colorful but rustic life in Mexico. Pedro was a sight to behold as he and his burro slowly ambled down our cobblestone streets. He always wore huge sombreros adorned with feathers, flowers, and ribbons and often carried a large Mexican flag. One of Ajijic's classic oddball characters, Pedro was beloved by Mexicans and expats alike.
Scenes of daily life in the pueblo of Ajijic. This mural can be found on the wall of Ajijic Tango restaurant. The mural shows women selling baskets and clay pots while a man across the street reaches into his ice cream cart to produce a treat for a child. The church in the background is modeled on the Parroquia de San Andrés near Ajijic Plaza. The muralist is José Duran, an artist and jeweler who sells his work at a stand in the Artists' Alley which leads from Calle Castellanos to the Plaza. He painted several other Ajijic murals, including the one of a band of roosters playing mariachi music (Part 3).
An eerie group of faces decorates the wall next to a store entrance. It feels like a vision drifting through a nightmare. This mural can be found across the street from the one painted by José Duran. It is located just to the right of the stairs leading to the entrance of a store selling broad-brimmed hats and other clothing. I could find no artist's signature or date.
More murals are on the wall to the left of Ajijic Tango's entrance. Along the top are scenes of the birds found along the shore of the Lake. These include White Pelicans and Great White Egrets. The lower half of the wall contains a long sculptural mural of fish, manatees, and vegetation under the Lake's surface. The top half was painted by Javier Zaragoza in 2016. I am unclear about the creator of the sculptural mural, but it may have also been done by Zaragoza. A similar sculptural mural surrounds the base of the quiosco in the Ajijic Plaza. The next two photos show details from the top and bottom murals.
A Great White Egret stretches out its long neck as it looks for prey. These birds can often be sighted along the shore of Lake Chapala. They often fish alongside their cousins, the Snowy Egrets, who are smaller and shorter-necked. Great White Egrets (Ardea alba) are members of the heron family. They can be found in Asia, Africa, and Europe as well as the Americas. Great Whites stand up to 1m (3ft 3in) tall and weigh an average of 1000 gr (35oz). Their wingspan is 131-170 cm (52-67 inches). This enables them to glide along the shore as they hunt for small fish, reptiles, and amphibians.
A female manatee cradles her baby. Lake Chapala briefly had a small population of manatees. They were released into the Lake as a means to control the invasive lirio ("water hyacinth") that has long plagued Lake Chapala. It was thought that these herbivorous animals would quickly devour the lirio, but the experiment failed. According to the story, three manatees were released into the Lake, but one became entangled in a fishing net and drowned. Another was killed by a fisherman who feared he was being attacked. The third was shot to death. The lirio, on the other hand, has continued to survive and thrive.
The overall mural contains many more people. Just behind Pedro's sombrero are Jerry and Lori Brown, dear friends of ours. Jerry retired from running a small landscaping business in Hawaii. Now, he produces a Youtube series about their adventures entitled "Jerry Brown Travels". Lori is a sweetheart and a wonderful cook. She is always cheerful and upbeat, even though she is a Cambodian refugee who published a book entitled "Don't Lose Hope: My Escape From The Killing Fields Of Cambodia." A truly remarkable couple.
Mural showing La Capilla de Nuestra Señora del Rosario. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary is a local landmark that can be found on the northwest corner of the Ajijic Plaza. The current chapel dates back to the 18th century. However, an adobe-and-thatch chapel was constructed in the same location in 1531. Franciscan evangelists built it shortly after they arrived following the fall of the Aztec Empire. This painting appears on the wall of La Flor de la Laguna ("The Flower of the Lake"), which is located across Colon from the mural shown in the previous three photos. There is no artist's signature or date.
Manatees were thought to be mermaids when sailors first caught sight of them in earlier times. That is why the three known species of manatees fall within the order Sirenia. They are solitary animals, except when a mother is raising her young or when a male is pursuing a female. Manatees can grow quite large, with some attaining a length of 4m (13ft) and weighing as much as 590 kg (1,300 lbs). Despite their size, they are gentle beasts who graze on underwater plants and pose no threat to humans. In fact, the greatest threat to manatees are humans.
A huge mural covers the north end of a restaurant on the lakeshore pier. The title of the mural is "Gaucho y Catrina". The green-skinned gaucho (Argentine cowboy) moodily sips a drink through a straw. The rose-crowned catrina gives a toothy grin, but her intense stare is a bit unnerving. One of Lake Chapala's vivid sunsets forms the background. The artist, Kahuil Vega, moved to the Puerto Vallarta area after he completed this mural. Barrio de Quilmes (known locally as "Q"), on which the mural is painted, is an up-scale Argentine restaurant/bar that runs the length of the pier at the south end of Calle Colon.
This completes Part 6 of my Ajijic murals series. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question, please remember to include your email address so that I can respond in a timely fashion.
Hasta luego, Jim
