After I moved to the Lake Chapala area, I picked up my camera once more and made videos about the area and the people, who live here. The videos feature volunteers in all kinds of venues plus, artists, writers, musicians, photographers, actors in theaters, cultural and sporting events, fiestas, tianguis, the list goes on and on.
I produced three major videos about this area.
A Preview of the Lake Chapala Videos – 1min. Promo
This short assemblage of clips from all three videos will give you an idea of what you will see in the full-length videos.
Part 1- The Spirit of Lake Chapala – 70min
Expatriates moving here have one thing in common they give up familiar lifestyles and the security of homelands to retire in a foreign country. Here’s where Margarita and Roy begin their search for a new home. It features the North Shore of Lake Chapala, and the communities of Ajijic, Chapala and Jocotepec, where most foreign expats live. These folks are enjoying the culture, social activities and very affordable amenities of the Lake Chapala Lakeside.
Part 2 – In the Shadow of Mount Garcia – 68min
In this video, our adventurous couple continue their search for a new home on the south side of Lake Chapala, which is very different from the much busier north shore. Mostly, the south shore is agriculture and fishing villages, rural and very tranquil, with only a few foreigners living there.
Part 3 – Reformatting Retirement at Lake Chapala – 58min
This action-packed video features the stories of 30 retirees who are part of the expatriate community that has formed itself at Lake Chapala, Mexico. They show us how they are pursuing their dreams and finding satisfaction in retirement.
And, I also made several other videos to promote the …
Lake Chapala Society (LCS) and Children’s Art Program. (CAP)
Plus, orphanages, nonprofit projects and events.
1 – Ajijic Welcome Wagon – Lake Chapala Society Promo – 5.51min
I was asked to make a video to promote the Lake Chapala Society. An introduction to the services, volunteers and activities on the beautiful grounds of the society. It was made for showing on their website and was shown for quite a while.
2 – Her legacy lives on – LCS Children’s Art Program (CAP) – 5.35min
The Children’s Art Program was started in 1954 by Neill James as an outlet for their creative talents. See what the current program is doing these days. Since this program started it has turned out six generations, of local artists. This video features four of those artists currently doing their art and helping others. By giving local children a chance to become artists, Neill James lived her dream. Her legacy lives on through them.
3 – Fish Farming for the People – Aquaculture on the Lake – 4.06min
Todd Stong a retired American engineer comes to the Lake Chapala Lakeside every year to spend the winter. While he is here, he spends time doing projects that will help save the Lake. He also helps local small lakeside communities improve their water supply and sewage treatment by redesigning current deteriorating facilities or designing new ones. He also designs and supervise the construction of fishing piers and bridges and other projects as well This video is about a fish farm that he designed and built near the town of Mezcala.
4 – Villa infantile – Orphanage fundraiser – 7.02min
There are several orphanages around Lake Chapala being funded by locals and money raised on the internet. This is a short promo video about Villa Infantile on the south shore of the Lake, that I was asked to do to do help raise funds to improve the facilities.
5 – People helping People – LCS 60th anniversary – 14.37min
A couple of years after making my first LCS video I was asked to make-another one to show what LCS was like 60 years after it began in1956. It was also shown on their website as well.
6- The Legend of Michi – CAP. theatrical play – 32,53min
It’s a theatrical play about Queen Xochitl – Michi-Cihualli the legendary lady of Lake Chapala. Antonio Lopez Vega one of the legacy artist from CAP wrote, directed and acted in this play It was performed at the Lakeside Little Theater and features children in the current CAP acting in all the roles.
7 – The Backlash begins in Ajijic – A political protest – 25.38min
Many of the local expats were very concerned about the election of Donald Trump as the new president of the USA, so they staged a rally in downtown Ajijic to protest. I was asked to make a video for showing on the internet. It was quite lively and spontaneous. What a hoot!
Plus: Besides doing these videos and several more, I also videotaped a diverse range of speakers and performances at Open Circle a community gathering in Ajijic, on the Lake Chapala society campus. I did this for one hour, every Sunday morning for nine years. This amounted to 335 presentations. Here’s an example of one of them.
Roy Nolan’s Open Circle Presentation –
Roy Nolan “Living His Dream as a Filmmaker”- 49.32 min
This was a great way to meet people doing all kinds of interesting projects locally. Some were subsequently featured in my three major videos listed above. Many of these presentations can still be seen on the Open Circle website… https://opencircleajijic.org