Ajijic — our home for a month

We have already shared pictures of our abode for this month.  As the month progresses, we are pleased with everything about it.  But now we’d like to share something about the community, past and present.

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the area was probably occupied by nomadic tribes, the Coca people who settled on the northern shore (that’s where Ajijic is).  “Ajijic” is probably an Indian place name derived from Nahuatl, the native language of the area.  In old Nahuatl, Ajijic means “place of water” or “place where water bubbles up.”  When the Spanish arrived, Don Andres Carlos and Fray Martin “founded” Ajijic in 1531 because it had a good source of water.  By 1833, the population was probably around 2000.

Some famous people have lived here, including many writers, some well-known, some lesser, and the place still has multiple writers who come, enjoy the weather, and write.  In the past, D.H. Lawrence was here where he wrote The Plumed Serpent and which apparently has some unflattering tidbits about the area.  Guessed I’ll have to read it.   In the late 1930s Somerset Maugham lived in Ajijic and finished his novel The Razor’s Edge.   And Tennessee Williams lived here in the 1940s and played poker every night at the Old Posada, apparently a real celebrity hangout in the 50s and 60s.  Some of the guests included Liz Taylor, Charles Bronson, James Coburn. But back to Williams — the poker nights inspired him to write a short story called “The Poker Game,” which eventually became A Streetcar Named Desire (from https://www.chapala.com/chapala/ojo2007/writers.html)

Not sure if anyone famous is living here now, but I would not be surprised.

One thing that creates some of the charm of the city is the fabulous murals which are everywhere.  They all have meaning, and unfortunately, we don’t know the intent of most of them, but here are a few of the murals you will see walking down the streets.

It’s probably not a surprise that almost every street has a mural because Ajijic is known as the “arts” town for the Lake Chapala area.  Many, many streets are filled with art shops, both owned by gringos and indigenous artisans, with every kind of art imaginable.  No kitsch shops, so if you want to buy trinket souvenirs or a postcard, this is not the place.  No tee-shirts either, except for this shop:

All kinds of art classes are available also, and one day when we were having a cocktail in one of our favorite outdoor patios, we saw a group of about 8 gringoes who were painting various scenes from around the plaza.  Here are three of the painters intently working on their products:

It’s also a very clean city with trash picked up every morning, and it must be hung high on a fence or something so that the dogs don’t get into it.

Speaking of dogs, there are a few.  We have a couple in our neighborhood which do their share of barking :-(.

Speaking of things we dislike — some of the streets (both roads and sidewalks) are cobblestones, and they are very difficult to walk on.  To attest — I, who can’t remember ever falling before — fell the other night walking home in the dark.  You really must look down ALL THE TIME.  And in the words of the owner of our AirBnB, “Don’t even think about wearing flip flops.”  Happily, though, the city is working on redoing the sidewalks, and the downtown plaza area and surrounding shopping streets have all been redone.  Whew.  Here are some of the pretty, pretty streets:

The music scene is also vibrant.  A couple of the dominant locations are Perry’s Pizza (happily right next door to us) and La Bodega where several nights a week you can find local retired musicians rocking the night away.  They have sign-up sheets too, so singers (and other musicians) can join the main group for two songs: jazz singers,  blues singers, rock musicians, you name it, they are here, and many of them were professional musicians in the US (or wherever) so they are good!  Here are a few pictures from some of the music nights:

There are also places that sponsor trivia.  We went to a couple of trivia nights at the Cocktail Bar.  Great fun.  Smart people.  Good questions.  Teams of 6.  No cheating.  

And, you never know what you will see when you walk around the next corner: