If you drive east through Ajijic you will encounter the intersection with the Libramiento, the road that goes to the highway to Guadalajara. Along the Libramiento are a number of gated developments. Turn into the one on the directions you have been sent, follow the road through the condos and homes, turn left at a huge old tree, get off the paved road onto a dirt and rock trail, follow the tire tracks and you will end at a recording studio.
But not just any recording studio. It boasts 20-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass walls with a 300-degree view of Lake Chapala – Mexico’s largest – and a beautifully sound-deadened room with the Lake view, guitars, and a mandolin on the walls, a grand piano, and all the equipment for top-notch recording.
And even though it is a far cry from the equipment-packed, windowless studios I am used to in LA, it is not only the perfect environment to record music in, but also for small live concerts.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to a unique live concert there last week with guitarist Paulina Orozco playing exquisite classical guitar in front of those floor-to-ceiling windows with the Lake glowing behind her.
The concert was more like a small, private recital and it was full of people like me who really, really appreciate classical guitar (and who could find the studio). Our reward was a lovely evening of beautiful music and a view of Lake Chapala at sundown.
Orozco is a Music Professor at the University of Guadalajara, one of the most prestigious music schools in Mexico. She holds a PhD. in music and a Master’s in Education and Expression for the Arts and has toured in Latin America. It shows. Her music is technically perfect and emotionally devastating. When she closed her eyes and her fingers danced across the frets and the sound hole of her guitar, the room held its breath.
Orozco played selections from her new album Belleza Musical en Seis Cuerdas (Musical Beauty in Six Strings). The album is currently only available on CD, but her other songs are on Spotify. Here are two videos of how Paulina Orozco puts you in heaven with her guitar.
Patrick O’Heffernan
