She has just three months under her belt as the head of Jalisco’s Secretaría de Cultura, the pivotal state agency that controls the state’s orchestra, choir, some museums and venues such as the Degollado Theater, but already Myriam Vachez has earned a reputation as decisive, affable and, yes, cultured.

Nesly Mombrun, originally from Haiti but now with 17 years of high-profile experience in Guadalajara, seems to produce arresting observations about culture, along with his sunny smiles, without even trying.

Remember that priceless scene in the 1967 film classic “The Graduate” when a zealous businessman collars the naïve protagonist Benjamin Braddock to offer a “just one word” of career advice? “Plastics,” declares Mr. McGuire. “Exactly how do you mean?” Benjamin asks. “There’s a great future in plastics,” McGuire replies solemnly.

Political analysts have kept themselves busy assessing the achievements (or non-achievements) of Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval, as the 42-year-old who ended 18 years of conservative rule by the National Action Party (PAN) hit the 100-day mark of his administration June 1.

Rain, thunder and plenty of man-made commotion are hallmarks of the traditional festivities held from June 5 through 13 in San Antonio Tlayacapan in tribute to the town’s religious patron, Saint Anthony of Padua.

Some staff at the Centro de Estudios Teológicos de San Andrés (St. Andrew’s Center for Theological Studies) in the Guadalajara area say that mainline Protestant denominations could be poised on the brink of an increase of interest among Mexicans as alternatives to Roman Catholicism and a concomitant increase in the means to educate new clergy.