My Favourite Place in Asunción: This Special Little Cinema

This article is an entry for The Asunción Times’ writing competition 2024, by Anna Garcia. To help this article win, like and comment!

Throughout Paraguay there are fourteen movie theatres. Seven of which are in Asunción. Five of which have tickets prices less than 40 thousand guaranies. This information might serve you if you’re looking for a good place to have a first date in, or to spend time with a close relative whom you don’t have much in common to talk about, anyone who you want to share a good time with.

I know it serves me.

When choosing my favorite place in Asunción it was a hard choice. I have memories in the livid Palma street filled with posts that sell everything from necklaces to plant pots and deliciously greasy typical food, the windy openness of the coastline Costanera José Asunción Flores reminds me of each time I walked our dogs with my grandpa. So why of all places would I rely on this one small place nearly out of Asunción to write about.

To understand this decision better, I have to start from the beginning. My family – that is my mom, my dad (before they parted different ways) and my grandparents, whom I lived with for 18 years before I moved out this year. In those 18 years I’ve become very kept to myself, since I wasn’t allowed to leave the house often and we had limited economic resources.

This ties in with my small oddity of being prone to second guessing, from my interests to my decisions. Which grows into the awkward state of living in my head, consequently drawing me closer to any art form. The concept of creating something for anyone to see, to judge or to love always conflicted me as much as it enlightened me. For something to be crafted into a solid design, like a building or an essay or a song or a movie; it has to come from ideas inside someone’s head. Every piece available in whatever craft must be used to communicate or resonate to a part of the spectator something that words can’t explain. Which is why I’m attracted to the way movies transport anyone into their world through the lens of the characters’ journey.

The people I shared my enthusiasm for movies with along the years also influenced my decision to tell our stories making this place special. I’ve been going to that movie theatre since I can remember, not that I haven’t been to others, but in terms of price and quality, there’s only one option I will answer. Itau Hiperseis Supermarket’s own movie theatre.

Which I’m well aware sounds silly. Why would a movie theatre in a supermarket be my favorite place? What is it with this second floor smallest cinema, whose escalators (electric stairs?) are never repaired completely?

For starters, it’s never crowded. The time I went to see Stephen King’s remake of ‘IT’ in 2017 with my cousin had a total of four people in the auditorium, counting me and my cousin who screamed very loud at a jump scare, gaining us bad looks from those two around us. The hallways, the sofas and auditoriums are often empty during a Saturday afternoon which, for my fellow introverts out there, makes it better since you’re not stressed for not getting a seat.

Secondly, the auditorium is big enough to let you leave the room without bothering much, but the screens are sufficiently massive so you’re completely immersed. Recalling the time, I went to see ‘A quiet place’ in 2018 with some of my dearest friends who I don’t talk to anymore, we bought a big bowl of popcorn but couldn’t finished it since every time one of us tried to grab some, the noise would be heard very loudly because the movie’s plot was told mostly without sound.

This reminds me what’s also a highlight of this place, the quality in image and sound effects. This theatre is very well in touch with delivering the finest film to their audience. Like the night I went to see the ‘Avengers Infinity War’ premiere in 2019 with my mom, and made the mistake of seating front row. Our necks didn’t hurt after, and the screen effectively captured the movie’s imagery every scene.

It’s accessible for everyone, due its affordable price and liberty of seating. I’m incapable to count all the times I went with my dad to this place. It’s always been a go to location to enjoy a time without need of much talking without expending excessively for the weekend. I remember when we went to see ‘Star Wars IX’ with my dad and found a group of six of my classmates who shared the screening with us. Another example, this year we went to see ‘Deadpool 3’ with my dad, his girlfriend and her daughter and son, which was possible because of the coupons they offer at the supermarket, allowing us to spent less on the tickets, enjoying the experience with relief.

Another reason worth mentioning of why I love this place, the closeness it has to food chains restaurants. If the classic popcorn and refresh hasn’t filled the appetite by the moment the credits roll, there’s the vintage McDonald’s next to it. The first one I visited countless times with my dad, but one time in specific when we went to see ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ in 2022 with him and my boyfriend, he told us about the time he used to work there (a story I’m very much familiarised at that point), he worked a late night shift and some thieves pointed a gun at him and told him to handle the money. He obliged, naturally, and live to tell with a head scar of a gun slammed against him. A fun story to tell your daughter’s boyfriend, isn’t it?

To continue, the hardworking employees manage every social interaction with grace and kindness. The last movie I saw with my parents together, a very dear film to me, ‘Logan’ in 2017; which we come to find didn’t had any post-credit scene minutes after since an employee told the whole room it didn’t have one and in an educated manner that we had to leave.

These are a few of the stories this movie theatre has come to live with me ever since I can remember. There are many memories involving my relatives and friends throughout my life inside this theatre, and telling them all would take away the spotlight from the point I’m trying to make. Movies are a celebration of human creativity, this movie theatre captures the celebration and offers the opportunity for available human connection through its comfortable setting and quiet environment. It’s not about the movies, it’s about the people who I rather sit with after the credits roll and the place in which I feel most enthusiastic.