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When the rich go to the movies

By Jeremy Schwartz | Monday, September 25, 2006, 03:48 PM

The gap between rich and poor in Mexico City appears in lots of ways, but one of the most jarring is at the local cinema. Moviegoers at the Cinepolis chain of theaters are presented with two choices.

There’s the regular ticket for about $4, which entitles you to stadium seating and a perfectly fine digital sound system.

But if you don’t want to sit with the unwashed masses, there is the VIP ticket, which gets you into the super premium room. It costs 100 pesos (roughly $10) to get in, which is the equivalent of nearly two day’s salary for Mexicans making minimum wage. Of course, minimum wage earners are not the target audience for the VIP experience.

So what does the VIP room get you? Well, first, there’s the reclinable, plush leather easy chairs that make you feel like you’re sitting in your living room. Then there’s the Alamo Drafthouse-like food and beverage service (if the Alamo Drafthouse were a fancy Japanese restaurant): Waiters scurry to take your order from a menu that includes a full sushi bar (the best we’ve tasted in this sushi-crazed city) and mixed drinks. The seats are assigned and there’s an exclusive lobby set away from the mayhem of the general entrance.

For some socially conscious Chilangos, as Mexico City’s denizens are called, the VIP ticket is a status symbol, a way to separate yourself from the pack. And judging by the crowd when we went last week, lots of teenage boys are ponying up the extra cash to impress their dates. Either way, it’s another reminder of the two parallel Mexico Cities.

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