Film: Entertainment for the Masses

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Every peso counts these days, so it’s good to find cheap fun. In Mexico City, a Friday night at the movies—popcorn not included—costs about $3, just slightly below the country’s $3.40 average daily wage. Enter Ariel Zylbersztejn, 28-year-old founder of CinePOP, an initiative that brings popular cinema to Mexico’s underprivileged—free of charge. At least twice a week, enormous, inflatable screens are installed in the central plazas of Mexico’s poorest communities to show current movies. Showings attract up to 10,000 people. Sponsors such as Coca Cola, Banco Azteca and Elektra market their products. Some even provide movie-goers with information on loans and health care.

Now, going to the movies is not just for those with deep pockets.