It's fascinating how
distance creates an appreciation for things we tend to take for
granted. Not just the big things, even more so those daily details
we're barely aware of until they're not there anymore. Oh, daily life
in a Guatemalan neighbourhood... The early morning crack of the whip
announcing the herd of goats with their fresher than fresh milk. The
scarp collector (“Chatarraaaaaaaa!!!!!”), the fish seller
(fresh filet and shrimps every Friday), the cutler's pan flute (also
to be heard where I live in Spain!) and the cobbler's weekly visit to
the neighbourhood. The Sunday morning rush of people in their best
clothes hurrying off to church and the peace and quiet in as soon as
mass starts. Small gems of life that I have come to treasure.
Of course there's plenty I
don't miss at all. Fireworks about 300 days out of the year? No
thanks, not for me. The colourful chicken busses? Love them. But
their driving is breaknecking and the exhaustion fumes are brutal.
The weather (“Eternal Spring”) is pretty damn perfect, but I
could do without the regular earth tremors. Not to mention the
garbage you see just everywhere, which is.... No, don't get me
started!
Now that I'm travelling
back to Antigua next week, something I am
looking forward to, is a visit to the local supermarket La Bodegona.
I happen to seriously dislike supermarkets in general, but La
Bodegona is different. It is not just a supermarket, it's an
experience. Granted,
you better make sure you you have time on your hands to fully
appreciate that experience. If you're in for a quick purchase, you're
at the wrong address.
Me and
La Bodegona, we're going way back, from the late nineties when I used
to travel from Copán Ruinas (Honduras) to Antigua to renew my visa
(way before the whole C4 thing). A visit to La Bodegona was always on
the agenda. Compared to Copán, Antigua was the First World and a
real supermarket close to heaven on earth.
Now,
Supermarket Store Layout Design, Brand Marketing and Retail
Strategies are acknowledged scientific approaches, seriously applied
in most supermarkets, even in Central America. But not in La
Bodegona.
Starting
with the layout of the store, it consists of two big halls between
two streets, connected by a smaller hall, for lack of a better
description. Two entrances/exits with cash-registers and merchandise
in between. And that's where all comparisons with regular
supermarkets end. It's more like visiting Harry Potter's school of
magic with its whimsical displays, disappearing isles and unexpected
combination of goods than what you'd expect from a store. The isles
are narrow (while many Guatemalans tend to be WIDE) and the
psychology behind the sorting and stacking of goods is completely
baffling. By brand? No, not the case. By type of food? Well, sort of,
but not completely. There is sort of a dairy section, but then
there's this another fridge in the meat section that contains dairy
too. And a few veggies. And fresh parsley.
One
week the eggs are next to the candles. And then they aren't. The
brand of oatmeal you have been using for years, every day?
Miraculously gone never to reappear again.
Is
stuff stocked by supplier maybe, according to a plan only known to
the initiated? Maybe. I should ask, there are ALWAYS plenty of
suppliers' stock clerks around. They tend to know where their own
product is located only, so maybe that is the secret after all. In
the mean time, if you need something, look for an employee with the
Bodegona logo on their ever changing outfits (more about that later
on), whom are numerous and omnipresent but as absent as a tuc-tuc
when you need one. If you happen to find one, they're usually very
friendly and helpful, although sometimes with that bored look of
having to -yet again- answer a really stupid question. Dried plums?
In the meat section, duh...
Branding
strategy exists in having people standing all over the store (but
preferably in the connecting hall, where space is scarcest and the
crowds the biggest. Mostly on Saturday afternoons, of course)
offering clients little bites or swigs of whatever. Guacamole from a
bag, wine, all kinds of very pink cold cuts... The promoters are
pretty feisty and don't take no for an answer easily. Worst is when
people right in front of you decide to sample everything and you're
stuck between sanitary pads, carrots and the nuts display. But this
can be prevented if your agenda allows it. A friends of mine does her
shopping early Sunday mornings (as early as 7am!) and that way she
avoids crowds as well as promoters and store clerks. It's an idea...
A
rather unique and much more sympathetic way to promote business is
the way La Bodegona dresses up for each and every special event. And
big time too! Not just a few Christmas streamers and a jingle here
and there for the season, but bigger than life decorations and even
“real” snow! Not just for Christmas either, think Valentine's
Day, Mother's Day, Easter, Summer, Father's Day... Huge displays,
some a storey high, hang from the ceiling. Hearts! Fish! Neck ties!
Suns! It might be me, but they seem to get bigger every year. And
decoration is not limited to the store itself! The employees dress up
in lederhosen in October (because of the German Oktoberfest) and
Hawaiian shirts during Guatemalan summer. Superheroes, polar bears,
Santa, sexy elves, all can be found in La Bodegona in due time...
But
maybe best of all are the”atados”, the special offers,
tied together with meters of tape. Not because of the free stuff you
get, but the most wonderful and mystifying combinations. A bottle of
whiskey with a plastic spoon. Toilet paper with a cup. I wonder if
there's a full time employee at the Bodegona coming up with this
stuff. I'm not the only one fascinated either, there's a group on
Facebook called “Shit Taped Together at the Bodegona”. Check it
out!
So
yes, soon I'll free up some time in my schedule and venture into the
store for a much missed fix of The Bodegona Experience.
