This video profiles a “drogaria,” probably similar to the general store of the old days in the U.S. This sort of store sells almost everything apart from food. They have been gradually replaced by supermarkets and in big cities there aren’t many left. I cannot remember the last time I have used one. You find mostly older people using those shops. Transactions take a bit longer than in a regular supermarket but there is also much more interaction between the clients and the employees.
In my view these shops serve a bigger purpose than just selling stuff. They promote the interaction between neighbors and help build a sense of community. Employees or owners know the neighborhood well and they are also aware whenever something unusual happens in it.
In the Death and Life of Great American cities, a greatly influential book on the subject of urban planning, Jane Jacobs refers repeatedly to the importance of this sort of small neighborhood shops in creating healthy communities.
With this clip I wanted to show first and foremost how enjoyable these places can be and how caring and patient the employees are with the clients. Human interactions feel very real and much healthier than in regular supermarkets where clients and employees treat each other as robots.