There was a time when practically every corner in São Paulo had a movie rental store. With the advance of streaming, the habit of renting VHS tapes or DVDs has fallen out of favor, but it hasn’t been completely lost. After all, there are still places like Charada, the last remaining video store in the outskirts of São Paulo.
Despite the endless supply of content on digital platforms, Charada is still going strong in Sapopemba, in the East Zone of the capital. That’s why it’s become the ideal meeting point for movie buffs looking for a retro experience and to keep alive the tradition of video stores, which is increasingly scarce in São Paulo.
How has Locadora Charada survived the years?
In 1995, film buff Gilberto Petruche left his traditional job to open a video store in Sapopemba . In addition to making movies available, his aim was to offer culture to a peripheral neighborhood that, at the time, had almost no entertainment and leisure spaces.
The project was so successful that, in January 2000, Gilberto Petruche rented almost 900 tapes in a single day. With the advent of streaming, however, the movement has dropped considerably. Nowadays, for example, the video store lends out around 100 movies a month to a loyal clientele that remains in the city.
According to the owner, the amount raised from the movies is currently not enough to pay the store’s basic bills, such as water and electricity. Even so, Charada is still going strong. This is because, as well as having a historical collection of thousands of VHS and DVDs, the video store has become a cultural hub in Sapopemba.
How to visit?
Today, Charada is much more than just a movie rental store in São Paulo. The space has become a stage for concerts, exhibitions, stand-up performances, debates and workshops, as well as storing 15,000 VHS tapes and DVDs for rental.
The video store is located at Rua José Antônio Fontes, 62, in Sapopemba. The nearest station is Vila Tolstói, on Line 15-Silver, just 700 meters away. Keep an eye on Charada’s social networks to check out the cultural program and be sure to visit the last video store on the outskirts of São Paulo!
