Dr. Simi's House

I have written a number of times about "Farmacias Similares", a chain of drugstores that sells generic drugs.  It is the largest pharmacy chain in Mexico and the second largest in the world with nearly 10,000 stores.  The mascot of the company is "Dr. Simi", a rotund, avuncular figure with a bushy gray mustache and a white lab coat.

The pharmacy chain was founded in 1997 by Victor González, and ten years later the stores began selling dolls representing the company's logo.  They are manufactured at a non-profit factory in Puebla which uses recycled materials and employs people with disabilities.  The dolls became an enormous hit, and it soon became a common practice to throw the dolls as gifts at performers on stage at concerts. "Dr. Simi" has expanded his wardrobe and is now available in a wide variety of costumes.

This year the house in Mexico City where founder Victor González grew up has been opened as a museum called "Simi Casa" (Simi House).  The small museum contains exhibits telling the story of Victor and his pharmacy.  It seemed to me something of a vanity project, but then I read that Victor, who is now 78, is retired, and his son is the CEO of the company.

The living room of the house is furnished as it was when Victor was growing up.  There are a lot of family portraits information about Victor's youth.

Another room tells the story of "Farmacias Similares".  I had not realized that the company has expanded beyond Mexico and now operates pharmacies in Colombia and Chile.

A portrait of Victor González and his alter ego "Dr. Simi"

The company's slogan is "Lo mismo pero más barato.¨

(The same but cheaper.)

However, the most entertaining part of the museum is a large hall called the "Simiverso".  There is a wall displaying all the different "Dr. Simi" dolls.

And there are larger than life size statues of "Dr. Simi" in various costumes.

"Dr. Simi, the mariachi"

Dressed in the traditional attire of the Huichol tribe

"Dr. Simi", the samurai

Dressed as an Aztec emperor

An astronaut

NASA is inverted to spell "SANA", the Spanish word for "healthy".

"Dr. Simi" the scuba diver

In the courtyard there is a shop selling all sorts of "Dr. Simi" merchandise.  I saw a new doll. This one is a woman doctor called "Doctora Lares".   SIMI...LARES