The Rubio Montiel Cinema in El Burgo de Osma survives the passing of time and the public in the area remains faithful to this audiovisual format “because for many it still has its charm.” The Otín Gonzalo family – Jesús and Dori, the parents, and Víctor and Marta, the children – have managed it for more than 50 years. It is they who offer El Día de Soria the keys to this traditional business, which was launched by Bishop Saturnino Rubio Montiel as a parochial cinema, hence the name that was decided to change around a year ago to replace Palafox. Shortly after, the family took over to give it continuity to the present day.
In all this time there have been several changes in the facilities, acknowledges Marta Otín, who highlights the passage from 35 millimeters to digital, from traditional sound to Dolby 7.1, from film reel to the cloud and from paper tickets to numbered ones. In other words, the digital system has replaced the manual. But there are still some historical pieces and elements, such as the old coal projection machine and black and white posters of classics, he explains.
403 seats. The cinema, which has undergone several renovations over the years, has 403 seats downstairs and 238 upstairs (currently unused due to the pandemic). “Although there are no capacity limitations, we try to leave a free space between two attendees,” says Marta Otín.
Regarding profitability, they assure that now with COVID-19 they hope to “be able to overcome” after the worst moments and the different waves because they have noticed, like many other businesses, the closures and capacity limitations. The family has invested “a lot” in the renovations, although they cannot pin down the figure. They do influence that being able to maintain the El Burgo cinema is their objective. The platforms are affecting, “but going to the movies has its charm. That can not change.” In addition, they have a store that sells popcorn and sweets.
Every week people not only from the Burgos village attend, but also from the surrounding towns. “They also usually come from the villages, especially in the summer months when there are more people in them, and also on the bridges during winter and Christmas, when there are children’s proposals,” says the head of the cinema. Marta Otín, as a movie buff, explains that she likes “a bit of everything, from classics to science fiction” and directors like Steven Spielberg.
The cinema projects from Friday to Monday, with one or two sessions a day, depending. “We have been working with almost all distributors for a long time, so we have no problems in obtaining the news we request. We try to bring the best, national premieres, children’s films and also support Spanish cinema. A little bit of everything to encourage people to come to the cinema, so that they don’t miss out on that tradition ».
Víctor Otín adds that “they study the proposals and choose.” This week the last duel is on the billboard and this month Maixabel and Parallel Mothers have already been seen. Both brothers remember when they were little and they helped their parents there, especially to cut the entrances. Víctor also points out that the seats have been renovated three times. “We put new ones in the lower part and the ones that were there we put in the upper part.”
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