Up until recent years La Paz, a city of nearly 1 million inhabitants,

had a handful of small cinemas but nothing as modern as it deserved. Santa Cruz and Cochabamba both could boast quality multi screen complexes for some time and it seemed strange that the de facto capital had nothing of comparison. This all changed with the opening of the Mega Center in a neighborhood of Zona Sur called Irpavi. A huge building with 18 screens, a bowling alley, food court, shopping area, indoor football pitch, restaurants, banks and a hypermarket - La Paz now has the best complex in all of Bolivia

The Mega Center is owned by the same "Cinecenter" company that has locations in Santa Cruz and Cochabamba and shows the latest movies , often in English with subtitles or dubbed in Spanish, including 3D movies. Prices range from 25bs to 45 bs depending on the day / time and type of movie (3D  or normal). There is also a special VIP cinema with luxury seating and food/drinks service available.

The food court and restaurants  are a mixture of fast food offerings from well known Bolivian brands such as Elis Pizza, Dumbos, Wrap & Roll , China Town and others. Apart from the fast food stalls there are some restaurants for those who would like to eat in a more relaxed atmosphere including a large Japanese food restaurant above the main food court area that offers its menu on Ipads. There are a number of small kiosks that offers a variety of snacks and sweets.

Whilst you couldn’t call it a shopping mall there is a section close to the main entry that has a number of stores selling a variety of goods including sportswear, glasses, watches, shoes and clothing plus several banks, mobile phones companies and electronics. In a separate part of the building there is  Ketal Hypermarket selling all the usual supermarket foods including a number of imported European items albeit at inflated prices.

The mega center has proven to be a success with the residents of Zona Sur and is very busy at weekends bustling with families and it has become THE teenagers cool hangout.  Anyone visiting La Paz and who wants to catch a movie would be advised to make the journey to Mega center to see it in a quality cinema and to catch a glimpse of how the Zona Sur Paceños live.