Singers and groups like Rosalia more recently they have been surprised by their fans with a Dr Simi plush in their presentations within Mexico or abroad.
For for some it is a symbol of the representation of Mexicans in different latitudes and for others it is nothing more than a scale doll of one of the best-known botargas in the country, The truth is that it is a trend that is gaining more and more strength in the concerts of different artists.
The last case was last weekend with Rosalía, who during his show on August 14 at the National Auditorium, fans threw several copies of this curious doll andwho after receiving them, did not hesitate to take a selfie.
Who is Dr. Simi and how did his character come about?
Dr. Simi is born as logo of a renowned chain of pharmacies with a presence in Mexico and Latam, which provides generic and similar medications at affordable prices andwhose motto is: “the same but cheaper.
Nevertheless, Being a doctor, the image of this, to promote their offers and discounts outside each branch, it was common to see a botarga with this iconic character and, later, would be turned into a doll.
The popularity of Dr. Simi has crossed the borders of the unimaginable of pharmacies, because now they usually launch it on stage. However, this was not always the case, since the origin of this character is attributed to Daniel Burgos, who designed it in pencil to be the image of the Similar Pharmacies.
According to the documentary “My life is joy”, created by the drug company, it was Burgos who convinced Víctor González Torres with this Dr. the founder of the renowned pharmacy chain.
This first sketch did not have the characteristics of the character we know today, however, Alfredo Pallares, former Image Director of Grupo por un País Mejor, considered it because it captured the essence of the company and served to replace the image with a balance that represented them in their beginnings.
What was sought was that the character of the Dr. Simi had a slight resemblance to the Mexican gold movie actor: Joaquín Pardavé and thus this emblematic mascot of Farmacias Similares was born.
Did you know that Dr. Simi’s stuffed animal (which was thrown at Rosalia and Lady Gaga) is filled with recycled PET ecological material, and they are part of a program that employs people with disabilities. They have several flirty versions, I want the firefighter 🥺 pic.twitter.com/NqC9jSnd7M
— The lady of the plants 🪴 (@UtopiaCode) August 16, 2022
Since when and why do they throw their doll at concerts and music festivals?
It is not known with certainty when this “tradition” originated, but Twitter users assure that it emerged during the 2021 edition of the Corona Capital festival, during the singer-songwriter Aurora’s show.
It was from there that countless Dr. Simi stuffed animals have been thrown at other artists such as Coldplay, Interpol, The Strokes, Maroon 5, The Killers, Gorillaz, Mac DeMarco, Chvrches and Rosalía in Mexico; while abroad has surprised Lady Gaga (and in fact, hit her in the face) during her presentation in Paris and My Chemical Romance in Budapest.
Dr. Simi is much more than an icon of Similar Pharmacies
In the documentary of the Group for a Better Country, it was revealed that Dr. Simi was part of massive advertising campaigns to gain popularity, an example is that he appeared in different newspapers of national circulation and even appeared in the newscast “Hechos de Peluche”.
He participated in the TV capsules of the TV Azteca program “Tempranito” and it is even recognized that he was the character of a comic series whose name was “The stories of Dr. Simi”, illustrated by Sixto Valencia, who also created “Memín Pinguín”.
Its image has gone beyond the borders of Similar Pharmacies, pues is also part of the Dr. Simi Foundation, which is dedicated “to helping those who have less in the areas of health, food, education and sports, began its assistance work in 1994, when it was born as a private assistance institution, like Best, IAP, in Cuernavaca Morelos”, can be read in its website.
But that is not all, since thanks to the foundation the houses of a neighborhood in Ecatepec, State of Mexico were painted through a project where the face of Dr. Simi was shaped and thus improve the view of this area. marginalized.