SP GLBT Pride - the best places to dance

São Paulo´s LGBT Pride - the best parties and discos to dance

Avenida Paulista, where every year, at june, the São Paulo gay pride is celebrated

As the São Paulo´s gay pride celebration aproaches, I´ve been searching for the best parties, as many friends have asked about it.

So, let´s post about it!

First of all, GLBT people comming from around the world will meet at sunday´s june 18th at Avenida Paulista for the biggest gay pride of the world!

The Museum of Art of São Paulo - MASP, meeting point for the Gay Pride Parade

The Week, the most famous brazillian gay disco and gay parties promoters, is promoting itis traditional Eterna Festival, which hosts lots of parties beggining this weekend until sunday 18th.

Tickets can be bought at www.theweek.com.br and www.ticket360.com.br   

    

If you are already at SP, those sites list places where tickets can be bought personally, generally with cash.    

Eterna Festival is composed by the parties Safado at Unique hotel, Marathon, Girassol and Circuit at The Week.

Searching today, SAFADO party at Unique hotel seems to be sold out at the internet.              

Ticket 360 says to call during weekdays. 

                        

On saturday, The Week is promoting Girassol, a pool party which begins 5pm saturday and Circuit, 23h30pm at TW place (Rua Guaicurus, 324 - Lapa, São Paulo - SP).

Girassol is yet 40 reais and Circuit is 50 reais (today´s prices). 

                        

The Dutch mega-party Milk Shake will be held in SP for its first time, and tickets are available starting from 170 reais plus 17 reais convenience fee. It begins friday 6pm until saturday morning. The proposal is a mega-party with brazillian and international music, open to all tribes, not just LGBT. It will be held at Francisco Matarazzo Avenue, at Barra Funda neighbourhood (rechable through the red line subway, Barra Funda station, taxis, uber etc).                        

   

As long as tickets are sold, prices get higher, so better hurry up. 

Another option is to go to regular clubs, off the festivals.                 

                  

For those who don´t want to spend that much with festivals, or simply prefer a regular kind-of-disco, some options are very good, but for sure there will be huge entrance lines.

Eventually dresscode is demanded, but here in Brazil hosts cannot reject people from getting inside a club without an objective reason such as dresscode. So, if you fit, and if you pay, for sure you´re gonna get in, no matter how long it takes. 

For gay man, Lions Club on friday´s is a very good option. Saturdays hosts more mixed-people events. Located at the the old city centre, it has a big terrace with a lovely view of the Metropolitan Cathedral´s dome.

                          

Yacht is more for pop music and diva lovers. Located at Bexiga, one of the oldest italian neighbourhoods, it has a beautifull light system, and handsome barmen dressing as sailors. 

                  

And Bubu, at Rua dos Pinheiros, 791 - Pinheiros, São Paulo -, is granted fun for singles. Fridays are the gay men nights, and saturdays, the lesbian nights - just look at the prices to see the night you will suit the better. Thursday 15 there will be a special lesbian night.

PanAm, at the rooftop of Macksoud Plaza hotel is also a very nice disco-bar, with an astonishing view of the city.     

São Paulo skyline, view from PanAm Club

If you survive all these parties, get ready for the Parada on sunday, starting by 11 am at the MASP (MASP-Trianon subway station at the green line 2).                    

São Paulo skyline, view from PanAm Club

Praia do Porto da Barra

Praia do Porto da Barra The best beaches of Bahia State are not in Salvador, but it doesn´t mean you can´t have a deserved sea bath after some hours strolling through the city. In this case, take the chance if you are in Barra neighbourhood, or if you are visiting the three fortress, to stop by Porto da Barra beach.  Boys diving at Porto da Barra beach, in Salvador. It seems one of the favorite sports practised by young people at this coastal city of Brazil As it lays inside the All Saint´s Bay, its waters are calm enough for stand up paddle practitioners, kayaking, diving into the sea from the remnants of a stone pier of the stronghold, and other sports.....or simply laying at the beach drinking a beer or a caipirinha.  Some tents rent chairs and beach umbrellas, and sell the drinks you need, so you don´t have to carry anything with you, unless beachwear, to enjoy the sunset by the Porto da Barra beach.

Cannons at the Santa Maria Fortress, with the Porto da Barra beach, to the left, and Forte São Diogo, atop. The Porto da Barra beach is the most visited by the LGBT community, where, by night, some bars welcomes gay-friendly visitors.

Forte São Diogo

Forte São Diogo

Forte São Diogo, at Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

The Forte São Diogo, is the third fortress on the entrance of All Saint´s Bay, just some meters from Forte Santa Maria. 

The two strongholds are separated by the Porto da Barra beach (see next post). 

The fortress is still kept by the Brazillian Army, and has a nice view from atop, for those willing to climb it. 

Built between 1626 and 1635, after the dutch invasion of Salvador (1624-1625), it granted the defense of Salvador in 1638, when a new atempt of foreign invasion was expelled. 

Also, a permanent art exposition of the argentinian artist Hector Julio Paride Bernabó, also known as Carybé, is held inside the fortification and can be visited under payment of 20 reais (about 6 US dollars). 

Carybé fell in love with Salvador, and made good friendship with Jorge Amado, Bahia´s most famos writer. Both are dead, but the Jorge Amado´s house in Pelourinho works as a museum which tells the history of the writer (see future post). Carybé died in Salvador, where some of its artwork can be found, as in this small museum inside Forte São Diogo.

Ipanema

Ipanema and Leblon

Ipanema and Copacabana are maybe the most famous beaches in the world, following Rio´s own fame, both honored in many brazillian and international songs. 

Leblon didn´t get the same fame, so it is a bit less touristic, but the most handsome and beautifull cariocas can be seen there. Staying in Leblon is also fantastic, the only disadvantage is metro doesn´t arrive there so far, but construction is beeing made to. I don´t put a schedule, because I don´t believe in construction´s schedules in Brazil. 

Ipanema was the ispiration for the song The Girl from Ipanema (A garota de Ipanema), composed by Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. They composed the song at Veloso Bar, now known as the Bar Garota de Ipanema. This bar is located in the corner of Prudente de Moraes street with Vinicius de Moraes street, just one block away from the beach, close to Posto 9.   

Ipanema is the syster of Leblon, both sharing almost the same lane of sands, but divided by the Jardim de Alá (Garden of Alá), a small park with a small channel linking the sea to the Rodrigos de Freitas lagoon. The beaches in Rio gave also the name of these two neighbourhoods.

Ipanema, besides the beach, has its own bars, restaurants, hotels and is one of the best places to be in Rio. Metro ends at General Osório station there, so it´s very convenient to going downtown, for historic rides. Even for a business stay, if it happens you are in Rio for work, staying in Ipanema would be nice for taking a beach during summertime. 

Arpoador Stone: a magic sunset

Ipanema is divided from Copacabana by the military fort of Copacabana and by the Arpoador Stone. Every sunset, the Arpoador stands as bleachers for people to watch the sunset behind the Dois Irmãos Mountain (Two-Brothers mountain), in the end of Leblon. So, during summertime, you should be at the Arpoador around 7/8pm, and during winter/fall, around 5/6 pm. 

The sunset by the Arpoador Stone. In the right, the two peaks formig the Morro Dois Irmãos; further behind, the Gavea Stone

Ipanema and Leblon

(above: the Pão de Açúcuar or sugarloaf seem from Arpoador stone)

Gay Ipanema, Gay Rio

Ipanema is the most gay-friendly beach and neighbourhood in Rio. The Farme de Amoedo street is where many gay bars and restaurants are located. This street ends at the beach in the direction of Posto 9, i.e., the lifeguards post number 9, which is the gayiest part of the beach. 

The Felice Cafe, at 30, Gomes de Carneiro street, is one of the best restaurants in Rio, with a mostly gay clientele. Very good option for dinner, after a delicious day enjoying the beach. Very good ice-creams and drinks. 

Gay Rio isn´t just about Ipanema: the city has of course other nightclubs and bars around the city, but doubtlessly it is the biggest concentration of gays in town.