Posted on 01/13/2005 9:44:20 AM PST by traumer
Sweat trickles down the face of a man busking in a steamy town square.
Buenos Aires is now relatively cheap to visit A young woman paints the final brushstrokes of a summertime cityscape. Gaggles of children giggle by the lakeside in a gloriously green park.
This is Buenos Aires: So pretty, so elegant and so European that it has often been described as the "Paris of South America".
Before Argentina's economic crisis struck in 2001, Buenos Aires was probably the most expensive city in South America: $1 bought you one peso.
Now it gets you three, allowing visitors to experience a first-world city at third-world prices.
Chic quarter
But although tourism of all types is booming, Buenos Aires is now establishing itself as the place to go for one particular group of visitors.
San Telmo is just outside the city centre.
It has always been a favourite among tourists of all orientations, thanks to its lovely antique shops, its chic boutiques and its ancient-looking cobbled streets.
But it is also fast becoming the epicentre for Buenos Aires' booming gay tourist trade.
Gary, a gay tourist from San Francisco (Photo by Elliott Gotkine) Finding out that it's very gay-friendly and very accepting means we can enjoy the attractive men and go to the gay bars Gary, tourist Not only is this the home of the first ever gay hostel in Buenos Aires, but there are now plans afoot to officially designate this place "gay-friendly".
Enjoying some of the shade afforded by a cavernous flea market, I caught up in San Telmo with Gary and his partner Chris.
They come from just outside San Francisco - the birthplace of gay pride.
They had already done Miami, Rio and other gay hotspots and wanted to try something new.
Gary told me Buenos Aires seemed like their kind of town.
"I just wanted to come here for the great weather, the European atmosphere, the exchange rate, the fact that it's in the Americas. And then finding out, as we travelled, that it's very gay-friendly and very accepting, it just means we can enjoy the attractive men and go to the gay bars."
Parade
In November, Buenos Aires' annual gay pride parade attracted thousands of men and women.
Waving rainbow-coloured flags and dancing with unbridled joy, they wound their way through the city's streets.
How times have changed in Catholic Argentina: Just a few years ago, there were far fewer marchers and many covered their faces for fear of reprisals.
Pride Travel, a travel agency serving a gay clientele (Photo by Elliott Gotkine) Travel agencies and tango bars are springing up to serve gay clients Nowadays, the worst they can expect is a hail of verbal abuse.
"This march deserves our deepest scorn," shouted one man. "It's a march against nature."
Overall, though, protests were muted.
Buenos Aires is now among the most liberal cities in the Americas.
Two years ago, it legalised same-sex civil unions.
And at the recent Latin American tourism fair, held in the Argentine capital, officials were more than happy to promote the city's pink credentials.
"We're not conservative, in traditional terms," says Marcela Cuesta, Buenos Aires's subsecretary of tourism.
"We're quite an open society, with open criteria to accept visitors. And that's what we've been showing and that's why gay tourism has nominated us as a gay-friendly city."
Income
She says she's delighted with the influx of gay tourists, who bring in much-needed revenues.
Tourism in Buenos Aires is up to 5.25m visitors - a new record. Twenty percent of these, we believe, are gay Marcela Cuesta, Buenos Aires tourism official She notes that homosexuals tend to be big spenders because many do not have children to support.
And she says their efforts to tap into this niche are already bearing fruit.
"Official figures show that tourism in Buenos Aires is up 38% on last year to 5.25m visitors - a new record. Twenty percent of these, we believe, are gay, from all over the world, especially from Europe and America."
To meet this growing demand, travel agencies, guest houses and even tango bars catering for the city's gay visitors are popping up all over town.
And there are plans afoot to build a five-star gay hotel in the city.
Buenos Aires, dejected for so long by its economic woes, is once again standing proud, as the gay tourism capital of South America.
But then, in a city where even the presidential palace - the Casa Rosada - is pink, we should have probably seen it coming.
Too funny!
Argentineans are going through a horribly critical period in their nation's history. Buenos Aires is becoming gay-friendly, or puto-friendly in the local jargon, because it has no other recourse. The hordes of these individuals descend upon this still nice but impoverished city after holding their horrible bacchanals in Rio or Sao Paulo, especially at this time of the year when the Brazilians hold their carnivals. This report, by a BBC homosexual, I'm sure (they abound in that milieu) is giving a slanted view of the situation. Although Buenos Aires is not Bangkok, it'll probably reach that nadir pretty soon. Until it manages to pull itself together, and emerge from the mess, I guess it'll have to suffer the invasion of these people with their outrageous conduct, along with pedophiles and other perverts! But make no mistake about it, the Argentineans will soon react against this horde's outrageous lifestyle and neither Lambda, nor the ACLU, nor their own filthy money will save them from the public wrath!
But most of 'em would like to dwell on the idea. ;-)
I have some freq. flier miles and was thinking about Chile or Argentina - but this !
It must be a great city - and now it's infested...
They have to go somewhere until Thailand is rebuilt.
Clearly, you missed the intent of the phrase "dwell on the idea!" ;-)
Quote: And you've never been in a monogamous relationship and *not* looked at members of the opposite sex?
Adam
My question to you is why do gays have such a preoccupation with everything sex?? When my wife and I go on vacation, our main thoughts or comments brought up is not to go to "enjoy attractive" members of the opposite sex.
We go to see scenery and relax.
-Sweat trickles down the face of a man busking in a steamy town square...-
I don't even want to know what "busking" is.
Good line LOL
"Infested" I like that term. Seems like the sodomites are infesting all popular vacation sites. Soon we won't be able to go anywhere without being subjected to their "antics" (for lack of a better word.)
A. Because they define themselves as a group based upon their sexual perversions.
This is too weird
How typical that the Batty Boys Club, should run this story.
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