Gay tourists discover Buenos Aires (barf alert)

BBC ^ | 13 January, 2005

[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.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

I've heard what they talk about 80% of the day when they're not working. It's not the weather, and it's not politics. :-)

In my office, the subject is football.

[Old Professer]

she says their efforts to tap into this niche are already bearing fruit.

Interesting choice of words.

[snarkytart]

>>>>Do you really think that gays are, on average, more preoccupied with sex than heterosexuals are? I certainly don't believe that.<<<

Are you serious?

Gay men are more promiscuous than heterosexual men.
In general!

Straight men have to go through courtship with a woman before sex occurs.

However, when two young men have sexual attraction to one another there is not the usual dinner with flowers then waiting until the appropriate number of dates have passed until there is sex.
Again, this is generally speaking.

There are always exceptions.

[Old Professer]

Similar to the organ grinder of days gone by.

[Old Professer]

Looks like you came here to pull chains.

[Old Professer]

It's been a staple of epidemiology for many years.

[JimRed]

They didn't mention the poor kids from the barrio who are the real target of these sickos.

[JimRed]

When I am out with my wife I certainly don't comment that I like to go to a place to look at the attractive women.

I wouldn't comment either, but Mrs. JimRed knows that when I stop looking, it's time to bury me!

[Rosenkreutz]

Yeah, I missed the connection - the vast majority of pedophiles are heterosexual. Whatever one feels about the rights and wrongs of homosexuality, pedophilia is another issue which cuts across both homo- and heterosexual communities.

[snarkytart]

Yes I do agree both heterosexuals and homosexuals can be pedophiles.

However, when you say "the vast majority of pedophiles are heterosexual" well that is being somewhat dishonest.
Yes in total I am sure there has to be more heterosexual pedophiles, because there are more heterosexuals in the population overall.

I would like to see statistics showing the percentage of pedophiles per group.

[snarkytart]

I grew up in a Metropolitan area and have known more than one gay man.
Also, do STD stats lie??

[little jeremiah]

Homosexual Agenda Ping.

FYI. Just in case you ever want to travel to Buenos Aires, be alerted.

I wonder if child prostitution will skyrocket now? Especially that Phuket is destroyed, the "gay" sex tourists need another outlet.

Gross.

Let me and DirtyHarryY2K know if anyone wants on/off this pinglist.

[little jeremiah]

I am rather tired of your support of homosexuality as equivalent to normalcy.

It wasn't regular people who invented the word "homosexual".

[little jeremiah]

You are wrong. Lesbians are more promiscuous than normal women. They are also more prone to beating each other up, various kinds of STDs, and alcohol and drug abuse.

[little jeremiah]

There aren't "gay priest pride" parades.

Just "gay" pride parades. First of all, there are very few homosexuals who speak out against the sickening excess and child targeting of the "gay" rights movement. Tammy Bruce and Camille Paglia are about the only ones I know of.

And your attempt to support homosexuality as normal and natural is part of the problem. It isn't normal, isn't natural, and can be curable.