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.
If you read the stats, the rate of homosexual promiscuity is in another world compared to normal men.
They can't be compared. At all.
You either don't know what you are talking about (plain ignorance) or are purposely misleading. Roughly one third of all child molestation is same sex. A much larger percentage of homosexuals were molested as children and adolescents. Since homosexuals are around 2% of the population, and one third of molestations are same sex, then your statement is not true.
The truth is that homosexuals are more prone to molest (which includes seduction) kids including young adolescents.
You'll find the information at this link:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1026551/posts
Homosexual Agenda: Categorical Index of Links
It's called moral relativity and it destroys individuals, and when it influences whole populations, society.
The vast majority of the population is heterosexual -so what unless you wish to dance around reality?
A greater percentage of the population suffering from the disordered homosexual condition are actually more prone to such immoral behavior -more so for those that practice depraved homosexual activities.
Homosexual activity is sick and morally depraved, whatever you think about it
You might find the following helpful.
Now, nobody is saying this is true of all homosexuals, but since homosexuals account for about 2% of the population (which includes bisexuals), and since homosexuals commit about a third of all child molestations, we see a disproportionate amount of child abuse coming from homosexuals. Sources:
Child Molestation and HomosexualityCheck the datasources. Also, before I forget, checkout post 380 in the categorical index thread.
Homosexual Rape and Murder of Children
Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse
Homosexuality and child molestation: the link, the likelihood, the lasting effects.
Again, nobody is saying this is true of all homosexuals.
Indeed. Yet homosexuals commit a disproportionate amount of child abuse, documented in the above post.
Most Argentineans are at least partially of Italian ancestry. They are culturally different than Mexicans.
Those aren't reliable figures, alas... you need a non-partisan source to back up your position.
Indeed they are reliable. You may not like the sources but they're reliable and supported by quite a few more links, just checkout my profile. And don't forget to checkout the data sources.
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