Gotti

Thanks, I think is somebody from 117, hopefully not

Does this green eye guy use to live at Recreio neighborhood?

Supposedly a gay senior citizen hangout

Is on the wrong side of the tracks, to put it mildly, very far (like one hour by car from Copacabana), only on weekends and close to several favelas. There are some cute boys from the area on both 117 and 202, so probably there are some more in the vicinity, but I doubt is worth the risk, never been to tell the truth. Only go there, in case you are curious, in company of somebody from the community.

I would not be concerned about the sauna scene, he is a moron and is only disturbed by what he sees. Carnival is a huge promiscuity baccanalia and he, as a member of the religious right, would have it wiped out from the face of the Earth, since he could not, he went far away (to Sweden!) to pretend it was not happening. Giuliani was a different beast, he wanted to clean up New York night life, arresting small time drug dealers, the ones that hang out at clubs with ecstasy and coke (the big fishes are still around of course and always will be), prohibiting dancing almost everywhere ( you had to have a license issued 4 decades ago!. This of course was the kiss of death for gay night-clubs. The big straight Discos had to close as well and the gay nigh life, which was more of a niche, was virtually decimated. New York gay night life is s complete joke nowadays, boring as hell. The Rio Mayor did not have to do any of that, the gay scene night life destroyed itself, it was already weak, the few night spots went out of business, little by little, Grindr and the like certainly had a hand, plus ridiculous drink prices and outrageous entrance fees. The Week I believe the only remaining night spot, only opens on Saturday nights, is not exclusively gay and the only 2 times I was there they were charging $50,00 to get in! NYC's Roxy, the equivalent in size and also a Saturday only affair, was charging $20,00 at it's prime, so you have the idea. Gay night life in Rio is nothing short of pathetic, much much worse than New York and Sao Paulo.

I was curious to know about the innacuracies contained on my description of Rounds, I was kinda surprised cause I thought was a fair account of the place and the scene.

So you were not around during the non-Giuliani years! Only caught the last of 15 years or so but do know all about it. That's very brave!

Yeah, I totally agree with you, Rounds was spectacular but somehow a little intimidating, I got there sometimes just for the eye candy, knowing that I would be not able to hire, I did very few times, Gayety was my favourite by far, is important to notice that was not a bar but a theatre. I loved the Montreal guys, Denise had a contract with a Montreal place and every week at least they had 2 guys making the trip. Giuliani try to close but could not because they were inside the permited zoning. Unfortunately they lost their lease, the Howard Johnson next door was gone as well.

Totally wrong, a happening place that became such because a group of elderly citizens? Certainly not in NYC! The elder gents were present but a minority around the piano player, their presence was appreciated because besides the money they would bring some cultural assets for those so inclined. The vast majority were guys in the thirties and forties who never got over the barely legal delights, even guys on their twenties trying to get a bite on the stuff that have never been on their plates. The age brackets were not that different from any place were love is for sale. The differential was the lavish ambience and the heavenly boys. Cats and Stella's hustlers wouldn't make the cut, besides, they wouldn't even know how to behave.

Trip Advisor is not a gay site, is a travel site, Chili Peppers probably fell short as a travel Lodge, even for a gay person, since is sauna/hotel. A lot of people staying in Sao Paulo have concerns about bringing a boy to his hotel my suggestion was for people looking for a place for a quickie or one night stand, this can be checked in my post. I would never suggest to someone visiting Sao Paulo to stay at the Peppers for the duration of their trip. I think a lot of people on this forum would appreciate a review in case a brief and temporary situation arises. Let's hear from the boys!

Very good article, is important to notice that Rounds was quite different for all the others, not a sleaze place at all, on the contrary, very very classy. By the addresses it can be seen that is the only one located on the East Side, upper midtown, no less, and lived up to expectations of the area. No drag queens if I can remember just a real piano man, at the entrance, playing Broadway tunes, surrounded by customers that actually knew the lyrics, all of them drama queens that have seen every show since the forties.In the middle and at the end were the out-of-this-world working boys and the younger customers with disco/early house on the sound system, but no DJ! Idon't think that in it's 15 or so years that existed, it had ever had a stage, and absolutely no back room! the pretty boys were the only attraction and the possibility of taking one (or two) home was enough to keep the place full. There was a door man but not a dress code, one could be dressed casual, but it had to be tidy, otherwise no admission. Nobody would dare to get shirtless, it would be thrown out and never able to return. The Anvil and The Minesahft were closed by the city in the mid- eighties during Mayor Koch because of the AIDS health crisis, their notorious back rooms could help spread the virus and the sensasionalist press would refer to these places as "AIDS dens". Giuliani could not use the same argument against Rounds, since they didn't have sex on premises, so he claimed the owners facilitated prostitution, arrested and put them on jail. The mob ties did not help.

Rounds was out of this Earth, it cannot possibly be ever replicated. There is even a book entirely written about it, titled "Rounds- A memoir" by Charles Scaglione Sr, is currently out of print but available used at Amazon right now for a kind of steep price of $800,00 +, that's not a misprint, I check from time to time, I've seen in the $100.00 range before, but still high for me. In case anyone is wondering Rounds was a hustle bar to end all hustle bars. Patronized by Geffen, Calvin and all billionaires you can think about. One can just imagine what kind of meat was available. Not of Giuliani liking that raided and closed it in the early nineties.

The sentence could have been worded differently, instead of "better" should state that Lagoa has more garotos that fits the conventional pretty boy standard which of course might be totally irrelevant to some people that favors different types of assets.

Terrific post, one of the few that recognizes the superior quality of Lagoa boys when compared with boys in Rio. One advice if you are not a regular: The most desirable boys will be surrounded by their many admirers (moneyd) at prime time (7/8 PM). The same boys occasionally are there earlier (before 6 PM) and at this time they are all business and much easily approachable. If prime time cannot be avoided it helps to be on a table downing Scotches (beer won't do it). It helps to indicate that you have money, before offering the money itself.

Not every sauna has garotos available, Chili Peppers forbids rent-boys doing their trade on premises (there are other saunas with the same policy). If you are looking for pretty hot things you should bring your own and find him elsewhere, as suggested in my post. The place is owned by the same people who did "269", a landmark sauna in SP that lasted only two years and lost their lease in a dispute that caused a commotion in SP gay community. They did not allowed garotos as well and became famous because of it's lavish facilities, never seen in SP before or since. I went once but could not get in so long was the line and was my last night in the city for that trip. Chili Peppers is a different beast, since is a mix of sauna/hotel and is supposedly kind of expensive and I usually leave all my money at Lagoa. Like most people on this forum I prefer saunas with boys. Hopefully in a future trip with some discretionary income.

As far as I know, nobody on this forum ever wrote about Chili Peppers, the sauna/hotel that's supposedly is doing extremely well in S.P., so well they just opened another branch in Belo Horizonte and are talking about yet another one in Salvador (tellingly they are skipping Rio). Shamelesly I never been there myself, but judging by their website they have fancy suites with private Jacuzzis and bottle service (if you are so inclined) and you can go there for a quickie or stay the night. They are open 24/7 and looks perfect to take a cute Lagoa boy that you can't (or shouldn't) bring to your hotel, and since they are in the Arouche area, maybe even a Bar Fama hustler that is too high to be taken anywhere else.

C'mon, let's hear about it!

On January the 25th I wrote about Point 202 having become the biggest sauna night in Rio, and about the danger of this fact (or factoid) going to Junior's head and he start to spoil the whole thing, based on his past behavior. Well, sorry to say, it has begun already. As this week, the Point Wednesday became the most expensive night in Rio! The fee increase, albeit small, tell a lot about things to come. I well remember, in a not very distant past, when Point would charge an additional entrance fee on all nights that had free suites, certainly an all time classic on the annals of tackiness in Rio's sex scene. Doing well is not something he can deal naturally, he has to make sure about his arrival and sadly re-start down the road all over again. Will Monik have the last laugh? The guy is helpless!

It's already been established that the word "elevated" was never written on my post, this and "bj railing" was added by some over enthusiastic reader probably deliriously thinking about his idea of heaven. Hustlers ( and even customers) pulling out their dicks might or might not happen, is part of the Inpredictable nature of all back rooms that ever existed, is not mandatory. The scene somebody else described of 2 shirtless hustlers playing pool, enticing as it may be, might not be a regular feature as well.

I was the one who wrote about the wall at Bar Fama, at least 2 years ago, I believe was the first post written on this forum about such place (make a search) and the word "elevated" was never written. Is possible that at that night, which happened to be my first, the guys decided to be next to each other and accidentally formed a wall, probably not mandatory and not a regular feature. Coincidentally most of my description matches Tomcal's last week, the attractive boys, the street boys, the sleaziness, by the way, beeing sleaze is part of the appeal of the place, have anyone ever heard about the mythical Anvil in NYC in the eighties? Is great no know such thing is still possible albeit so far away. All this, the Lagoa boys (attitude and all) plus the mesmerising video Tomcal posted last night about Bubu Lounge contrast with the pathetic, non-existent gay night-life in Rio. Maybe some people will realize that spending thousands of dollars going to Brazil in a sex romp and limiting themselves to Rio, they are getting a beautiful scenery but are staying far from the purpose of their visit.

Yeah, something wrong with the video, not streamable.

The Bar is located in a rough area (Arouche), very bohemian, but getting a little softer in the last few years because is becoming the gay neighbourhood of Sao Paulo. Traditionally the place for prostitution (male, female and trannies) and of course drugs. I was told straight guys go there to raise money for their fix, usually a couple lines, readily available all over. I remember walking.around a bit looking for a cab, since Uber was not so prevalent these days, maybe it was even forbidden. Right next door is Praca da Republica where you don't even have to pay admission to get whatever you are looking for. Don't recommend it, street trade is risky anywhere in the world.

Tomcal, thanks for the outstanding report, so Bar Fama is not only a hustle bar but a hustle bar on steroids! I can't think of anything similar in the States, where back rooms are pretty much frown upon, can't even imagine a back room with available hustlers doing their trade on the spot. Puzzling more people don't write about such unique place, thanks to you we already know Saturday is a good night, hopefully soon we will have more data about other nights, I don't remember which night of the week I was there and was kinda dead, I just remember it was a night before a local holiday and the admission was around R$30,00, about 2 years ago, so the price might have changed.

Reading Tomcal's post, seems to confirm what I suspect is going on in Rio. The big sauna night in the city is no longer 117's Tuesday night, the crown now belongs to Point's Wednesday. Hopefully this won't go in Junior's head and spoils the situation as has happened in the past. Changing cities would be great if Tom could elaborate on his visit to Bar Fama, seldom covered on this forum while a lot of people claim on something to do in SP besides Lagoa. I've been twice to the place, a couple years ago, one time was great, the other there was hardly anybody there (at 1 AM), can still be described as a hustle bar? Any updates woul be greatly appreciated.