Sao Paulo - Visited Lagoa tonight

[mvan1]

I am still in Brazil and decided to visit Lagoa tonight.

Being a Friday night, of course, the place was crowded with lots of paying clients and lots of paying garotos.

Lagoa is a fairly large facility. There are several sections of the sauna and it never gets "too crowded" for comfort.

Unlike in European saunas, clients have a separate locker area from the garotos (rent boys).

Rodolfo (now, the sole owner of Lagoa) charges garotos fifteen reais (R$15) as an entrance fee. Certain handsome, (large penis, and favorite) gatotos do not pay an entrance fee provided they regularly have sex with Rodolfo, at a discount.

Even though Lagoa has the largest selection of handsome and attractive garotos of any remaining rent-boy sauna in Sao Paulo, not all rent boys are successful at meeting a client to recoup the entrance fee paid.

Even though the garotos' entrance fee is only fifteen reais, there is still transportation expense to and from the sauna for the garoto. Therefore, it could be more than twenty reais for a garoto to visit Lagoa.

Given these costs, together with the possibility of not meeting a paying client, many garotos do not go to Lagoa as often as they did before Roldolfo increased the entrance fee to R$15 for the garotos.

One must question his business decision with regard to charging garotos the amount of the entrance fee that is charged. My explanation for this comment is explained as follows:

To be blunt, the garotos (rent boys) are the "inventory" of the sauna. Paying clients go to Lagoa to engage the services of garotos. Paying clients do not go to Lagoa to visit the owner or visit other paying clients; they go there to engage garotos. If there is a shortage of garotos, clients stay away from the sauna. Rodolfo loses money.

The problem with charging garotos the amount that is charged, is that many garotos cannot afford to pay and fear that they will not meet a paying client in order to recoup the entrance fee and transportation costs to and from Lagoa.

Many garotos told me that they stay away from Lagoa except on busy nights (Wednesdays and Fridays) because there is a good chance they will not meet a paying client and the garoto is out his entrance fee and transportation expense.

Bottom line? If garotos stay away from the sauna for fear of not making any money, obviously, there are fewer choices of garotos for paying clients.

Given the facts and concerns of the garotos, it is an obvious dumb business decision to charge garotos the amount charged as an entrance fee.

Consequently, because of the high entrance fee for garotos many nights at Lagoa are "slow" nights, i.e., the sauna has only a fraction of the garotos and clients usually found on Wednesdays and Friday nights.

Comparing the quality of garotos (handsome) at Lagoa with garotos at Fragata (average looking) it is clear that Lagoa champions over Fragata, the only remaining competition to Lagoa in Sao Paulo.

I had a good time and will return.

[TotallyOz]

I thougth all the boys paid 15 or more for this and 117. What did they use to pay? What do they pay at 117 if you know?

[mvan1]

I thought all the boys paid 15 or more for this and 117. What did they use to pay? What do they pay at 117 if you know?

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I do not know what garotos currently pay as an entrance fee at 117 or at other Rio saunas. I do know how much they pay atLagoa and Fragata in Sao Paulo ($15 and R$10). If a garoto at Fragata pleads no money, he is allowed to enter without paying full price. At Lagoa, no entrance is permitted unless garotos pay or are one of Rodolfo's pets.

I have seen many saunas come and go. Some had been in existence long before I ever arrived in Brazil. For example, sauna Rogers, in Rio charged garotos a R$2 entrance fee and that sauna was busy most nights it was open. Spa 73 charged R$5, Estacao charged R$5, Pointe 202 charged R$ but I don't know the current price. Those saunas were busy most nights but other issues caused them to close or change.

In Sao Paulo, sauna Alterosa did not charge the garotos a fee and that sauna was busy most of the time (day or night) until it closed because of complaints from the church that was across the street from the sauna.

Unquestionably, garotos are why clients visit saunas. Garotos draw clients to a sauna. Sauna owners should not make it a financial burden for garotos to enter the sauna. Without the garotos, there would be no clients. Without clients, there would be no saunas. The sauna owners would have to seek other ways to make money. It is tantamount to the egg and the chicken syndrome.

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[Gotti]

117 charges R$ 20,00 on tuesdays and Fridays,and Saturdays, R$15,00 The other nighs, they tried R$20,00 all nights but did not fly. For The best of my knowledge Lagoa is charging R$15,00 for at least a year and a half, way before The new owner. Point 202 charges 15,00 but pretty boys that happen to be barely legal and white don't pay anything if they are willing to sleep with Junior, boys from out of state that fit the bill can sleep and Live on The premises, until Junior gets tired of them.

I Was in Rio when Monik (117) jacked The prices and The place took a sudden beating, no more hour (or more) to get a room on a tuesday, and semi-dead The other nights, I even wrote about it here. I haven't been there in a Year, but taking from post by others, including The latest Tomcal, Monik hás not learned her lesson.

[ihpguy]

It is a viscious circle. The same thing happens at Meio Mundo with the busy nights being on Mondays and lesser on Fridays. It seems none of the owners are very creative at keeping garotos there to attend to clients with any kind of promotions from what I've been told. Like paying 15 or 20Reais on a good night and then free entry on the next night. One garoto was telling me about the failed opening of the new sauna and the lack of both clients and boys, not even mentioning the poor layout of the place. The owners had to be loosing their shirts and needed to think creatively but were not.

[Gotti]

... And the stupid drag queens! It's not unusual a show with 4 drags, dressed to The nines, with wigs and elabotated make-up, doing 2 songs each with a DJ and occasionally with a specially designd scenery! OK, This ain't no Vegas production, but it does cost money, nobody works for free, This money should go for The boys, nobody goes there to see The drags, all that frquently to a semi-empty place! I remember one time at Point there was more people on stage than in The audience! And they even spend money with advertising, totally focused, you guessed, on The drags! Boys are just an after-thought.

I understand a situation where a drag would be hired to MC a bingo or a Karaoke (urghh), but for some reason The owners of these places (both in Rio and SP) feel empowered by having lots of drags in The payroll. This non-sense makes them having to increase The price of admission for both boys and customers while The places are getting empty, but you would't guess it if you look at The stage.

[mvan1]

... And the stupid drag queens! It's not unusual a show with 4 drags, dressed to The nines, with wigs and elabotated make-up, doing 2 songs each with a DJ and occasionally with a specially designd scenery! OK, This ain't no Vegas production, but it does cost money, nobody works for free, This money should go for The boys, nobody goes there to see The drags, all that frquently to a semi-empty place! I remember one time at Point there was more people on stage than in The audience! And they even spend money with advertising, totally focused, you guessed, on The drags! Boys are just an after-thought.

I understand a situation where a drag would be hired to MC a bingo or a Karaoke (urghh), but for some reason The owners of these places (both in Rio and SP) feel empowered by having lots of drags in The payroll. This non-sense makes them having to increase The price of admission for both boys and customers while The places are getting empty, but you would't guess it if you look at The stage.

I agree, drag shows can be a bit much and I generally do not stay to watch them.

However, there was one memorable semi-drag show I really enjoyed. The show was at Fragata, about ten minutes long every week, and was performed by one of the managers who dressed in a ladies cooking dress for this show that preceded serving spaghetti to garotos and clients.

Italian music was played during the semi-drag show just before the spaghetti was served. The manager was genuinely talented and I miss his performances. Some reading this post might remember him and/or his shows.

The semi-drag show lasted until a few years ago, until the manager left employment at Fragata.

The manager who did the show also did the cooking and preparation of the spaghetti that was served. The spaghetti was quite good.

During his working hours, (I don't recall his name) the manager who did the Italian drag presentation and spaghetti preparation was a great manager and was well liked by garotos and customers and employees..

It was traditional to serve spaghetti at Fragata every Tuesday night.

After the manager left, the Tuesday night spaghetti night was changed to Tuesday night pasta night. The current replacement for spaghetti night (the pasta) is a vile tasting and nasty product that very few people at Fragata will eat. The product rarely is consumed even though put on plates for sauna attendees. The last few times I was at Fragata on a Tuesday night, the nasty pasta was not served.

The above discussion is but one more fun thing that no longer exits at Fragata.

What an enormously entertaining place Fragata used to be.

Now, Fragata is "okay" on certain nights but the "good old days" at Fragata are gone, likely, forever.

Time marches on!

[Guest Hunkster]

What a strange thread.

[mvan1]

What a strange thread.

What a strange remark.

Many on this forum are interested in what is happening in Brazilian saunas. Many of us visit the Brazilian saunas on a regular basis.

[ihpguy]

In the past at Meio Mundo, they started the entertainment eariler with a stripper show, a break and then the drag show. I thought this was a good idea as it kept the early-arriving customers interested in staying for the show and most likely a second programa. Now they start the show no earlier than 9PM. So for the clients that arrive between 5:30PM to 7:00PM and have a session, there is not much of interest to keep them there until the show starts and some more boys arrive later for the clients who stay for the show. Whether it is drag,strip, bingo or karaoke, the saunas used to do more to keep the clients in the house and not leave after one programa.