SolaceSoul

I suspect not. I will have to ask my client buddies — most who aren’t really into my type — about their experiences. But what they’ve shared with me, other than price differentials, the scripts (undoubtedly learned at some mythical Garoto Performative Academy of Business and Drama) are about the same with all the working guys.

Well, they certainly couldn’t be comparably worse at sentence structure and syntax. Like physical attractiveness and physical fitness, many Westerners believe themselves to be far more interesting than they really are.

To a Brazilian, any Mexican who can afford to travel to Rio on vacation is loaded.

Exactly. A common phrase I hear from garotos is: “that is not a lot of money for you, but for me, it is a lot.”

But how comparably physically attractive are they?

I’m going to have to agree with @KJ1993 on this one, though. The default assumption is that because you’re a gringo tourist, you have disposable income that puts you in the top 5% of Brazilians. Although it might help a bit to “dress down”, it doesn’t much matter that you’re not flashy with your accoutrements — you can travel globally (often), you can rent a hotel or an AirBnB, and you can pay for fun, non-essential things like 70R sauna entrance fees and drinks. In the mind of an average Brazilian who earns only $540 USD a month, while those in minimum wage jobs earn a ghastly $250 USD a month, you might as well be Warren Buffett.

Well, yeah, I ask all the time. Like you, over time, meaning well over a decade at this point, I’ve developed a preference for dates ending up outside the saunas — mainly because I don’t really like the suites and I don’t like clock-watching. And I just don’t find a whole lot of my preferred type who’d take your proposed deal at or around that rate. Even if you just throw in a nice meal, which we as clients consider an add-on not garotos, and then get to the meat of the matter (time spent at your apartment, plus sexy time), the bare minimum rate is going to definitely be more than a R $200 rate (right now, about what these kinds of guys are asking for 30-40 minutes inside the sauna). Some of them will accept a package rate that’s higher and includes all time spent, but some will want to start and stop the clock at all time spent — no matter if it’s just forks going in mouths, or dicks. Yeah, the type of garotos that you go after are never on my radar, either. I am fairly strict in my attraction, and almost never waver (because, thankfully, it’s not necessary in Brazil!). But your type of garotos approach me a lot, and some of my client buddies are into the same, so I know that the ones I’m into do like to place themselves in a (slightly) higher price tier than the “boy next door types” — most likely because it’s what the market will bear for them, not just an ego trip. I know only one (now former) sauna garoto who I deal with who would gladly take only R $200 for a night from me — but that always came with some complications. The rest are in a higher category — double, triple, and upwards. And to be honest, I’d feel some kind of way for only giving someone who is working for their living what amounts to $38 USD for a full night of their time.

Yes.

If you do that, and the management slows you to do so, you will pay from the moment you take the keys to the moment you return them. But normally, the management wants to record both parties going in and out each room (using locker key numbers), for safety and damages purposes.

Maybe it works that way with the average-looking guy of the street type, “boys next door” (which I already know from your past statements that’s your type, so no explanation required) or twinks, but I know VERY few of the machos / muscle boys (my type) who would agree to spend time wining and dining, then socializing at the apartment — or even worse, staying overnight!, followed by sexo — with a client for the same price of a 30-40 minute sauna programa. That’s almost unheard of. I am not going to say they’re not out there in that category, but it would be a very rare bird.

It depends on the day. It’s worse on Tuesdays, which is Free Cabin Day. Other days, there usually isn’t much of a wait.

There are actually less garotos at the saunas during Carnaval than there are during the lead up to it. An occasional tourist wouldn’t really notice this, though.

Double post.

If I were you, I’d consider still being firm but being kinder and gentler, so as not to come across as a rude and condescending guest in another country — which could get you in a world of trouble with the wrong person. This weekend, at Ipanema Beach, I witnessed a beach vendor (hocking his henna tattoos) pull a knife on, and curse and yell violently at, a white, slim, and clearly visibly gay male tourist who dismissively shrugged off his sales pitch for a temporary tattoo

Only 5 to 8% of murders in Brazil are ever solved, compared to 65% in the USA and 90% in the U.K.

Oh Em Gee. This “Hercules” seems like the garoto at Lagoa that I always call “the one that got away”. This was late 2021, like November or December, so a bit over a year ago. What tipped me off that it might be him is your description of his “unfortunate” character face. For two days straight, he was very friendly and personable with me and was clearly very available, even offering to spot me when I was at working out upstairs at the gym. In every other way, he was everything I would’ve wanted in a brief companion, right down to being a great conversationalist. But I was being particularly selective and thought he was a bit too…. “facially challenged”. Then, on the third day in SP on that trip, I finally came to my senses and told myself, “are you crazy? You’d better grab that man the next time you see him!” But I went back to Lagoa every night on that trip, and never saw him again. I also went back on another week’s stay in São Paulo and, again, no sighting of this facially-challenged but otherwise perfect “Hercules”. I even remember the first name he gave me. But I was playing “hard to get” and never even asked for the WhatsApp… so I wound up playing myself! Lesson learned: grab them while the getting’s good! If it is one and the same, then that’s good to know that I have a shot at redemption.

You did a very good job for a first time visit to São Paulo, all things considered. But please, for the love of God, don’t take the huge risk of visiting a stranger’s / garoto’s home / apartment ever again. I’m glad that, against all odds, it worked out for you, though. But I can fill up this page with true stories in Latin / South America / Caribbean where this ended up poorly or worse yet, deadly.

And? The uber-wealthy donate large sums to universities and hospitals on the condition that they get a building, a wing, a statue, or a scholarship fund named after them.

Christ, I hope you’re kidding. Or maybe you live under a rock? 5 officers have been charged with his murder (it was a simple traffic stop), and another was just fired for his role. But let’s move along, no police corruption to see here!

To be clear, all Club 117 knows thus far (because of their cameras) is that Kadu did not LEAVE the club with a garoto from 117. Until the perpetrator can be ID’d, no one knows for certain who it was (hopefully, the motel where he was found murdered has similar video cameras and makes copies of all ID cards, but it’s possible that they don’t).

Many of the people who live and work in Brazil as well as many of those travelers who visit who have been victims of violence were not doing “stupid things”. Sure, absolutely take all the precautionary measures, but anyone who has lived, visited or stayed in the major metro areas of Brazil, even in the best, safest areas of the cities, will share with you that eventually, no matter what color you are, your age, your physical build, your language proficiency, you’ll “get got”. If petty theft is the worst thing that happens to you during your forays into Rio, São Paulo, Salvador or Recife, then considered yourself quite blessed. Of course, no one with a working brain who is reading this is going to think I’m referring to every single part of the vast land in Brazil! This is about areas that are well-traveled and often-visited by the kinds of people who would be most likely to read this board: men who have sex with other men. Santa Catarina, Joinville and to a lesser extent Fioranopolis and Brasilia, are considered safer towns in Brazil, but they are not going to be on the radar of the vast majority of infrequent travelers to Brazil — just as foreign tourists in the USA prefer to see NYC, LA, Vegas and Miami over St. Paul, Minnesota. Interestingly, super-safe Fioranopolis, Brazil is the place where a gay man in his early 20s was brutally gang raped on the street in 2021, and it made international news (not really in the USA, because most Americans only care if it’s about “us”). In terms of absolute number of murders in a year, Brazil has the most murders of any country by total number, followed by India, the USA, and Mexico. Also, Brazil has one of the most alarming rates of violence and discrimination against LGBT people in the Western Hemisphere and definitely amongst democracies. The stats have gotten even worse in the last several years — possibly due to political shifts to the hard right. Small pockets of Rio and São Paulo may cull one into a sense of safety or protection, but it’s important to remain vigilant and keep situational awareness at all times. Rest In Peace, Kadu.

Wow. Completely unnecessary observation, and congratulations for missing the entire point.

It was not. It was violence.

It was most definitely linked to him being gay. His service is on Monday. Out of respect for him, his loved ones and his family, I will refrain from going into detail publicly. But just know that, especially for those here who like to come here thinking it’s a sexual playground, Rio and Brazil can be a VERY dangerous place. Rest In Peace, Kadu.

Most often (at least in my circles and observations), if the garoto is sitting with / spending time with a client at the bar or at a table for an extended period of time (let’s use, more than 20 minutes), then he’s most likely being compensated for that time — not trying to close a deal for the suite. Some clients (like you, @floridarob) don’t even like using suites or having sex in saunas and eventually plan to leave with a GP. Other clients might just want a “date” with a hot guy without any sex at all. It depends — I think I may have seen it all! But a good rule of thumb is the 20-minute rule to “shit or get off the pot”. Cut a deal with the garoto within that time frame or part ways. A drink can be finished in that time period.