Monday, 13 August 2012

Parada da Diversidade 2012 - venha mostrar seu Orgulho em Floripa


A Parada da Diversidade de Florianópolis, como é chamada a Parada de Orgulho LGBT da Ilha da Magia, está agora na sua 7ª edição e já se estabeleceu como uma das favoritas do Brasil.

Concebida desde o início para ser mais um grande evento LGBT da cidade, a Parada recebe anualmente milhares de turistas de todas as partes do país durante a semana do feriado da Independência.

A Semana da Diversidade tem programação cultural e social e tem como diferencial o Floripa Diversity Games- um concorrido evento esportivo de confraternização da comunidade LGBT e aliados.

No centro de Florianópolis, os bares e clubes GLS como Mix Café e Concorde têm festas todas as noites da semana e lotam com o público local e com turistas. Na Lagoa, as meninas contam com festa própria no Caravana Fusion Bar: a animadíssima Babalu.

O encerramento da Semana ocorre no dia 9 de setembro com a Parada na Avenida Beira-Mar Norte e um show, com talentos locais e nacionais, no palco junto à baia Norte que reúne centenas de milhares de participantes.

Venha mostrar seu Pride em Florianópolis com os pacotes especiais da Brazil Ecojourneys.

Parada da Diversidade de Florianópolis 2012
4 dias/3 noites a partir de R$449,00 por pessoa

Pacotes incluem: serviço de Meet & Greet com guia gay-friendly no aeroporto, traslado privativo IN/OUT, 3 noites de hospedagem, pacote de informações com mapa e guia LGBT personalizado.

Pacotes não incluem: vôos, seguro de viagem.

Consulte as opções de hospedagem.


Wednesday, 11 July 2012

LGBT events in Florianopolis

Florianopolis, or Floripa for those in-the-know, is a gay-friendly destination year-around but it becomes a BIG gay destination for certain events: Pride Week and Carnival- now a strong rival to Rio, as the coolest and biggest Gay Carnival in Brazil - are already favorites in the hearts of gay & lesbian Brazilians & South Americans;

The New Year holidays' period has been attracting an increasing number of gay tourists in recent years, but this year it should be definitely included in the Brazilian Gay Events calendar as the mega Sao Paulo club, The Week International, announced that will open its Island base during that week.

They are the latest of the circuit parties to realize the demand from LGBT tourism in that period of the year- E-Joy has been coming for years, attracting thousands and local clubs open all week to cater to locals and tourists alike.

On top of that, the fireworks display in New Year's eve is one of the best in the world!

So, if you are planning to come, book early: Brazil Ecojourneys has already special packages for New Year's in Floripa.

Saturday, 3 September 2011

Floripa LGBT Pride 2011

Floripa's Pride Festival- Semana da Diversidade- reaches its 6th year in 2011 and should be a great one, helped by the long bank holiday in South Brazil. More than a 100 thousand people are expected to attend this year.

The highlights are the Floripa Diversity Games (Jogos da Diversidade) that happen on Saturday 10th September and the Pride Parade ( Parada da Diversidade) that happens on Sunday 11th September from 2pm.

The Games were pioneer in Brazil and are growing every year, breaking stereotypes that gays only live to party. Well, the games are lots of fun too but they are also very competitive.

If you are in Florianópolis and want to join the fit crowd, call Pipoca Grando , the organiser and he will give you all the details = +55 48 91192656


The local clubs and bars have also special attractions starting on Tuesday, 6th Sept. Check out Mix Cafe, Concorde Club and, for the girls, Caravana Fusion Bar in Lagoa.


Enjoy Floripa!

Thursday, 26 May 2011

Florianopolis IGLTA 2012

Florianopolis is the next host city for the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association ( IGLTA) Global Convention.

The event, which will happen in April 2012, will bring hundreds of LGBT tourism professionals from all over the world to our island, helping to promote Floripa as one of the main South American destinations for international Gay & Lesbian travelers .

Check out this recent
interview from our Director, Marta Dalla Chiesa, to The Focus Group, one of the top LGBT radio shows in the United States talking about G&L Florianopolis.


Brazil Ecojourneys, the only lesbian-owned inbound tour operator in Brazil, is proud to host IGLTA in our home city. We are already working on special programs for all attendees!

Wednesday, 20 April 2011

Sejamos Gays. Juntos.


abril 12, 2011

Adriele Camacho de Almeida, 16 anos, foi encontrada morta na pequena cidade de Itarumã, Goiás, no último dia 6. O fazendeiro Cláudio Roberto de Assis, 36 anos, e seus dois filhos, um de 17 e outro de 13 anos, estão detidos e são acusados do assassinato. Segundo o delegado, o crime é de homofobia. Adriele era namorada da filha do fazendeiro que nunca admitiu o relacionamento das duas. E ainda que essa suspeita não se prove verdade, é preciso dizer algo.

Eu conhecia Adriele Camacho de Almeida. E você conhecia também. Porque Adriele somos nós. Assim, com sua morte, morremos um pouco. A menina que aos 16 anos foi, segundo testemunhas, ameaçada de morte e assassinada por namorar uma outra menina, é aquela carta de amor que você teve vergonha de entregar, é o sorriso discreto que veio depois daquele olhar cruzado, é o telefonema que não queríamos desligar. É cada vez mais difícil acreditar, mas tudo indica que Adriele foi vítima de um crime de ódio porque, vulnerável como todos nós, estava amando.

Sem conseguir entender mais nada depois de uma semana de “Bolsonaros”, me perguntei o que era possível ser feito. O que, se Adriele e tantos outros já morreram? Sim, porque estamos falando de um país que acaba de registrar um aumento de mais de 30% em assassinatos de homossexuais, entre gays, lésbicas e travestis.

E me ocorreu que, nessa ideia de que também morremos um pouco quando os nossos se vão, todos, eu, você, pais, filhos e amigos podemos e devemos ser gays. Porque a afirmação de ser gay já deixou de ser uma questão de orientação sexual.

Ser gay é uma questão de posicionamento e atitude diante desse mundo tão miseravelmente cheio de raiva.

Ser gay é ter o seu direito negado. É ser interrompido. Quantos de nós não nos reconhecemos assim?

Quero então compartilhar essa ideia com todos.

Sejamos gays.

Independente de idade, sexo, cor, religião e, sobretudo, independente de orientação sexual, é hora de passar a seguinte mensagem pra fora da janela: #EUSOUGAY

Para que sejamos vistos e ouvidos é simples:

1) Basta que cada um de vocês, sozinhos ou acompanhados da família, namorado, namorada, marido, mulher, amigo, amiga, presidente, presidenta, tirem uma foto com um cartaz, folha, post-it, o que for mais conveniente, com a seguinte mensagem estampada: #EUSOUGAY

2) Enviar essa foto para o mail projetoeusougay@gmail.com

3) E só :-)

Todas essas imagens serão usadas em uma vídeo-montagem será divulgada pelo You Tube e, se tudo der certo, por festivais, fóruns, palestras, mesas-redondas e no monitor de várias pessoas que tomam a todos nós que amamos por seres invisíveis.

A edição desse vídeo será feita pelo Daniel Ribeiro, diretor de curtas que, além de lindos de morrer, são super premiados: Café com Leite e Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho.

Quanto à minha pessoa, me chamo Carol Almeida, sou jornalista e espero por um mundo melhor, sempre.

As fotos podem ser enviadas até o dia 1º de maio.

Como diria uma canção de ninar da banda Belle & Sebastian: ”Faça algo bonito enquanto você pode. Não adormeça.” Não vamos adormecer. Vamos acordar. Acordar Adriele.

— Convido a todos os blogueiros de plantão a dar um Ctrl C + Ctrl V neste texto e saírem replicando essa iniciativa —

Wednesday, 2 February 2011

Florianopolis Gay Carnival 2011

Be prepared! Mix Brasil, the main LGBT site in Brazil, already crowned Florianopolis the gay-est Carnival in Brazil in 2011.

Besides the Carnival parties like the Samba School Parade on Saturday night and the Pop Gay Festival on Monday night, gay guys that love to party and electronic music fans will be in for a treat.

The Week Florianópolis, elected the most beautiful gay club in Brazil by Junior magazine, confirmed the already traditional DJ's line-up for its 5 parties in Praia Mole (from 4th to 8th March): Tony Moran, Isaac Escalante, Peter Rauhofer, Juanjo Martin & Rosabel are all booked for the Floripa Club. Expect a sea of shirtless (gorgeous) men dancing day & night.

Nearby in Lagoa, E-Joy, the much loved circuit party from Sao Paulo, returns with 2 parties at the Yacht Club- Sunday 6th they bring Kelly Rowland and on Tuesday the 8th , Hugo Sanches, from Spain.

The local gay & lesbian clubs, Concorde and Mix Café open every night from 4th to 12th March and are confirming big national attractions too. Concorde also offers the only exclusive party for gay girls on Friday 4th.

Not exclusively gay but also a treat for those that enjoy e-music will be the Carnival Music Park in the POSH Club in Jurere- big names like David Guetta , Armin van Buuren, Axwell , Kaskade and Bob Sinclair are confirmed.

And to "recover", Bar do Deca, in the gay beach of Praia Mole, will have beach parties for the whole week from mid-afternoon to well after sunset.

Brazil Ecojourneys has last minute packages still available for Carnival in Florianopolis from more affordable guesthouses to luxurious high-end Villas in Praia Mole.

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Good news for Gay Girls: A full-time lesbian bar in Floripa!

Caravana is a very friendly lesbian-owned bar located in Lagoa. In the beginning it did not advertise itself as a girl's bar but now is out and proud!

The public is 90% women but a few gay men and friendly straight couples also show up for the good music and relaxed atmosphere.

The name comes from the caravan trailer from where they started the business. Now they have a small bar inside with a dance floor and a huge outside deck for the Summer days and nights.

Besides music and drinks they also serve "fusion food"- not Asian fusion but an eccletic mix of snacks and daily specials for main dishes. The home-made burgers are excellent!

The best thing is that opens early (from 5pm Wed- Fri and from noon till late on weekends)- the only gay bar in Floripa to do so! From Xmas it will open daily to get all those girls (and boys) coming back from Praia Mole.

Caravana - Fusion Food e Trailer - +55 48 32320045

Thursday, 28 January 2010

Bar do Deca, Praia Mole, Floripa

Bar do Deca, the most famous gay beach bar in Brazil, has DJs from 1pm until well after the sunset in Summer , so a lot of people was there last Sunday to enjoy the end of a gorgeous, sunny afternoon.

I love people watching at Deca and was amazed by the mix of nationalities there. Brazilians, Argentineans, Paraguayans, English, Germans, North Americans, Spanish...


Looks like Carnival 2010 will be great fun!

Wednesday, 13 January 2010

Carnival 2010- 12th-17th February

Just a month away from beginning of carnival in Brazil.

Judging for the number of foreign visitors we are expecting, Florianopolis gay Carnival looks like it will be the biggest ever!

We will soon bring news about all the parties and how to reserve tickets.

For more info check Gay Carnival Floripa

Monday, 14 December 2009

Looking back at 2009

2009 has been a great year for us working with LGBT tourism in Florianopolis.

The international media and travel professionals from around the world seemed to have discovered Floripa.

Following a successful event for its members in March, the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association chose Florianopolis to be the host of its 2012 Convention. This is the first time that this event, the most important for Gay & Lesbian tourism in the world, will be held south of the Equator.

Articles on Gay Floripa appeared in major Gay & Lesbian magazines: the Passport Magazine from the US, Beige Travel and Diva Magazine from the UK, Du & Ich (a 40 year-old Gay mag!) and in multiple titles from Publigayte in Germany.

All seemed to agree that Floripa is the next big destination for gay travellers in South America.

The local community also had quite a lot to celebrate: 2009 saw our biggest Pride ever with almost 100,000 people attending the Parade on a cold and rainy day in September. That same day an anti-discrimination law was approved by the local town council, giving us hope that equal rights are now achievable in Brazil in the not so distant future.

Welcome 2010 - see you in Floripa!




Wednesday, 19 August 2009

New Site for Floripa LGBT Pride

We just finished the new site for Diversidade Floripa, Florianopolis LGBT Pride Week. The site is only in Portuguese(for now) but it is very informative.

There is information about the cultural programs, about the Diversity Games (LGBT Sports Day), about Florianopolis for visitors and a section ( EU VOU!) for those coming to Pride to comment or to invite friends.

www.diversidadefloripa.org.br

Thursday, 6 August 2009

The Next Big Thing ... Florianopolis, Brazil

As more and more national and regional tourist boards go after the pink money of LGBT travelers, the American journalist Matthew Link checks the facts behind the hype on some of the new "hot" LGBT destinations.

In a very interesting article in The Guide - an online gay travel magazine, he warns of the "gay-washing" danger and rates some of these new destinations.

I am so proud to say that our Floripa has the highest ranking- a 9 out of 10- of all places he investigated. He might have exaggerated a bit - we do NOT have 12 gay bars, but for a city of 400k, we are doing very gaily well...

Matthew says:

Florianopolis, Brazil
Gay atmosphere: 9 out of 10

Claims: The tourism board says this city on an island in southeastern Brazil is 'an all-time favorite holiday destination for Brazilian and South American LGBT' and boasts a 'laid- back and safe atmosphere.'
�Reality: For a city of about 400,000, Florianopolis packs a wallop. Its downtown is home to a dozen gay bars (in addition to a classic gay beach bar), two gay saunas, a pumping gay pride week in May, and the best Carnival in southern Brazil, complete with an old tradition of cross-dressing men called bloco dos sujos. It is estimated that 50,000 people show up for the drag beauty contest. But the best bronzed eye-candy is at the main gay beach Praia Mole, where the first Brazilian-operated gay cruise moored in 2008. (You'll also find gays floating around the clothing-optional Praia da Galheta next door.) Floripa, as the locals call the city, has become a getaway for Sao Paulo's sizeable gay population, and there's an influx of gay visitors from Argentine as well. No wonder Florianopolis is now considered a major gay destination in Brazil, along with Rio and Sao Paulo.

For checking the whole article click here.

Thursday, 30 July 2009

Florianopolis for Gay Girls

In recent edition, Diva Magazine, the leading lesbian mag in the United Kingdom, published a feature written by our director Lesley Cushing about what lesbians can do in Florianopolis... Check it out!


TAKE ME OUT...
Florianopolis, Brazil

Southern Brazil’s beautiful, laid-back island city

9am
We’d wake up at Majestic Palace, a gay-friendly hotel downtown. The rooms have beautiful views of the bay. After breakfast, we’ll go on a fascinating walking tour of the old part of town.

12pm
Visit the old customs house for local arts and crafts, then the fish market, making a quick stop at BOX 32 Seafood Bar for prawn-filled pasties and an icy chopp (Brazilian draught beer).

2pm
Drive to Lagoa da Conceição neighbourhood, a trendy and bohemian area of the island. We’d stop at the viewpoint at the top of the mountains for great views of the lagoon and the East Coast beaches. Then we’d head to Lagoa for coffee & cakes at
one of the many friendly cafes. I’d take you shopping for aBrazilian bikini (or a surf board!) before hitting the beach.

4pm
It’s a short hop to the gayest beaches in town along the short trail to Galheta, a gorgeous naturist beach. Then we’d spend the rest of the afternoon people-watching at Bar do Deca in Praia Mole. This is the summer hang-out for local lesbians.

7pm
Drive to the south of the Island to the old Azorean Village of Ribeirão. Enjoy great oysters and a caipirinha at the pier of Ostradamus, while watching the sunset. A lovely, romantic way to end the day – before the night gets started!

10pm
Pre-clubbing drinks at one of the most gay-friendly bars in
town – check local sites or the best options.

12am
Go to Mix Café club for the best gay night out in town or, if you are in town on the first Friday of the month, check out the Perversion party – the biggest party for gay girls in South Brazil!

•For more info on gay and lesbian life in Florianopolis visit our web site, http://brazilecojourneys.com/gls_travel.php

Lesley Cushing is a director of a travel company, and lives on the island city of Florianopolis in south Brazil. She says, ‘It has gorgeous beaches,beautiful nature, and good weather all year around. It is a very laid back city and a friendly place for lesbians to live and work’.

May 2009 - Diva - p.69

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

Floripa Pride - Acceptance & Respect

Florianopolis is gearing up for its Pride Parade on 6th of September. We are in the organizing commitee, so lots of work to be done in the next 5 weeks. The theme this year is acceptance and respect ( Eu aceito, Eu respeito)- specially related to our own families. The focus will be on the positive examples of the families that do accept & respect our sexual orientation. So I thought this banner from the Pride in Sao Paulo is very relevant. Here it goes.

It says "it is the duty of the family to protect its children from all forms of cruelty, oppression and discrimination". Ditto.

Thanks to Clovis Casemiro for this photo.

Thursday, 23 July 2009

Florianopolis Pride 6th September 2009


Florianopolis Pride will happen on 6th September this year, at the end of the Semana da Diversidade, a week of LGBT events including theatre performances, video festival, debates and a sports day (Diversity Games).

Tomorrow, 24th July, we will have the first of 3 special fundraising parties at the Mix Cafe, with drag queen shows and resident DJs.

Festas em prol da Parada da Diversidade 2009:
24 July - Mix Café; 15 August- Concorde Club; 21 August - Mix Café

Our tip:

This year, AEGLBTS-SC, the Association that organizes the Pride Week , has had the important support of Mercure hotels, which is offering special deals for Pride weekend. For more info contact the hotel directly.

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Buenos Aires is SO GAY!


WELL, I am definitely going way down south on this one, but there is a good reason for it.

Last week we were in
Buenos Aires for the GNETWORK event - the 2nd International Meeting for Gay and Lesbian business. The event was at the beautifully designed Axel hotel , the first "hetero friendly" hotel in South America. It was a great event with speakers from all over the world and with a big audience on both days.

I gave a talk on incoming LGBT tourism in
Brazil and the promotion of destination Florianopolis for the international LGBT market (here is the connection to this blog!).

Another reason to link
Buenos Aires to Florianopolis is that a lot of Europeans and North Americans that visit one, want to visit the other. And it is a great combination for a short holiday: Buenos Aires with all its culture, excellent restaurants and parties and Floripa with its great beaches and relaxing atmosphere (and parties too!).

In summer, there are direct flights (a mere 2 hours journey) between the two cities, making it a very easy going holiday.

Brazil Ecojourneys tips:

  • To find your way around gay and lesbian Bs As grab a GMaps guide. Updated every 3 months the guide is a great help for any G and L visitor;
  • An economical alternative for accommodation in Buenos Aires is to rent a flat. There are many options but these two companies cater mainly for the LGBT community: BA4U and Friendly Apartments.
  • When going out to clubs , remember that Argentineans go out even later than Brazilians- places don't get busy until 3 am!
  • Tango has become popular once again with the younger crowd and there are venues that cater for same-sex tango classes- check GMaps for details;


Tuesday, 30 June 2009

Florianopolis in the spotlight

The media conglomerate Publigayte from Germany has published, simultaneously on its 6 regional magazines, a 3 page article about Floripa written by journalist Torsten Dirk.

See below the link to the online version
http://www.publigayte.com/Reiseziel.904+M512eff17518.0.html

Torsten, a special guest from Brazil Ecojourneys to cover Gay Carnival 2009 in Floripa, wrote:

"hot parties, beautiful people, beaches that are a dream... it is a wonder that Florianopolis is not yet number 1 destination for European gay travellers..."


We also wonder, Torsten!

Saturday, 20 June 2009

Sao Paulo LGBT Pride

We ventured further north last weekend to attend the Sao Paulo Pride, where I was invited to speak at a Forum on LGBT Tourism.

It was my first time at the largest Pride Parade in the world and besides being amazed by the sheer size of it (2 to 3 million attendees, depending on sources), I was pleasantly surprised by the institutional support the event gets from all levels of government. For example, it was the first time I saw a campaign from the Ministry of Tourism targeting the LGBT segment. The slogan of their campaign was even cute: Diversity - Brazil is more beautiful with it.



Despite this support, there was a few ugly reminders that homophobia is alive and well even in the most liberal capital in Brazil (see the official note from the organizers about the violence that followed the Parade - http://www.paradasp.org.br/noticia0046).

If you feel outraged by these attacks, remember that visibility is our best action- come out and show up at the demonstration tonight in Sao Paulo. Also remember that Gay Parades are not just another excuse for a party (although they can be a lot of fun!) but they are our chance to stand up and be counted.



See you at Florianopolis Pride on the 6th of September!