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.

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!

The New York Times: Florianopolis is the Place to Be

The New York Times recently declared Floripa the Party Destination of the Year and THE Place to Be in 2009.

The chic beach bars of Jurere and the famous gay Carnival parties of Praia Mole were mentioned, but beyond these areas that are favoured by visitors wanting to party, Floripa has many others that offer a lot of local fun.

Last night, for example, we took a stroll down Armacao main street , one of the oldest fishing communities on the Island and were met by a "bloco" formed by young drummers of a local NGO, rehearsing for Carnival.

Listening to the drums by the sea front while having an ice cream with the pretty old church of the Armacao in the background, I thought that this is what Carnival was really about in its origins: genuine community fun and not only a show for tourists.


Tips from Brazil Ecojourneys Team:

• These kind of events happen every weekend during January and February (until Carnival) in most neighbourhoods. Lagoa, Santo Antonio de Lisboa and Campeche, in particular, have good neighbourhood "blocos", so if you are in the Island during this time, check them out.
• The Afri Catarina NGO offers cultural workshops for the local youth of the south of the Island- check www.africatarina.com.br