SAN PAULO may be the largest city in Brazil with  a HUGE (largest in the world!) gay pride celebration, but this month, Rio de Janeiro is the place to be! 

 

Pool parties, hotel parties, dance events and street parades - 5 days of fun in a charming city. Gays, lesbians, bisexuals and drags are identities who create, recreate, reinforce or show themselves in a remarkable way mainly during the carnaval rituals.

They are in the street festivities, in the balls or in the Samba Schools parade, events that live up the Carnival in Rio, known as one of the most famous parties (and it is also a gay party, why not?) in the whole world. People often that joke that  EVERYONE  is a little GAY during Canival! - This year dates are February 20-25, 2009.

Brazil represents the best of the Latin Dream for the traveller. There's thousands of beaches, good music, great food,  it's relatively inexpensive  and the people have a relaxed attitude towards  sex. What more could you want out of your travels in South America?

It is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it is the easternmost country of the Americas and it borders Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French department of French Guiana. In fact, it borders every South American nation except for Ecuador and Chile!

Rio - "The Marvelous City". is famous for its spectacular natural setting, its Carnival celebrations of course,their  samba and other music, hotel-lined tourist beaches, such as Copacabana and Ipanema, paved with decorated black and cream swirl pattern mosaics, and sadly,  also for its huge social disparities, shanty towns, violence and drug traffic.

Some of the most famous local landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant statue of Jesus, known as Christ the Redeemer ('Cristo Redentor') atop Corcovado mountain, which has recently been named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf mountain (''Pão de Açúcar'') with its cable car; the ''Sambódromo''', a giant permanent parade stand used during Carnival; and Maracanã stadium, one of the world's largest football stadiums. Rio also boasts the world's largest forest inside an urban area, called ''Floresta da Tijuca'', or 'Tijuca Forest'. AMAZING STUFF TO SEE AND  DO!