This is a long post. Sorry
I am doing a bit of travel lately. This last week I had to travel to São Paulo, Brazil for work. I decided that I was going to enjoy some of the night life. I could trade the nylons and boots of the American winter for bare legs and high heeled sandals. In the last 12 years I have been to Brazil maybe 30 times. I speak Portuguese fluently and I have traveled to most of the major cities in the south. Just during my last two visits I have attempted to dress there.
São Paulo is challenging. Though I know the city as well as any foreigner can; but I do not have a solid understanding of the attitudes of the people as I do in for example San Francisco or New York. I know of many night spots ranging from small dance halls in Pinheiros where they play forro music to large concert sized venues where they play Sertanejo, a Brazilian country music. But, I was unsure how I might be accepted. Many of the sites are located far apart from each other and in dark neighborhoods. Public transport dressed, as in the New York subway is not an option. Uber was an ongoing problem this trip. Last time it worked perfectly, this time barely. I think the issue was the roaming provider. I was not getting 4G service and the mapping portion of Uber got stalled, stalling the whole app.
I arrived in São Paulo and looked at the internet for options. A search under crossdressing in Brazil got me to club that was actually hosting a party that weekend. I thought of contacting them and trying to get invited. But, they were only communicating by text and I am very careful about giving out my telephone number (I do not). Under crossdresser bars I got a lot of gay bars, which usually is not my prefered site, but found a listing of gay friendly bars. This list seemed to highlight classy upscale places that catered to a mixed clientele. Perfect.
On night one I dressed in a rouched blue dress and blue suede sandals. I went to Igrejinha (the Little Church) in Consolação. The place was small and cozy with multiple rooms. The décor had a Catholic theme with saints and crosses. They had a DJ playing and she was really good. She was playing small loops of sounds and crafting these dark dance tunes. I spoke to her during her break. I had only seen music like this on the internet. The staff there really welcomed me and made me feel comfortable. Next I went to ABC Bailão (Big Dance) in Villa Buarque. Villa Buarque is in the center of the city and captures the menace of the city. The shops and restaurants are closed at night. There are a fair amount of homeless. At the corners you might see a small bar or Lanchonette (Diner) plus a group of transsexual prostitutes, really. ABC Bailão is a gay dance club. They had a big dance floor and a big video screen where they played 80’s videos. The crowd was older, 40ish, with some guys in their 60s. I stayed, danced, and drank, and finally went home
On night two I intended to go to a club I visited before, Madame Underground in Bela Vista. This is a Goth club. I wore a Bebe black mini dress with long sleeves and Jessica Simpson black sandals. I showed up at 10:30 and it was closed. After checking my phone I figured out that they did not open until 11:30. There was a lanchonette a few doors away with a bunch of worker guys playing cards and chugging beers. There were few taxis; the first taxi did not pick me up. My Uber was not working. This was a recurring problem during the trip. It did not look good. Finally another taxi came and took me back to Igrejinha, where I was greeted with open arms. I chatted with a lesbian couple there; one of the girls thought I looked great, but then criticized my big feet (13 women’s). I guess I can’t please everyone. I returned back to the Underground. I found myself underdressed as the other ladies were wearing their best leather and PVC. This place has several rooms, a smoking area which is relatively quiet and a good place to talk, the main bar where they play vampire movies, a courtyard, and the dance floor. The dance floor is in the basement and they have dry ice and strobes. The dancing people look somewhat like the walking dead. I spoke to a pair of women that offered me a toke of their marijuana cigarette. One guy called me over to talk, but before talking he had to explain clearly that he was not gay. Good, neither am I. I talked with another couple and the talk turned to travel and then hiking in the alps. By that time, with the drinks, loud music, and interesting talk I had lost my sort of feminine voice (at my best I can make myself sound like the dark girl on Teen Titans). I had one more drink left in me so I went to Danger in the infamous Villa Buarque. This has a huge open dance floor with an upstairs balcony in the form of a U. There are drag queens singing on stage, big lights, and shirtless gay men waving their arms in the air on the dance floor. I stayed for one drink and headed to the hotel.
My third night was uneventful by comparison. I was tired and ready to go home after two long trips. I put on a strapless velvet top, black sweater, black mini, and Jessica Simpson heels. I headed back to the Underground. This time the bar was quieter and the crowd was a bit different, younger. I did not have the energy to socialize. I had a couple quiet drinks and called it a night.
