Gay nightlife in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro and other cities with great tourist, is going through a difficult time. If in the past there were countless LGBTQ nightclubs scattered around the city, with the vast majority of them in Copacabana, today there are no more than six in the area. 

The emergence of the internet and later dating apps made it possible to meet someone through a small screen without having to go to a nightclub. But it wasn’t just the digital world that had an influence on this; several other issues also contributed to the decline of Brazilian gay nightlife. To better understand this new scenario, the Washington Blade spoke to veteran artists from Brazil’s LGBTQ scene to understand the roots of this complex enigma.

The cost of maintaining a nightclub involves high and fixed expenses, such as rent, staff for various functions, attractions, and other bills, when financial return was guaranteed in the past, but not today. Brazil’s gay nightlife, especially in Rio, hasn’t gone extinct, it’s still resisting, but competing with new trends: sex parties. In recent years, they have become more and more frequent in the “Cidade Maravilhosa” or the “Marvelous City” as Rio is known and their main focus is group sex.

Spread between the city’s South and Central Zones, they take place on regular dates, in fixed or itinerant locations, such as saunas and old mansions. They are always on a differentiated schedule that can involve go-go boys, open bars, and other attractions.

It’s impossible to talk about the success of these spicy parties without having a look at gay nightlife in the past; and the changes that took place during the 1990s and 2000s, when the internet was just becoming popular and a new generation was being born. If in the past, gay nightclubs were a place to dance, drink, flirt, and maybe end the night with someone, these stages have been skipped for something much more immediate.

MachoMan, one of Rio’s most famous sex parties, brings together a male audience of around 130 participants at each edition. The event has grown and is currently held in three different places: a mansion, a sauna, and a bar. Over the seven years of its existence, the party’s creator, Maurício Code, estimates that 25,000 men have been there. Asked about the popularity of adult parties in parallel with the decline of nightclubs, he replied: “In times of immediacy when it comes to libido, many people want to skip the flirting phase and get straight to the point. Less talk and more action is the premise of the new times.” 

For the organizer, there are guarantees at a carnal party, which can be uncertain at a nightclub. 

“At sex parties, the guarantee of some sexual interaction is a certainty,” he says.

MachoMan has had upwards of 220 parties. Some of them offer an open bar, changing rooms, showers, a steam room, and even places for BDSM and other fetishes. Unlike the nightclubs that had darkrooms for anonymous pleasure in the dark, the pleasure at these parties is collective and in front of everyone.

Another issue to be considered is that the cost of these sex parties is lower than that of nightclubs; since the events take place on specific dates, the professionals involved (bartenders, DJs, cleaners, go-go boys, bodyguards, etc.) are hired just for that occasion. The rented space can host other events — straight or gay — on other dates — with our without erotic appeal. Because they don’t take place on specific days, this also creates an expectation among the audience for the next party..

In fact, the only obstacle to these libidinous parties is competition. 

There are currently dozens taking place almost simultaneously in Rio and other cities. The schedule varies little, but they always have beautiful naked men with bodies sculpted in the gym entering a male audience eager for pleasure. Raphael Habbib is one of them.

Although he is Brazilian, he has Arab features and is one of the most sought-after go-go boys, appearing at many libertine parties with his sensual performances. For him, the phenomenon of erotic parties is associated with a change in behavior.

“The gay audience has changed, we are now more willing to experience sexuality in a more genuine way, exploring all forms of enjoyment,” said Habbib. 

Regarding the collapse of nightclubs, he reflects: “Sex parties have a nightclub atmosphere, music, booze, and lots of sex with no compromise, in other words, they have everything that nightclubs used to have and more.”

A portrait of the past gay scene

In the 1980s and 1990s in Brazil; nightlife was a meeting of tribes, of subcultures, each occupying their own space and, above all, expressing their sexuality after a full day of repression at work. In this sense, nightlife was a place to let loose, enjoy, drink, and interact, even if the hangover came the next day. The big urban centers had endless nights, streets full until dawn, and pleasant encounters came about by chance. There has been a transformation that not only involves the rise of the internet, but also economic crisis and violence. Nightlife is quieter, and there is no single culprit.

However, since the 2000s, the LGBTQ nightlife scene has been changing by leaps and bounds. Nightlife entrepreneurs have had to reinvent themselves as their audiences have migrated elsewhere; and some, even though they were looking for innovation, ended up closing their doors a few years later. 

Veteran drag queen Eula Rochard has been on stage since 1984 and has followed all these changes closely. For her, the advance of LGBTQ policies in Brazil since the late 1990s has caused the gay community to spread to other places where they were not welcome before.

While in terms of rights it was progress, on the other hand, there was a move away from gay “ghettos.”

“People who used to hide from home to go to nightclubs no longer hide,” said Rochard. “In the 1980s, everything was hidden, the nightclubs were ghettos, there were several at the time, the fees were bad, but there was a lot of work. I traveled the country.” 

Rochard, however, recognizes the importance of these policies. 

“That was great, because in my time people were killed and nothing happened (impunity), but businessmen no longer wanted to invest in nightclubs, if a gay person could go or kiss anywhere, so the nightlife for us gays has weakened a lot, it’s almost non-existent,” she said.

Rochard in 2023 made international headlines when she revealed that former U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was once a drag queen known as Kitara Ravache who performed in Rio and in the nearby city of Niterói, 

Trans artist Angelika Rawaxi shares the same opinion.

“Nowadays we have the chance to go to other places, we have laws in our favor, and we don’t have to be in ghettos anymore,” said Rawaxi. “What has contributed is the freedom we’ve been given to go to other places and expand our work.” 

Both don’t believe that the internet has harmed gay nightlife, on the contrary. In terms of relationships, however, the online world has presented a problem.

“People used to go to gay clubs to kiss, to find a boyfriend, and that’s over,” lamented Rawaxi. “Today gay people go to dating apps, no one meets by looking, by touching, by dancing to a song like they used to.” 

The now-closed Le Boy was Rio’s most popular gay nightclub. 

The 1970s inspired its decor, with mirrored globes, sofas, and a Studio 54 vibe. Calvin Klein, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Rupert Everett, Rihanna, and Katy Perry are among the celebrities who were seen at Le Boy. It remained open from 1992-2016, but succumbed to the economic crisis and its French owner put the property up for sale after 24 years. Another gay nightclub opened in the same place in 2024, and it is one of the few remaining in Copacabana.

As the LGBTQ establishments closed their doors, the drag queens and crossdressers who used to perform on stage had to look for other ways. 

Businessman Júnior Barbosa, owner of Rio’s most notorious gay sauna, was a pioneer when he hired these artists to perform at his establishment in Copacabana. The initiative represented a new field of work for those who depended on LGBTQ nightclubs. Others, like drag queen Gabrielly Rodin, were able to reinvent themselves and migrated to straight parties and other events. 

“I went to other venues, and I always had acceptance and financial return,” Rodin told the Blade.

Rodin attributes the decline of LGBTQ nightlife to the replacement of drag queens by DJs, and to the open bar that devalued the artists, as if the crowd were more interested in drinking than enjoying a performance.

LGBTQ nightlife decline is not unique to Brazil

Germany since the 1990s has seen the same transition as Brazil. 

“Clubsterben” is a German expression that means “death of nightclub culture,” especially in Berlin, a previous oasis of the techno scene. 

The Wilde Renate, a nightclub in a poorly maintained building, will close at the end of the year, while the Watergate closed its doors at the end of 2024 after 22 years. A report carried out in November by an organization representing Berlin’s clubs revealed that half of the 250 or so nightclubs in the German capital are at risk of closing their doors this year. Berlin’s nightlife is not at its best, and the rest of the world in general. 

The Guardian reported there were 1,700 nightclubs in the U.K. in 2013; 11 years later there were only 787 left. 

Another noticeable change in Brazil has been the open bar, which has increased the cost of entry, coupled with the country’s economic instability. Therefore, the death of the Berlin or Rio nightclubs is not an isolated situation, but a reality in the ever-changing world, as well as a generational change.

Against the backdrop of the Brazilian crisis, La Cueva nightclub is an exception. 

It has been in business since 1964 and is Latin America’s oldest gay club. The underground nightclub in Copacabana has withstood the dictatorship of the 1960s and 1970s, the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, the economic crises of the 1990s. Its longevity may be associated with its strictly mature audience (on average over 55) who still prefer eye-to-eye contact and dancing to flashbacks, and are probably not so adept at virtual media.

What is the gay scene’s future?

For many, the night has lost its shine, it has become empty. Interaction between people seems to have lost a bit of its meaning. They’re not disconnected from the virtual world, even when they are with friends in bars. They’re always with their eyes fixed on their cell phone, sometimes forgetting about the real world. Going to a club in the hope of not only dancing, but also meeting someone interesting, having a relationship, and perhaps a night of sex, has become too slow-paced.

“What is the future of the gay nightlife scene for drag queens and trans women, who in the past performed several times a night in nightclubs? Opinions differ. 

“The future of LGBTQ+ artists in Rio is tragic, nowadays, we’re working for very low fees, because many are doing shows for free,” complains Rawaxi. 

Rodin is more confident. 

“Today we can occupy all spaces and not just the ‘ghettos,’ we are renewing ourselves, being seen by everyone, we can’t just accept the bubble that society forces us to live in,” they said. 

Rochard doesn’t have the same optimism.

 “I don’t see a future in Brazil as far as nightlife is concerned, the clubs need to reinvent themselves, they won’t cease to exist; but they won’t be the same as in the past, but our drag queen culture will never end,” she said.

Luna Humérez has made history in Bolivia as the first transgender woman to run for a seat in the country’s Senate.

“We are making history, my candidacy is a bet on human rights,” Humérez told the Washington Blade.

She hopes to represent La Paz Province under the banner of SÚMATE, a center-left political movement that includes presidential candidate Manfred Reyes Villa. 

“It is important to occupy these spaces and demonstrate that beyond our identity we have the capacity,” said Humérez.

With a trajectory of more than 15 years as an activist for trans rights in Bolivia, Humérez is not a new figure in the public arena. A lawyer by profession and president of the Organization of Transvestites, Transgender and Transsexual Women of Bolivia known by the acronym OTRAF, she has been one of the main promoters of a trans rights law in the country. Humérez is also the first trans woman in Bolivia to enter into a civil marriage after authorities legally recognized her gender identity.

Humérez is the founder of Casa Trans Pamela Valenzuela, a refuge and community center in La Paz.

Aware of the need to advance protections for sexual and gender diversities, Humérez has proposed a legislative platform that focuses on the control and effective enforcement of laws.

“Bolivia is full of laws, regulations that are obsolete, however they have a mandatory compliance,” she said, noting reforms should improve accessibility and respond to marginalized groups’ specific needs.

Humérez’s platform is “full rights for all, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Facing a campaign from a historically marginalized identity, Humérez recognizes the resistance, but also celebrates the support. 

“My candidacy also speaks of the fact that there is a large number of Bolivians who have been left behind because of discriminatory bias,” she told the Blade. “I have so many anecdotes, which began with those who trusted me, among them are my sisters in struggle, human rights activists, political activists, animal activists, environmentalists, and others with whom we formed ties, mostly young people who also have the desire to take flight and change the country for the better. They are my other family and I am very grateful to them.”

Humérez proposes, in addition to a gender rights and diversity agenda, a platform with seven focuses — legal, political, economic, productive, social, moral, and territorial — and five immediate actions. These include:

• An “immediate injection” of $10 billion to stabilize the economy and create the flow of dollars
• Reestablish order throughout the country; guaranteeing freedom of protest without interfering in economic development
• Create one million “decent and well-paid jobs” that would allow “talented young people” to remain in the country
• “Act firmly” against corruption
• “Promote real authority for each department” that would decentralize the government

Regarding LGBTQ youth in Bolivia, the lawyer and activist envisions a future where “the freedom that every human being has to choose their sexual orientation and gender identity with equal opportunities must be guaranteed.” 

“I notice that the youth today understood this, and now it is necessary to have spaces of accessibility and participation without any consideration,” said Humérez. “The State must guarantee through its instances this accessibility. We need a Bolivia that is more plural, inclusive and in brotherhood.”

Humérez concluded the interview by noting her family’s humble beginnings.

“I know what deprivation is and I know what it is like not to have enough bread to put in one’s mouth,” she said. “If my life has been to help as many people as possible, being in there I will be able to help much more. I am an example of overcoming and showing that anything is possible. Do not judge me by my identity, but by my capacity.”

The country’s general elections will take place on Aug. 17. 

A U.S. Agency for International Development funding freeze in January forced the closure of India’s Mitr Clinic, the country’s first transgender healthcare facility, disrupting critical services for a vulnerable population. 

Six months later, the clinic has reopened as Sabrang Clinic, reviving access to essential care for the transgender community.

Major Indian corporations, including some of the nation’s largest multinationals, stepped up with substantial financial support. Their backing has enabled Sabrang Clinic to resume its mission of delivering specialized, stigma-free medical services.

The former Mitr Clinic on May 2 reopened as the Sabrang Clinic. YR Gaitonde Center for AIDS Research and Education, an HIV/AIDS service organization, manages the facility.

The Sabrang Clinic sparked controversy in the U.S. when U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) in February denounced its USAID funding, arguing that American taxpayer dollars should not support trans healthcare initiatives abroad. President Donald Trump amplified the criticism, labeling the agency’s spending on such programs as “wasteful” and aligning with his administration’s broader push to curb federal support for gender-affirming care. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt further fueled the debate, citing the clinic’s funding as part of a pattern of USAID’s “radical” expenditures, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) echoed the sentiment, decrying similar international projects as misaligned with American priorities.

Elon Musk, who until May led the Department of Government Efficiency, added to the controversy surrounding the clinic. 

“That’s what American tax dollars were funding,” he said in a Feb. 28 X post. 

His remark, made before his departure from the Trump-Vance administration, spotlighted the clinic’s USAID support, intensifying debates over its role in delivering trans healthcare in India.

The Washington Blade on Feb. 27 detailed how the USAID funding freeze crippled Mitr Clinic’s operations, spotlighting the broader fallout for South Asian LGBTQ organizations. 

The Blade noted the clinic, a vital resource for trans healthcare in India, faced abrupt closure alongside groups in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, as the freeze slashed support for programs addressing HIV/AIDS, mental health, and gender-based violence, leaving thousands without access to essential services.

The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and USAID in 2021 launched Program ACCELERATE, spearheaded by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to establish Mitr Clinic in Hyderabad in Telangana State. As India’s first comprehensive healthcare center for the trans community, the facility offered tailored medical services, including HIV/AIDS treatment and mental health support, filling a critical gap in the region’s healthcare landscape.

Sabrang Clinic serves a critical role for India’s estimated one million trans people, a population facing a disproportionate HIV/AIDS burden. 

A 2019 Reuters report noted a 3.1 percent HIV prevalence among trans people, translating to roughly 31,000 individuals living with the virus, compared to the national adult rate of 0.26 percent. Similarly, a 2021 UNAIDS report cited a 3.8 percent prevalence, suggesting approximately 38,000 trans people with HIV/AIDS. 

Internal reports indicate the clinic since it opened in 2021 has served more than 3,000 patients. It has become a model of community-led care that fosters trust and addresses the unique health needs of trans people in Hyderabad.

When USAID funding cuts forced Sabrang Clinic’s closure, scores of people and LGBTQ community members in Hyderabad were left without access to reliable, stigma-free healthcare. Undaunted, the clinic’s trans-led team pivoted to virtual consultations and medication delivery, sustaining critical support for patients until corporate funding revived operations.

Tata Trusts, a philanthropic arm of India’s Tata conglomerate, in April pledged to fund the clinic for three years.

The Hindu, a leading Indian English-language newspaper, reported the trust committed approximately $18 per person a year to sustain the clinic’s operations. This contrasts with the earlier USAID program, which had provided about $23 per person each year.

Tata Trusts covers the salaries of Sabrang Clinic’s core medical staff, while its leadership positions are jointly funded by Tata and the clinic’s parent organization. The clinic is now pursuing partnerships with additional donors to expand its trans-focused healthcare services.

“We are elated to continue this service, as we have always believed that sexual minorities deserve respect and their right to self-expression,” said YRGCARE Chief Operating Officer A.K. Srikrishnan. “That’s why we launched Mitr Clinic under Project ACCELERATE in 2021, and it operated until January 2025. The Trump administration’s USAID funding withdrawal forced a shutdown, but we have no comment on that. Fortunately, with great vigor, we secured support from Tata Trusts to sustain Sabrang Clinic. The name change to Sabrang, also called ‘Help for All,’ was simply to reposition the brand, with no deeper logic attached.”

Srikrishnan told the Blade that YRGCARE will aim to raise additional crowdfunding and support if the current funding proves insufficient to maintain the same level of services at the clinic. Srikrishnan also thanked Tata Trusts for its support.

“We want to expand it throughout the country given the choice,” said Srikrishnan. “If someone were to tell us, ‘Can you run it across the country?’ we would certainly love to do it.” 

“Sexual minorities are a reality, and however much someone wishes them away, they exist and need to exist with the respect and rights they deserve,” added Srikrishnan. “We do not differentiate between local and foreign contributions; when we needed it most, Tata Trusts stepped in and helped. So we are certainly grateful to them.”