Features > The Pleasure Activist

by Doug McClelland

(posted Febraury, 2007)

Buenos Aires

I’ve been visiting Buenos Aires annually for several years and I can tell you it’s a great destination to cruise for sex.

BA is currently a hot spot for international travel; it’s full of Western Europeans, North Americans, and Australians, and anyone else from strong currency countries. Due to the economic problems Argentina had in 2001 its currency, the Peso, was steeply devalued. For us, everything from food and drink to hotel rooms seems to be about 1/3 the price you would pay for things in North America. So despite the fact that the airfare to get there may be more than to many other destinations, you’ll more than make up for that by the cheap prices once you get there.

Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, with great architecture. Residents will often tell you that Buenos Aires looks like Paris because of the broad avenues and the work of French architects who designed many of the 19th century buildings in the city center. While the city certainly does have a more European feel than other South American cities you won’t be confusing it with Paris. It is somewhat dilapidated in ways that are definitely South American, not European, and yet still very beautiful. Residents of Buenos Aires are called Portenos. Local dining is famous for the quantity and quality of meat offered plus the ice cream. And the local specialty sweet, "dulce de leche" (sweet caramel), is something I always bring home.

Buenos Aires is probably the most liberal and gay friendly city in Latin America. Argentina’s gay community is very lively and active, especially in Buenos Aires. The Argentina Pride Parade is held in Buenos Aires the first Saturday of each November. In 2002 same-sex civil unions were approved in Buenos Aires. There are lots of gay bars, restaurants and clubs, several saunas and raunchy sex venues. The only down side is that being a Latin country everything starts really late and most bars don't get busy until way after midnight. Santa Fe Avenue in the Recoleta part of town is the gayest area with many bars and restaurants on or near it, although venues are spread around town.

I always stay at the Castelar, a historic three star hotel in the center of downtown; faded glory might be a good description. One great feature of the Castelar is that it has a hundred year old spa in the basement; theoretically straight, except for the cock sucking in the steamroom. If you prefer a gay guesthouse Lugar Gay is a popular place to stay. It is also a very good option to rent furnished apartments by the week (www.friendlyapartments.com).

It’s said that Argentineans are Italians speaking Spanish who think they are French. This is meant as a sly put down but I think it has a certain truth. Although the Spanish originally settled Argentina, the largest part of the population is descended from Italian immigrants who followed. This combination produced absolutely beautiful men. Dark complexions, dark eyes, and beautiful jet black hair is the norm. And in my personal experience, big uncut dicks with a general inclination to be tops. They have a wonderful custom of kissing each other on both cheeks as a greeting, even straight men. I saw two butch cops do this and it was totally hot.

As I said, the nightlife starts late. Make you dinner plans for 11 pm to hit prime time. Head to the bar around 1 am, and to the disco around 3 am. On Sundays everything shifts ahead an hour or two. My favorite restaurant is the Inside, a small place downtown, not too far from the Congress building; great food and staff plus strippers working their way between the diners on weekends (around midnight). After dinner I would head to Contramano, a bar in Recoleto that attracts a mature and Bearish crowd and those attracted to them, including a hot selection of hustlers. After that I’d head downtown to Tom’s sexclub, which includes a bar (so civilized). In every venue the men are very friendly but it helps to have some Spanish. They love to kiss. By the end of my recent visit my lips were chapped.

It is sometimes hard to take guests back to your hotel and many guys live with their families. Luckily, they have a great system of ‘love hotels’ that rent by the hour. I paid $10 per hour recently for a couple of hours of Latin passion with a guy I met at Contramano. Many bars and discos have back rooms that are hopping with sex.

The whole prostitution business is legal in Argentina so there is a wide range of paid sex available from street hustlers to high-end escorts. Soytuyo and Leonos offer high-end guys. Taxiboys, as hustlers are called, can be found in bars and strolling Santa Fe Avenue (especially near the intersections of Santa Fe and Puerredon, Santa Fe and Ecuador, and Santa Fe and Azcuenag).

If you like to cruise bathrooms check out the two huge old Victorian railway stations in the city. There are also taxiboys loitering in some of the subway toilets in the afternoons.

There are a number of good baths including A Full and Unikus. Tom’s and Zoom are a sort of a great hybrid. Instead of bars with back rooms they are back room sexclubs with bars. You can cruise and fuck and then go back to the small bar to chill with a drink for a while or you can take your drink with you while you cruise.

So get yourself down to Buenos Aires. It’s hot, it’s cheap, and the men are sexy.

Recommended in this article:

Inside Resto-Bar, 1572 Bartolome Mitre Street, Centro. 4372-5439. Restaurant with stripper shows on weekends. Open Tuesday through Sunday.

Contramano, 1082 Rodrigues Pena, Recoleta. Bar with a mature clientele and lots of young hustlers hunting. Open Sunday 10 pm to 5 am, Wednesday and Thursday 12 pm to 5 am, Friday and Saturday 1 am to 6 am.

Tom’s, 638 Viamonte, Centro. Sexclub with a bar, many DVD booths with gloryholes, an intricate maze, darkroom and a leather basement.Open Monday through Thursday 12 pm to 3 am, Friday through Sunday 24 hours.

Zoom, 1018 Uriburu, Recoleta. Located off Santa Fe Avenue. Sexclub with darkroom, gloryholes, video booths, lounge and bar. Open Noon to 3 am weekdays, 24 hours Friday, Saturday, and Sunday

Unikus, 1180 Pueyrredon Avenue, Recoleta. 4961-7792. Gay bathhouse located one block from Puerredón & Santa Fe Avenue.

A Full, 1770 Viamonte, Centro. 4371-7263. Bathhouse and spa with gym, dry sauna, steamroom, massage, sunbeds, bar, restaurant, hydrotherapy pool, maze, individual rooms and XXX videos.

Soytuyo Escorts

Leonos Escorts

Or see the Sex Listings.

Comments, suggestions, compliments, criticism? You can write to Doug, The Pleasure Activist at doug@cruisingforsex.com.

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