noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - Spring 2008 Issue # 55 - Index

Prior to the opening of The Week
Rio, Sunday’s X-Demente was the
undisputed anchor party for both
NYE and Carnival. A tri-level industrial
space with an outdoor roof
patio, X-Demente is huge, but with
the competition of The Week Rio,
it doesn’t always draw the same
crowd it used to.
On New Year’s Eve night, you want
to see the fireworks. Whether you
join the three million people in traditional
white clothing congregating
on Copacabana Beach, or escape
to a small rooftop party at one of
the hotels, don’t miss the thirty minutes
of fireworks that are the pride
of the city.
I threw the first Wonderland Rio
with Rio promoter Dudi Cotrim
on the roof of the Ipanema Plaza
Hotel. Three hundred guys (70%
Brazilian, 30% American) danced
the night away to LA DJ Josh
Peace and Rio DJ Rafael Calvente
on a poolside rooftop overlooking
Ipanema. Similar private events
happen all around town such as
at the Copacabana Hotel or the
Fasano Hotel. And when the first
moment of the New Year hits, you
hug your friends, look out over the
cityscape and beaches below, and
remember how lucky you are to be
in one of the most beautiful cities in
the world.
CARNivAL
Carnival is the biggest party in the
world. And the Samba Parade, held
in the Sambodrome, is the most
impressive spectacle you will ever
see. Seeing the Samba Parade—or,
better, marching in it—is something
you won’t soon forget. It is simultaneously
a competition between
Rio’s samba schools, a gigantic party
marathon, and a spectacle of costumes,
floats, and music. Each samba school
spends the entire year in production and
millions of dollars for their sixty minutes
of marching.
Besides the Samba Parade, each neighborhood
has its bandas and blocos—
marching street carnivals, with thousands
of people marching, playing music,
performing, drinking, and celebrating.
Banda de ipanema is the most famous
and is part of the official cultural heritage
of Rio, and it includes every Rio
drag queen sober enough to put her
eyeliner on.
The gay parties during Carnival are too
numerous to mention. You may never
go to sleep before daybreak. All of
the big ones, including The Week and
X-Demente, will do their best to get you
in the door.
GuYS iN BRAZiL
Guys in Brazil are hot. And it’s not like in
Italy or Spain, where the average straight
guy walking down the street is stunning,
and then in the local gay bar you are …
less than impressed. Gay guys in Brazil
are gorgeous, whether in the club or on
the beach.
Brazilian gay men are not shy or inhib
ited. If you’re not careful (and please
avoid being careful!), the traditional
greeting of “Oi” is often followed up