Spartacus Guide Gay Buenos Aires Argentina
Buenos Aires has a thriving gay and lesbian scene that's the most impressive in South America. Though there's no official gay neighborhood, much of the action is in Barrio Norte, Palermo, and San Telmo, whose gentrification has been accompanied by an influx of gay men and is the site of the city's main gay hotels, El Lugar Gay and Axel. Gay nightlife begins late, with nightclubs opening around midnight, picking up between 2 and 3am, and closing around 7am. Bars might open as early as 8pm. Pick up a free copy of GMap (www.gmaps360.com) or the city's own gay map at tourism kiosks and other venues, or buy La Otra Guía (www.laotraguiaweb.com.ar) or Imperio magazine (www.revista-imperio.com) at newsstands. Gay welcome center Pink Point, Lavalle 669, Luxor Galería shop 24 (tel. 11/4322-1343; www.pinkpointbuenosaires.com), provides information and offers nightlife tours.
Spartacus Guide Gay Buenos Aires Argentina
With its enormous collection of bars, dance clubs, restaurants, and tango halls catering to the gay and lesbian community, Buenos Aires is rivaled by no other Latin American city in terms of its offerings for visiting gays and lesbians. The Buenos Aires Tourism Office, the Ronda (www.theronda.com.ar), and G-Maps (www.gmaps360.com) all publish maps detailing the gay scene. Check out La Otra Guía (www.laotraguiaweb.com.ar) or Imperio magazine (www.revista-imperio.com) at newsstands, or the websites www.gayinbuenosaires.com.ar and www.sentidog.com.ar, for more listings and news. The Comunidad Homosexual de Argentina (CHA; tel. 11/4361-6382; www.cha.org.ar) and the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals (www.lgbt.org.ar) are additional resources; together, they also organize the annual Gay Pride March, known as Marcha del Orgullo Gay, always held the first Saturday in November.
A number of international resources for LGBT travelers also provide information on travel in Buenos Aires, including the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA; tel. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626; www.iglta.org) and the websites www.PlanetOut.com and www.Outtraveler.com. Spartacus International Gay Guide (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide) and Odysseus (Odysseus Enterprises Ltd.) are annual English-language guidebooks targeting a gay male audience, with some information for lesbians. Look for them at gay and lesbian bookstores or order them from Giovanni's Room, 1145 Pine St., Philadelphia, PA 19107 (tel. 215/923-2960; www.giovannisroom.com). In Buenos Aires, visit the gay bookstore Otras Letras and purchase Historia de la Homosexualidad en Argentina, by Osvaldo Bazan, for a better historical understanding of gay Argentina.
Though much has recently changed, Argentina remains a very traditional, Catholic society that is fairly closed-minded about homosexuality. Buenos Aires, however, is a more liberal exception to this rule, where gays and lesbians are part of the fabric of city life. Gay and lesbian travelers will find numerous clubs, restaurants, and even tango salons catering to them. Buenos Aires has become a major gay-tourism mecca since the peso crisis, outshining Rio de Janeiro in popularity for this market. Gay maps are now produced by the Buenos Aires Tourism Office for distribution with standard travel information. Most hotel concierges also easily provide this information, recognizing the importance of the emerging market. The locally produced website www.gayinbuenosaires.com.ar also provides more details on many sites of interest.
Since 1992, Gay.com Travel and its predecessor Out and About (tel. 800/929-2268; www.outandabout.com) have provided gay and lesbian travelers with objective, timely, and trustworthy coverage of gay-owned and gay-friendly lodging, dining, sightseeing, nightlife, and shopping establishments in every important destination worldwide. Out Traveler (tel. 800/792-2760; www.outtraveler.com) is a gay travel magazine published by LPI Media, the owners of the U.S. gay newsmagazine the Advocate. Spartacus International Gay Guide (Bruno Gmünder Verlag; www.spartacusworld.com/gayguide) and Odysseus (Odysseus Enterprises Ltd.) are good, annual English-language guidebooks focused on gay men, with some information for lesbians. You can get them from most gay and lesbian bookstores, or order them from Giovanni's Room bookstore, 1145 Pine St., Philadelphia, PA 19107 (tel. 215/923-2960; www.giovannisroom.com). Within Buenos Aires, the gay monthly magazine Imperio is available at central newspaper kiosks.