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November 2004- Big
Romance
When i headed back to Brazil in March, my motivations were different
than before - i was feeling 'single' again and intended to stay
unattached and explore the sexuality of the city, sort of a 'looking
for love in all the wrong places' kind of thing. in Rio in order
to be in the 'wrong places' there's a sequence that most tourists
follow. we start among friends on the gay beaches in ipanema and
copacabana since they are beautiful,central and mostly safe. if
you meet a guy who's proposing sex and you follow the guidebook
rules you should be ok. the nightime bar experience at well-advertized
places is also relatively safe, just don't accept any opened drinks
from a smiling stranger and don't invite him back to your place
or follow him to his - that's what the sex hotels are for. finding
the smaller local bars and saunas means you have an idea of the
layout of the city and the timing of things, but you're more at
risk, inside and out . solo cruising city streets and parks, even
in the daytme, is the highest risk of all as there's MUCH you
need to know and trouble comes in many forms and lessons cost
more than you can sometimes afford. it takes more than a few days
weeks or months to be able to swim and not drown in the waters
of the cidade maravilhosa (the marvelous city).
so why run the risks? bcause most brazilian guys don't participate
in the gay tourist thing. because the more you know about brazilian
men and brazilian culture the more you want to know. because something
tempts 'jump in the water's fine' and for some of us a desire
to adventure into the unknown is at the core of our being.
imagine my luck and happiness in having 'been there, done that'
and arriving safely home having somehow found LOVE despite the
odds. this whole summer and fall i've been living the dream of
getting back with my guy. my return flight to Rio is scheduled
in December and the four month stay takes a lot of preparation.
painting and drawing time has been limited, and that's why i've
not had a lot of new stuff to show lately. but that's ok, because
in our lives ART has many forms, right?
check this out - the Brazilian gay magazine HOMEN'S and my art SHOWCASED!
the first two paintings below were done while in Rio de Janeiro
in April of this year and the others recently finished here at
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