Latbear4blk

I lived there in the 80s and 90s. In those two decades, rather than "growing up" I was "parting Wilde".

Somehow, Buenos Aires is more beautiful than usual in the middle of the restrictions. I guess is just my nostalgia. Yesterday was a sunny beautiful Fall day, but today is raining and cloudy. I am still working for my school, so my freedom is limited for this and next week. However, yesterday I left Palermo to have lunch with my mother in my old neighborhood, the famous Recoleta. 90% of the people is using masks, even outdoors. This is the block where I lived for more than 20 years, in Rodriguez Peña street. Right in the corner, Rodríguez Peña & Guido, there is a travel agency where you can change your cash dollars safely and without a paper track. If you are staying nearby, that is the place I used 2 years ago. After I came back home I fucked my first Grindr hook up (I have a long cue), a cute 26 y.o. athletic guy who asked me to trim my pubic hair because it looked unseat. This was a first time. Additionally, he was not the only one who made that kind of comment amongst my hook apps candidates. Apparently they do not mind for a hairy body, but they want my pubic hair short. As a side note, I had not trimmed my pubis in a long time. Damn, I have a lot of grey hair below my cock. Afterwards, and already in curfew time (my hook up left during curfew time and he did not care), I contacted my first escort. I am still stuck to my place and do not want to bring anyone I have not already met, so I went for Douglas, the Carioca I have already reviewed. His fee is only $AR 2,500 (26 bucks at official exchange, 16 at Blue's). I will see him tonight, hopefully. My friend Y also got my weed supply. I purchased 10 grams at $AR 6,000 and 10 at 8,000. Total of $AR 14,000 (U$S 143 off/91 Blue. I was not sure how much 20 grams was after so many years purchasing ounces in the USA, and pressed cheap Paraguayan when I was living here. Not only I bought too much. Besides, afterwards, an old friend who is getting married got as present premium weed (I do not know how much yet) and he is giving it to me). I will be living in a cloud of weed smoke starting tonight. These are the flowers I got from Y's providers: I rode in a regular taxi cab yesterday. For a 20' ride, I paid $AR 400 (U$S 4 Off/ 2.60 Blue). And I have to get into a zoom. More info later.

These first two week, specially this one, I am still heavily supporting my school from distance, and my movements are highly restricted, as at 8pm local restrictions mandate to stay home. I just went for a walk in between zooms and got still more in love with the neighborhood. Yesterday not only was Sunday, but also the last day of a strict weekend quarantine. Most places were close. Today bars and restaurants were open and, as it was still morning, starting to set up their tables outdoors. Definitely, they seem to be tailored to welcome USA and UK visitors, both countries right now banned from entering. Just a sample: I chose that picture not because it is exceptional, but rather the opposite. Most places have bilingual menus and signing. By the way, remember that here it is Fall. I was concerned when I realized I did not bring any viagra pills, considering the activity I am about to start today (Y is coming this early afternoon). So I stopped by a local pharmacy to check whether or not they would sell me sildenafil without a prescription. The regulation here is unclear, and some places will demand a recipe, some will not. I was lucky and hit bingo in my first try. 20 pillas of 50mg, $AR 3600. If I had paid with my CC, the bill would have been U$S 37. As I used cash, I actually paid 23 bucks. My Grindr keeps driving me crazy, Scruff so far has been a disappointment. I am saving the most interesting hits after a quick chat to confirm we are a match, I will probably start meeting them this coming weekend. My favorite one:

The myth of White Argentina is one of the most rotund victories of Racism and European Supremacy.

There has always been only two Palermos. Palermo Viejo, and Palermo Chico. As you say, the latter is a wealthy neighborhood with fancy houses where many diplomat reside, and where even many embassies are located. Palermo Viejo was a mix of fancier areas closer to Avdas Figueroa Alcorta and Libertador, and Parque 3 de Febrero (los Bosques de Palermo) and the inside big popular middle class areas. Those areas have been redeveloped in the last decade, realtors marketed and successfully imposed Palermo Hollywood (where I am right now) and Palermo Soho to two of traditional Palermo Viejo neighborhoods.

LOL. I am not 100% sure, but 90% I think he is the same Tommy. Not only USA escorts rebrand themselves now and then.

Already here! One of the best flight I had ever. The plane from DC to Dallas was full, but he long flight to Buenos Aires was probably only have full. I was in the Premium Economy section and only two other people were in those 24 seats. American Airlines service was super nice, the food quite goof for a plane, and one of the cheapest tickets ever, almost 1,1 K. Ezeiza was also semi empty and totally transformed by the control protocols. After picking up your luggage, you have to take another test (I had to take one before), but the whole process was efficient and there were few travelers. Once I received my negative result, I was ready to walk out to meet my driver. In previous trips, I would just go for the car services offered in the airport. Two years ago, I paid over 30 buck, which it is quite standard in my international trips. This time I tried something different. I asked my sister to hire a remise service. I paid $AR 1,650, 2K with the tip. That is U$S 20.56 at the official exchange rate, 12.94 at the Blue exchange. IMG_2113.MOV My Airbnb looks just like the pictures, and the neighborhood is exactly what I expected. I walked a little bit around. As the exchange rate shows such an abyssal difference between Official and Blue, I did not want to buy anything. In the airport, I withdrew $AR 4.000 to pay to the driver and have some cash. I need groceries, but I will wait to see my sister and mother (they are coming in 2 hours) and will sell them dollars at Blue rate. I am not scamming them, my friends, that is what people do here. You do not need to have family or friends. The locals want your dollars. If you go to most exchange shops or travel agencies, they will make the deal with you at Blue prices, without any paper track. But I was hungry after almost 24 hours eating airport/airplane food. Right in the corner of my place, I found a very affordable restaurant. It looks quite average, and I loved the price although I did not have much time to compare. They were offering a "Menú Ejecutivo" for lunch at $AR 420. I wondered if they were making a pun, "420" is popular here in social media and hook up apps. I did not ask. I went for the first option, the "mini" bife de chorizo. Delicious, my first piece of Argentine meat. While I was waiting, I enjoyed being in a Buenos Aires sidewalk. This is a Fase 1 weekend, so there is no traffic and people are walking their dogs wearing masks. This tree was right in my corner. To give you an idea of local prices, this is the full menu of the place I chose: I included a tip, and paid $AR 500 for my bife de chorizo: U$S 5,14 at official rate, 3.24 at Blue rate. 30' after opening my Grindr, I had 15 hits. 10 of them were attractive men and young men. The good thing of having so many, you can pick only the best. I am talking with a 24 years guys very cute. I am not planning to do anything today anyway, so we are talking about meeting during the week. I am also talking with my boy Y, the Venezuelan hottie into chubby men that I met 2 years ago. I talked about him in my report here, (he was 22 back then, 24 now, I make the acceleration because I mention several possible ages in that linked report)and also wrote abut him in my blog. He is getting me pot and we will meet tomorrow. All this is sex for free. I have not yet decided who the first professional will be, or when. The offer is generous. I wrote a report on my candidates, but since then more have been added to the list. Now, I am going to wait for my mami while I catch up on my networks. That's all for today, folks!

Buena suerte!

I just finished packing and in a few hours will be departing to Buenos Aires. I have not visited my second home in two years, and besides cuddling my 83 y.o. mother and my old friends, I am very curious about the city in pandemic mode. Things look bad over there right now, with restrictions close to Fase 1 in some places even if they are rolling vaccination with a good vaccine, Russian Sputnik. The exchange is back to have an official and a parallel value. Today, official exchange is around U$S 1 = $AR 100; while the "blue" exchange is 1 to 150. Due to this huge difference, I will be restricting the use of credit cards (they use official exchange rates) and instead I am taking cash. I will stay in an Airbnb for 30 days (less than 400 bucks!), a studio in duplex with two balconies in a 2nd floor (3rd for American standards), in Palermo. This is another reason I am excites. I always lived in Recoleta, and then kept staying in my family place or renting in that neighborhood. This is the first time that I am going to be exploring Palermo, a quite transformed area since my departure from the city. It is full of restaurants and bars, with a quite young/middle class demographic. Wish me a good trip!

In my case, over 8k miles. I do not give an exact number because I grew up in more than one location in Argentina. Interesting, I have been in the elite group since very little.

I just read this. I am so sorry! I hope you are recovering fast. Hopefully, I am leaving this weekend to Buenos Aires. I have both Pfizer shots, but I am not going to be careless. Wish me luck, things are really bad down there.

Thank you! I love Marcelo, he was a huge influence when I was giving my first steps in gay life and activism back in the 80s, in Buenos Aires. I am trying to trigger some questioning. There is too much mediocrity and self centered satisfaction in Gay mainstream, specially in the USA. Did you hear of "épater les bourgeois"? Each one of my examples alone is of course a weak argument, and perhaps they may not coincide with your personal experience. Look at everything together. It is not just terminology. There is a progression in our self awareness and in the understanding of how sexuality and gender are social constructions. The idea of more or less rigid sexual identities/sexualities is still mainstream, but a different understanding is growing. It is both. Dissatisfied? I think you are too sweet. I do not have anything against coming out. I am out and proud of it. What I find disgusting is the sense of superiority that privileged men feel from coming out (there is a difference between pride and self-aggrandizement), and the way they look down to other men that made a different decision in their lives. These idiotic fundamentalists of being out and loud, without considering privileges and circumstances, they are quite mainstream nowadays and just one of the things (remember, do not look just at ONE) that is tearing the gay out of me. Hell yes. My handle is a testimony of the last century. I am an old man. I considered switching it to Jose Soplanucas, my blog's handle. However, I am not ashamed of my past mistakes and misconceptions, but quite proud of being almost 60 and still keeping my mind open and my willingness to change the only thing where I can really operate changes, myself. So I decided to keep it, and keep all the history of my evolving open to everyone. You drink your wine, I smoke my pot.

For those of you who like Rupaul"s Drag Race, this show may be interested. As an Argentine, I am drooling, but I wonder how an alien would process the experience. Starting in the third episode, you can use YouTube's automatic translation. GAME OF QUEENS

https://ilikepinga.com/2021/05/30/lil-nas-x-snl/

I think you are pointing to a tradition much more universal than the Arab world, and much more ancient than the Middle Ages.

For me, replace "Brazil" with "life". Even if incidentally I am planning to spend a substantial portion of my future life in Brazil.

I find interesting that no one says anything about the pervasive Racism, Classism, Misogyny, Machism, and overall Conservatism I find in nowadays gayness.

I do speak from my privilege and understand if someone still needs to grabs to an outdated way to understand sexuality. However, if you arre living in an urban area in a progressive city in most Western countries, and still feeling a thrill for Gay Pride, I humbly think you are setting the barre too low for yourself.

I do not think you have read beyond the headline.

Living in the post HIV/AIDS pandemic era, and considering the rising of awareness around intersectionality and the cultural nature of humanity, maybe it is time to question again whether or not "Gay" is the right place to be and to fight for. I do not think so. GAY IS NOT GOOD

LOL

I am loving this thread! While we wait for the next post (from whoever, everyone is being VERY informative!), let me share one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite Cuban singers.

Thank you for your reports @iendo! Keep bringing details when you have time, please. Yours is, I think, the freshest report we have on Cuba. It is interesting, because your experience seems to contradict a quite established narrative here. According to this narrative, the good times for gay tourism are way behind in the island.

@iendo, would you give us more details on your visits in 2019? Please?

I do not think he cares about the specific dating, 90s or whenever. He wants to know how it was better, considering he had a greats time in 2029. I am not trying to be his interpreter. I want to know how.