So how much is sex in Rio?
I thought I'd chime in quickly here regarding the reported skyrocketing rates commanded by the Copa GDPs lately.
In 2004, when I spent lots of time in Rio, a Copacabana (Help, MP, Balcony) pro once explained me how they price their clients: the magic number is 100.
You speak English? That means dollars.
You speak Portuguese? That means Reais.
Keep in mind that at the time, the exchange rate was a tad below 3 Reais per dollar, still. By now, it seems, the rate might be up to 150.
So do the current rates being posted here surprise me, also considering that we're talking about high season and getting close to Carnaval, with more and more horny foreigners in town? Not at all.
You go to Rio, you spend all your time in Copacabana, you only frequent the most notorious pro joints, you compare the Copa rates to what you would pay in your home country, you speak no Portuguese, and you're unable to walk away from a beautiful woman? Well, you're pretty much at the mercy of the Copacabana pros who specialize exactly in YOU. They speak English (or a flurry of other languages) especially for guys like you, and they know your type inside out. They've done it a hundred (thousand) times before. They are in Copacabana because they know that there, they can make many more times the money they would make hooking anywhere else. You are on their turf, and they got the lowdown on you.
You go to Rio, you spend as little time as is necessary in the tourist places, you know termas and other P4P options in different parts of town, you are aware of what normal people make in Brazil, you speak Portuguese, you have no problem with exploring other areas, and you won't hesitate to walk away when you realize you are getting grossly overcharged simply for being a foreigner? Rio has a flurry of other P4P options available for all budgets. I know quite a bit of girls working in other parts of Rio that are not in Copacabana because:
1. they don't wanna be seen by people that know them personally and work in the Copa tourist industry, so they prefer cheaper brothels downtown with regular working hours (which allows them to claim to their family that they actually work a decent job in the big city),
2. don't speak any English or other foreign languages and are actually uneasy with foreigners because they have hardly ever met any,
3. fear the intense competition and turf wars between Copa GDPs that specialize in the tourist market (and have heard all the true stories and/or urban myths about girls getting killed or killing each other, e.g. the story about a GDP in Balcony putting broken glass into another girls drink to kill her a couple of years ago, or the one of a GDP getting thrown of the balcony at the Othon hotel),
4. they don't have any real insight into the inner workings of the Copacabana scene to risk taking a chance there, and they just feel complacent wherever they are. Even if that means fucking guys all day for R$ 30 a pop.
In other words, it all boils down to information, (language) skills, and guts. The more YOU have, the less you pay. The more the girl has, the more you pay. That's the difference between paying R$ 300 at Help and paying R$ 30 in other parts of the city.
Before someone says... well, yeah, but how about quality? What quality are we talking about? Looks, performance, or both? I have seen incredibly pretty and incredibly ugly girls both in the tourist and non-tourist segment, and I have had truly outstanding and DFE performances both for R$ 200 and R$ 30 (never paid R$ 300, though, even when that was roughly USD 100). For me personally, the general theory of "what you get is what you pay for" absolutely doesn't hold up to scrutiny in Rio, whether in terms of looks or performance. Not that it ever does in a third-world country.
So once you know your way around and speak some Portuguese, there is absolutely no reason to go for any of the ridiculous offers of most Avenida Atlantica chicks. My point is, the vast majority of Copa pros specialize in one thing and one thing only: inexperienced mongers who fall over backwards to pay outrageous prices by Brazilian standards simply because they don't know any better.
Whenever I hang out in Copacabana now (and I do like to hang out in MP and Veranda Help, if maybe only for nostalgic reasons) and girls approach me and give me the sales pitch, I always tell them (in Portuguese) "You know, I don't really monger in Copacabana any more, I prefer Centro and Villa Mimosa". While the VM part is a lie (I never been there, but would like to check it out, and I do know places along the same lines), the point is that just eavesdropping these places will immediately signal to the girl that you know the options that are available to you and that she just can't insult you with a R$ 300 for ST offer. You wouldn't believe how quickly rates drop much more in line with reasonable standards, in many cases. You will also see how quickly some girls move on to a more promising (read: dumber) prospect once they realize they can’t rip you off. You will realize how hardcore most of them and what their preferred targets actually are. I don’t mind, because those are the girls I am trying to avoid in the first place.
There are exceptions, of course. The best experience I ever had in Copa was with a girl I picked up at Meia Pataca and offered a ride to Balconey. We finally hit the sheets for R$ 100 for two hours (and she even paid for the motel, which was R$ 35.00). Incredible GFE.
What I am trying to say is simple: it doesn't matter how much certain girls are trying to charge in some joints. Rio has tons of other P4P options, don't worry, you won't have to go home broke. If you're simply limiting yourself to the most obvious Copacabana options, of course, you're screwed. Take it as an opportunity to diversify, learn about the city and the country, and learn Portuguese. You’ll save a bundle and avoid the hardcore Copa GDPs.
Look at it that way: how much you pay depends on how much the girl knows about YOU as a customer and how little you know about her as a provider. Just like any other business anywhere in the world. Going to Help at this time of the year without exploring other options is like a car owner who knows nothing about fixing cars and refuses to shop around, taking his broken vehicle to a mechanic who is already swamped, has a reputation for exploiting customers' ignorance, and prone to overcharging. You may get good service... just don't count on it.
Will report more from the ground in Rio in a couple of weeks.
EA
Can I get a soul clap for El Austriaco...
[QUOTE=El Austriaco]
Whenever I hang out in Copacabana now (and I do like to hang out in MP and Veranda Help, if maybe only for nostalgic reasons) and girls approach me and give me the sales pitch, I always tell them (in Portuguese) "You know, I don't really monger in Copacabana any more, I prefer Centro and Villa Mimosa". While the VM part is a lie (I never been there, but would like to check it out, and I do know places along the same lines), the point is that just eavesdropping these places will immediately signal to the girl that you know the options that are available to you and that she just can't insult you with a R$ 300 for ST offer. You wouldn't believe how quickly rates drop much more in line with reasonable standards, in many cases. You will also see how quickly some girls move on to an more promising (read: dumber) prospect once they realize they can’t rip you off. You will realize how hardcore most of them and what their preferred targets actually are. I don’t mind, because those are the girls I am trying to avoid in the first place.
EA[/QUOTE]
I can testify to that right there. Worked for me also.
Centaurus - officially sux
A day before New Years Eve at Centaurus: Two friends of mine decide to go to Centaurus. Both have been there a number of times. Both wish to just pay the upfront entrance fee. They noted it was very busy because there were guys lining to pay and there were no girls in the "welcoming pen" - a sure sign all the girls are occupied. One puts his R90 down like always, the receptionist says today they require everything upfront (the first time in a year we have seen this). He looks around and says "no thanks, and leaves". His friend decides to go in, pays the full R310 and goes upstairs. The place was packed with guys, he grabs a girl he knows and they find out there is a 30minute wait on cabines (which is not abnormal in busy periods), after 30 mins they tell him there is still a 30min wait. Then after another 30mins they tell him there is still time to wait. He has to get back to his real girlfriend who is coming home from work soon hence he can't wait any longer. He cancels the cabine and goes down, gets dressed and goes to reception. He asks for his bill, they say the total bill is R390. Ie R310 entrance and R80 in drinks. He argues with them for a while but this is Centaurus, the management does not relent, he has to pay the full R390 despite not even taking a girl. Can you see why a lot of experienced mongers detest this place! I would never enter if I had to pay the full R310 upfront, R90 is more than enough.