Reminisce over Curitiba!!
Holy shit, I can't believe I just found this section!! I actually lived in Curitiba for 1. 5 years, back in 98-99. I have great memories of my time there. I stayed in a hotel in the centro area, about 1 block away from the zoo and military base. I used to get SOOOO fucking much attention at the two malls!! The locals were not used to seeing black men from NY and everywhere I went I got a lot of stares. LOL! Being different was a blessing and a curse. I used to meet females all the time but since I am mostly attracted to mulattas with big bundas, it was small dating pool since most of the girls were of German descendants.
Once the locals found out I was from NYC, they were fascinated and wanted to know why I was in Curitiba instead of Rio or SP. It was hilarious to see their disappointment when they discovered I wasn't a Rapper, Basketball player or a Drug Dealer! LOL! They seemed surprised that I was just an educated black man who worked in IT. I was invited to countless cook out and parties, I eventually made a number of good friends in Curitiba.
Back in 98 there were a number of really small and rinky dink boates in centro, some would only have 2-3 girls. I can't remember the name of the place but there was one club in centro that had about 20-30 girls who worked there. They actually had small rooms inside the club with one way glass, so you could have sex in the room and see the girls dance on the stage and nobody could see you. Plus there were ALOT of streetwalkers during the day and nighttime around the Praca Tiradentes area.
After reading all these reports, you guys have me wanting to go back to Curitiba. Maybe go for a Monday and Tuesday, just to walk around and see how much the city has changed. Thanks a million for all the new information, I promise to write a report if I decide to go.
I am not surprised that the experiences are different.
[QUOTE=Vibe31;2915499]Respectively, however the case your experience might have been 25 years ago, this is simply not the case now. I was just there recently for a few months as a black man (fairly handsome, educated, good money, age appropriate, USA American) and the women weren't staring like how you described nor were the people generally that open. Honestly there were plenty of black locals residing there that being black wouldn't make you some rare attraction walking about at all. The Curtibanese people are almost uanimously known by the rest of Brazil, most foreigners, and even amongst themselves as the coldest people in Brazil. There were a few open people I had encountered in the city but generally the people would usually just go about their business and avoid strangers. Again, your experience might have been the case 25 years ago, but my personal experience and almost everyone elses' experiences, especially other blacks, that I've read or heard from are drastically counter to yours.[/QUOTE]Vibe, you have to remember that this was when the internet was in its infancy. So the chances of local seeing a black American was probably equal to seeing a white tiger. It just didnt happen every day. LOL!
When I used to walk thru the 2 malls in centro, the saleswomen would come out of the stores to stare at me. It was Extremely unnerving in the beginning. The girl I was seeing at the time would just laugh and say, you might be the first black American they have ever seen in person! After a while, I got used to the attention and just rolled with it, a big smile and a Hello, went a long way back in 99.
I could walk around the entire day in centro and not see another black person, even the clubs / bars might have only 1 other black man in the spot. If I was into the European look, I would have been in heaven, dozens of females I could have been dating if I wanted. Unfortunately, those big round mulatta booties had me hooked, so I was fairly miserable in Curitiba when it came to females. I will say that the people were very nice and I made some really good friends during my time!
End note: I have always had a super friendly spirit / personality. My buddy once said to me "Dude, you could probably walk into a KKK meeting and 30 minutes later, walk out having make a bunch of friends. " My experience probably wouldn't be the same for most people, so I definitely understand why they have opposite reactions to Curitiba.
Indeed, to be young and in Brazil!
[QUOTE=Chicago85;3011422]Everything was different back then, I. E. Before so much travel across borders, and of course we were all younger. I first went to Rio de Janeiro in 2002 for Carnival as a 6 ft+ blonde haired, blue eyed, in-shape country boy straight out of college. When myself and my two buddies (same looks as me and taller) joined one of the hotel staff when he went to a party at his home north or Rio you'd think we landed on the moon. Of course the guys were probably sizing us up to rob us, but the girls just wanted to get it on. In those 2 weeks in Rio I slept with 7-8 girls, DFK'ed probably 50, and didn't spend a dime aside from drinks. Oh, to be young in Brazil again![/QUOTE]In 1987 I was finishing up my enlistment in the Navy. I had been saving much of my earnings and I had two ideas for what to do when I got out: 1) spend some months in South America, especially Brazil; learn the language and experience all Brazil had to offer, 2) focus on starting my post-Navy career working with marine animals. I chose Option 2, and the only reason I don't kick myself more for not going to Brazil when I was young was because my crazy career idea actually worked out! I did get to work with dolphins for three years, and after that I finished my doctorate. I didn't make to Brazil until last year (see my report in the Belem section) at age 65, but I still had a good time!
If you are younger than 65, GO. Learn and practice as much Portuguese as you can before you go. If I do make it to Curituba, I'll submit a report here.