If you are heading to Cancun then some of the best gay bars and clubs include: Karamba Bar, Club Backstage, Bar Picante and Risky Times.

The Karamba Bar is the last remaining gay club that opened its doors in the 1980s. Developed in 1986, the lively bar is situated on Tulum Avenue in the heart of the city. It opens its doors Tuesday-Sunday and you can guarantee that every person in the bar is gay.

Modern music is played and the club opens at 10:30 pm. It can hold a total of 450 people and it aims to provide entertainment to suit all tastes. Typically, it is known as one of the best gay clubs in Cancun, so it is definitely worth a look whilst you are there!

Risky Times is where you want to be when you enjoy a livelier club experience. If you are searching for a rowdy after-hours club in the city, you definitely want to stop here to visit.

It opens at 4:30am and it is open to everybody no matter what their sexuality. It is advised that you enter this club at your own risk, but it will certainly provide you with a lot of memories to take home with you.

One of the hottest new gay clubs to open in Cancun is Club Backstage. Its customer base is energetically young. It provides a classy chic dance floor that rocks on all night long with energetic trendy music.

One thing is for sure, if you search all over Cancun, you will find that the best-looking waiters are at Club Backstage. When you are visiting the gay bars and clubs, you should visit here to take a good look.

Bar Picante is another gay bar in Cancun. It is smaller and more private. It provides beautifully entertaining stripper shows and drag shows. It is no secret, that there are some good-looking macho men who frequently visit here. This one attraction that is sure to attract the gay men. Remember, however that there are several working men here too.

Cancun is a home to various interestingly fantastic gay bars and clubs. Those establishments abovementioned are excellent. When you plan to visit the city, you should definitely visit all the clubs and bars listed, while having the time of your life!

Do you want some REAL fun? Latin Hot Party is the best gay party in Cancun. An exciting and explosive combination in a weekend full of fun, entertainment and friendship. Here, you will be the main ingredient.

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If you are heading to Cancun then some of the best gay bars and clubs include: Karamba Bar, Club Backstage, Bar Picante and Risky Times.

Established in1986 and the last remaining gay club that open its doors in the 1980s the Karamba Bar, is an active bar situated on Tulum Avenue at the heart of the city. Open Tuesday through Sunday, everyone there is sure to be gay.

With a 450 people capacity, it offers a variety of entertainment to stimulate all sorts of tastes. It offers enjoyable modern music and opens its doors at 10:30 pm. This is one of those gay clubs in Cancun that you will love; surely, you will enjoy visiting here!

Risky Times is where you want to be when you enjoy a livelier club experience. If you are searching for a rowdy after-hours club in the city, you definitely want to stop here to visit.

It opens at 4:30am and it is open to everybody no matter what their sexuality. It is advised that you enter this club at your own risk, but it will certainly provide you with a lot of memories to take home with you.

Club Backstage is one of the hottest new gay clubs to open in Cancun, with a young energetic customer base. Its chic and classy dance floor stays rocking all night with trendy energetic music.

Many people think that Club Backstage has some of the cutest waiters in Cancun too. So even if you just pop along to take a look at the waiters, you should definitely make a pit stop to this club during your stay.

Bar Picante is another gay bar in Cancun. It is smaller and more private. It provides beautifully entertaining stripper shows and drag shows. It is no secret, that there are some good-looking macho men who frequently visit here. This one attraction that is sure to attract the gay men. Remember, however that there are several working men here too.

Cancun is a home to various interestingly fantastic gay bars and clubs. Those establishments abovementioned are excellent. When you plan to visit the city, you should definitely visit all the clubs and bars listed, while having the time of your life!

Your presence and participation will prove to the entire world, that beauty and love have no sexual preference. Latin Hot Party is the very first gay event in Cancun dedicated to all GLBT in the world. Come and let us prove it!

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Cancun has many things other larger Mexican cities don’t: gay-owned beachfront hotels, gay beaches (namely Playa Delfines at southern end of the Hotel Zone), a hopping queer nightclub scene, and two major gay and lesbian party events. The Cancun International Gay Festival in May and the Cancun Mayan Riviera Gay Fall Festival in November have booming beach parties along with raves in the downtown LGBT clubs.

Criticized by some as concrete, soulless, and far from the real Mexico, touristy Cancun can nevertheless offer a fun- and sun-filled vacation, with 14 miles of perfect beaches and luxury mega-hotels. It’s Mexico made easy: English is widely spoken, roads are well-paved, the city feels clean and manicured, and familiar brand names are prevalent for dining, shopping, and nightclubbing. And the real Mexico—especially the famous Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum—is just a short day trip away.

Cancun also has a couple of decent museums. The Museo Arqueologico de Cancun has relics from archaeological sites around the Yucatan, and Museo de Arte Popular Mexicano is filled with masks, native costumes, religious artifacts, musical instruments, Mexican toys, and other art.

Fuente: vacation.away.com

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We set our sights on the resort area of Cancun, Mexico, a narrow strip of white beach balanced precariously between a lagoon and the ocean.

Four decades ago, only three people occupied this skinny corridor in what was then a forgotten corner of the Caribbean. Now it is home to nearly 150 hotels and 380 restaurants – making it a prime destination spot for travelers looking to throw back a quick shot of luxury and relaxation.

At the Gran Melia Cancun Resort and Spa, we found ourselves quickly in relaxation mode on the balcony of our luxurious hotel room as we watched the sun fall below the horizon. The ocean seemed to come right up to the hotel’s front step and our view included a lovely, beckoning pool area.

We were up early next morning, with books and suntan lotion in hand. First we loaded up on a buffet breakfast  picking from trays of salmon, pastries, local fruits and cheeses. With tummies full, all we wanted was to collapse on a towel on the pool deck.

But the desire to sleep away our long weekend faded quickly as we passed a shelf of colorful brochures in the hotel tourist office. Skimming over the array of offerings our curiosity was piqued.

We knew Cancun’s claim to fame was its resorts. We didn’t know there was much to discover beyond fancy hotels and beach.

So we added to our plans a day of exploring. In a rental car  we did the hour drive to Xcaret, an ecological theme park that combines a network of underground rivers, animal displays and nearly a dozen restaurants, geared toward tourists looking to experience the fruits of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Floating through the underground network of rivers alone was worth the high price of admission (rates start at $69 per person; more if you add meals and snorkeling) but there are also enough activities, swimming holes, animals and cultural offerings to keep you engaged for a day.

Drive 40 minutes farther south and you are at the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum. The ruins are breathtaking, white rock backed by the turquoise waters of the Caribbean. But we had squeezed the two visits to Tulum and Xcaret together in one day, and did feel a little rushed.

Cancun itself provides all the modern conveniences of a resort community in the United States, including open-air malls, restaurants catering to tourists and high prices – more than we expected to pay in Mexico. Five-minute taxi rides can easily cost a fixed $10, admission into top clubs can reach $40 per person and dinner for two is easily $60, at a casual place.

But once you reach the shoulder of the Cancun resort arm, the area seems more like a Mexican community, with crowded markets, high-traffic streets and colorful stores. For those who want to peek behind the curtain of luxury to see what Mexico is really like, here’s your chance.

In Cancun, we dined at a Mexican-theme restaurant, Paloma Bonita, a lively, family-friendly place that was also fun sans kids. Another night we retreated to the JW Marriott’s Gustino restaurant, to sample the top-end Italian fare – this place has received many accolades and they are deserved; the chic restaurant wouldn’t be out of place in Manhattan.

Our four-day trip to Cancun proved refreshing and relaxing, accented with a slight taste of adventure and a lot of luxury.

Fuente: www.wickedlocal.com

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One of the most popular places that people travel to for vacations would have to be Mexico and in Mexico is the ever-popular Cancun. Mexico is listed with many vacation packages so no matter what time of year you decide to visit Cancun, you can be sure to have an awesome experience while you are there.

You will find that cruises are one of the most popular ways to travel to Cancun but you can also fly there. If you are looking for the most economical way to go there then you can talk with your travel agent and find what will work best for you. You will want to consider the time you have for the trip, how much funding your budget will allow and what will be the fastest route there, as you will want to make the most out of every minute.

What brings so many to this luxurious place? Well that would be, the spectacular beaches and the friendly atmosphere for all walks of life. Some of the best gay beaches in the world can be found right here in Cancun such as Playa Delfines, which is perhaps one of the most popular as it offers something for everyone.

You can enjoy swimming, sun bathing, and a wide variety of water sports to get you into the swing of things where your vacation is concerned. You can also visit such beaches as Playa Las Perlas, Playa Linda or one of the most popular gay spots known as Ruinas del Rey. You can take in the sites underwater with a scuba diving or snorkeling excursion or even go sailing to take in the full view of Cancun.

There is a local strip called, Zona Hotelera, which is the host to many hotels and resorts for tourists complete with an array of restaurants that serve traditional American foods for the travelers who are not so adventurous where meals are concerned.

When looking for the best areas for the wild Cancun nightlife, then you will want to check out El Centro. This is located downtown and is not so touristy. Here you will find many eateries, restaurants and many nightclubs to choose from that welcome both straight and gay patrons.

If you are looking for something that is strictly gay, then you will want to go and visit the Karamba. You will find a great assortment of music that is great for everyone. The oldest gay bar in town is called Picante. You will see a party going on here each and every night but be prepared for when the holidays come, there parties are kicked up a notch complete with performers as well as costumes.

Some of the most popular gay hotels would be known as Hyatt Regency Cancun, Gran Melia Cancun and The Ritz Carlton but that is just few on the list of many. If you are looking for the best vacation spot otherwise known as the gay paradise then go visit Cancun.

Surely, you know by now that Cancun is a reality and hosts the main multinationals hotel chains, hundreds of international restaurants and provides eminently good quality tourist services. This tourist pole offers an extended series of activities in order to keep all visitors busy. For these and much more exclusive reasons, Cancun has been selected to host the Latin Hot Party 2009, the greatest gay party in Cancun.

Source: gay night clubs cancun

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Cancun offers something for everyone with its warm beautiful beaches of pristine white sand, unsurpassed nightlife and rich cultural history. This city is especially gay friendly and there are places exclusively for the gay traveler. The food, the shopping, the sand and the sun all are an integral part of this fabulous city. No one should go to Cancun without sampling a bit of everything from the rich tradition of the Mayans to the spicy food and nightlife.

In Cancun, you’ll find some of the ancient ruins but there’s also more, close by the city. If you plan on a trip, plan an extra day for a day tour of the Temple of Kukulcan. The temple is spectacular but there a good reason to arrive early if you travel during the Spring or Autumn Equinox.

While the sun moves slowly across the sky, the corner of the pyramid casts a shadow of the great plumed serpent Kukulcan. As day wears on and the sun moves, the shadow does also and the serpent begins to slither slowly down the pyramid side. The Mayans believed the serpent fertilized the earth when it reached the ground. This is just one of the magical sites to visit.

Everyone has heard of the Mayan calendar and the significance of 2012. Imagine being in the spot where the ancients created this mysterious tool. The ancient city of Tulum is also another must see day trip.

This beautiful city on the Yucatan Peninsula in an area referred to as the Mexican Caribbean, had only three residents, caretakers for a coconut plantation, until the building of the city in 1970. Until then, it contained the remnants of the Mayans, natural beauty and of course, coconut trees. Today, you’ll find the magic of the ancient mixed with a modern city whose oldest building came after 1970.

If you love water and sun then Cancun is right for you. Of course, you can go to any beach on Cancun, but the white sand across from Ruinas del Rey is the main gay beach. Cancun is gay friendly and the beach allows a great day of sun and sand with some time to chance upon a friendly meeting. If simply lying out in the sun or cruising the beach isn’t active enough, there are ample spots to snorkel, scuba dive, sail or fish. For evening entertainment, take a dinner cruise. There’s even one aboard a pirate ship.

Speaking of nightlife and dinner, it’s all fantastic. There’s no better place for fish or seafood. One of the tropical Mexican specialty dishes that is a must to try is made from fish or other seafood like shrimp or octopus. It’s mixed with cilantro, tomato and chopped onion then lavishly bathed in the juice of freshly squeezed lemons. Most restaurants serve their own version of ceviche, the name of the dish.

With all the activities of the day, take a nap after dinner to prepare for the nightlife. Nightlife doesn’t begin until 10:30 and then goes through the night to 5:00 in the morning.

While there are an abundance of bars and clubs for both straight and gay people, the Karamba is strictly gay. There’s entertainment to suite every taste in popular music. This establishment brings in people from all over the world and seats 450, but after midnight, the locals begin to arrive so you best find a seat early.

The oldest gay bar in Cancun is Picante. There’s a party every night there, but on holidays, the party includes costumes and great performances. Go on Thursday for Tequila night and free shots.

The gay friendly hotels are many. The best known include the Gran Melia Cancun, Hyatt Regency Cancun, Hotel Antillano, Presidente InterContinental, The Ritz-Carlton and Villas Tucal Boutique Hotel.

Latin Hot Party is the very first great event dedicated to all GLBT in the world. It will be surrounded by an ambiance of exclusivity and privacy, showing a concept focused to gather the equity of gender. It will be your best gay vacations in Cancun. Come and let us prove it!

Source: gay tourism guide

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But is Cancun a friendly destination for lesbian and gay travelers?  The answer is a slightly tentative yes.  The destination offers many of the things we love on our vacations – luxury resorts, pristine beaches, exciting shopping, energetic nightlife, fine dining, oh, and I almost forgot, lots of eye candy from the hot locals to the European of college tourists!  But don’t think Cancun is a gay-friendly mecca where we can feel comfortable to be completely off our guard, because it is not.  Like many Latin-American destinations, Cancun is a place where caution is necessary especially away from tourist areas or alone.  However, the good definitely outweighs the risk, so consider Cancun for your tropical vacation destination.

There are no really bad times to go to Cancun.  The climate is mostly even all year, with few differences.  But beware of hurricane season because one storm can make a vacation turn into a nightmare.  If you do plan to travel during the hurricane season of June through November, be sure to purchase travel insurance protection so that you can have a worry free vacation regardless.

Choosing a hotel or resort in the Cancun area can be a bit challenging.  The spectrum of hotels is vast, and so is the area where the hotels are spread over.  You can find inexpensive, small, off-beach properties; huge, beach-front all-inclusive resorts, and everything in between.  When choosing the part of Cancun for your hotel, there are a few things to consider.  The area is largely split into two distinct areas – Cancun Hotel Zone & The Mayan Riviera.  The Cancun Hotel Zone is home to dozens of hotels and resorts.  Many are all-inclusive but some are not or offer you a choice.  I would suggest choosing an EP (European Plan – or no meals included) hotel or resort to take advantage of the many fantastic restaurants in the area.  But remember, if choosing an all-inclusive property, you do get what you pay for and since food and drink are included, you may want to spend a little more.  The Mayan Riviera, for the most part, is a rural area south of Cancun proper that is home to many large, expansive, beach-front, all-inclusive resorts.  But a shining star lies at the northern end of the Mayan Riviera, and that is Playa del Carmen, a small eclectic, artsy town where you are sure to have a good time.

In the Cancun Hotel Zone area near most of the great restaurants and exciting nightlife, you may want to try the RIU Palace Las Americas, TheWestin Cancun Resort & Spa, The Omni Cancun Hotel & Villas or the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach.  If you are headed to the Mayan Riviera, you may want to look closely at the RIU Palace Riviera Maya or the RIU Tequila in Playa del Carmen.  Whatever resort you choose, you will be satisfied with a fantastic destination that features something for everyone.

There is no real ‘gayborhood’ in Cancun.  The gay locals tend to work in the tourist zone and live quietly in Cancun.  But be sure to visit Playa del Carmen for a small Oceanside village catering to the eclectic and often European visitor.  Also, just as you arrive in downtown Cancun from the Hotel Zone, a main shopping street called Avenue Tulum is also home to a few gay bars and usually this is where you will find the gay locals in their own setting.

Playa del Carmen is known for Quinta Avenida or Fifth Avenue. Fifth avenue is a long north to south street a few blocks from the beach that features restaurants, galleries, shops, boutiques, bars, clubs and small hotels that appeal to a very international tourist.  You will find days worth of activity, shopping, and people watching in Playa del Carmen, so be sure not to miss this unique gem on your gay Cancun vacation.

If you do go to Avenue Tulum to visit one of the gay bars, be sure to travel with a friend and take a cab.  All of the cabbies know the gay bars and the shopping area of Avenue Tulum, and it is a quick and easy trip from the Hotel Zone resorts.  Once there, you will find some fun shopping, restaurants, cafes and of course bars.  Just be careful, you are outside the tourist area of Cancun and some of the protections that are inherent there won’t be available downtown.

Fuente: www.fabugo.com

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In Cancun, you’ll find some of the ancient ruins but there’s also more, close by the city. If you plan on a trip, plan an extra day for a day tour of the Temple of Kukulcan. The temple is spectacular but there a good reason to arrive early if you travel during the Spring or Autumn Equinox.

While the sun moves slowly across the sky, the corner of the pyramid casts a shadow of the great plumed serpent Kukulcan. As day wears on and the sun moves, the shadow does also and the serpent begins to slither slowly down the pyramid side. The Mayans believed the serpent fertilized the earth when it reached the ground. This is just one of the magical sites to visit.

Everyone has heard of the Mayan calendar and the significance of 2012. Imagine being in the spot where the ancients created this mysterious tool. The ancient city of Tulum is also another must see day trip.

This beautiful city on the Yucatan Peninsula in an area referred to as the Mexican Caribbean, had only three residents, caretakers for a coconut plantation, until the building of the city in 1970. Until then, it contained the remnants of the Mayans, natural beauty and of course, coconut trees. Today, you’ll find the magic of the ancient mixed with a modern city whose oldest building came after 1970.

If you love water and sun then Cancun is right for you. Of course, you can go to any beach on Cancun, but the white sand across from Ruinas del Rey is the main gay beach. Cancun is gay friendly and the beach allows a great day of sun and sand with some time to chance upon a friendly meeting. If simply lying out in the sun or cruising the beach isn’t active enough, there are ample spots to snorkel, scuba dive, sail or fish. For evening entertainment, take a dinner cruise. There’s even one aboard a pirate ship.

Speaking of nightlife and dinner, it’s all fantastic. There’s no better place for fish or seafood. One of the tropical Mexican specialty dishes that is a must to try is made from fish or other seafood like shrimp or octopus. It’s mixed with cilantro, tomato and chopped onion then lavishly bathed in the juice of freshly squeezed lemons. Most restaurants serve their own version of ceviche, the name of the dish.

With all the activities of the day, take a nap after dinner to prepare for the nightlife. Nightlife doesn’t begin until 10:30 and then goes through the night to 5:00 in the morning.

While there are an abundance of bars and clubs for both straight and gay people, the Karamba is strictly gay. There’s entertainment to suite every taste in popular music. This establishment brings in people from all over the world and seats 450, but after midnight, the locals begin to arrive so you best find a seat early.

The oldest gay bar in Cancun is Picante. There’s a party every night there, but on holidays, the party includes costumes and great performances. Go on Thursday for Tequila night and free shots.

The gay friendly hotels are many. The best known include the Gran Melia Cancun, Hyatt Regency Cancun, Hotel Antillano, Presidente InterContinental, The Ritz-Carlton and Villas Tucal Boutique Hotel.

Latin Hot Party is the very first great event dedicated to all GLBT in the world. It will be surrounded by an ambiance of exclusivity and privacy, showing a concept focused to gather the equity of gender. It will be your best gay vacations in Cancun. Come and let us prove it!

Source: Gay hotels and resorts Cancun

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In the twin towns of Saugatuck and Douglas, Mich., directly across Lake Michigan, the summer they came was in 1910. That’s when the Art Institute of Chicago established its Ox-Bow summer art school in the small lakeside town, says Mike Jones, one of three owners of The Dunes resort there. “That set everything in motion, really,” Jones says of the town’s gay life. “As a result of that artists’ colony, this town has always had a gay presence.”

“We were born this way,” he adds about the town.

On either side of the mouth of the Kalamazoo River, Saugatuck and Douglas actually were born as fur trading posts and lumber camps. But by the late 1880s, several passenger ships were leaving Navy Pier for the six-hour trip to Saugatuck-Douglas, making the area the perfect getaway for work-weary Chicagoans, many of whom strolled down the gangplanks and into the town’s long-gone dockside dance hall, the Pavilion. Weekender cabins popped up soon after. “By then, Saugatuck already had a reputation as a kind of anything-goes community,” said Larry Gammons, the original owner of The Dunes resort. “It was a real getaway. That is, people came here to let loose a little bit. It was like Las Vegas — what happened here stayed here. At least they hoped.”

Cynthia Marquard, of Chicago’s Aqua Terra Travel and author of a travel column for Chicago’s Windy City Times gay and lesbian weekly for more than 20 years, remembers going to Saugatuck “as a younger woman” in the 1970s with her partner Darlene. “It used to be terribly tacky,” she says. “It was the meeting place between Chicago and Detroit. Gay guys would come over from Chicago on their motorcycles. They got every kind of crowd.”

Gammons and partner Carl Jennings, now semi-retired in Saugatuck and running Bentley’s Antiques on Center Street, used to weekend in Saugatuck (which used to be referred to as “the Cape Cod of the Midwest”) from their Grand Rapids home in the 1960s and ’70s. He said they looked around one day — at all their gay friends in Saugatuck-Douglas, the boat parties they were having, the gay business people who would sigh during their Saugatuck weekends and say things like, “If only we could just live here” — and saw an opportunity. When a piece of property came available, they pounced.

In 1981, they opened The Dunes, which is now the largest gay and lesbian resort in the Midwest. It’s on 20 acres in Douglas, has dozens of rooms and its own complex of nightclubs. For gays and lesbians on vacation, it’s party central.

The transition wasn’t easy, though. “There was a lot of resistance,” Gammons says. “Even though this town was accustomed to a gay presence for all those years, all of a sudden here was this large property. Instead of 25 or 30 people at the Blue Temple gay bar, there were a thousand at The Dunes. It was jarring to some folks.”

The arrival of The Dunes was a bit more public than some locals preferred. “There’d been … let’s call them eccentrics in this town for a long time, and that was fine,” said a Saugatuck business owner who requested to remain anonymous. “When they opened The Dunes, though, it was a kind of public declaration — ‘Here we are!’ — and I think most people around here were a lot happier when it was an intriguing town secret rather than a tourist attraction.”

The very fact that in 2005 a story about gays and lesbians features a heterosexual requesting anonymity instead of the other way around, however, is itself an indicator of the sea change that’s taken place in and around Saugatuck-Douglas. “Really, this is a surprising place for this kind of acceptance to happen,” Jones says. “We’re right in the middle of right-wing, hunting-lodge hell, but in Saugatuck-Douglas, people just seem to check their issues in the car. Part of that is because it’s gays and lesbians who fixed up a lot of the town, and because our tourism helped fuel a lot of the tourism that keeps the town afloat.”

Felicia Fairchild, executive director of the Saugatuck-Douglas Convention and Visitors Bureau — which now markets the area as “The Art Coast of Michigan” — is quick to point out that gays and lesbians are a minority among Saugatuck’s tourists: 15 percent to 20 percent. She is also, however, quick to credit their importance: “What we like about the gay travelers is that they are conservative, well-educated and they tend to promote the town well and remain quite loyal.”

Gammons himself tries not to overestimate the importance of his property, The Dunes. “People think that because there’s a gay resort and a gay bar someplace, that all gay people will support it,” he says. “The truth is that a lot of gay people travel to places with gay bars and gay resorts — not because they want to go to or stay at those places but because it means that the city itself is gay-friendly. They may end up staying at a quiet B&B and may never go to a bar, but the existence of gay establishments means they are more likely to be comfortable throughout the community, that they’ll be accepted at the straight restaurants and other places. That’s the side of gay tourism that I think most people don’t think about, and that’s what’s been most important in the development of this little town.”

Best-laid plans

Fortunately, Saugatuck’s development has been comparatively slow. We say “fortunately” because that means the town is still somewhat of an affordable getaway. Elsewhere in America, the gentrification engendered by the initial wave of rehabbing gays and lesbians has created an ironic backlash. The same bohemians and gays who breathed new life into many sleepy tourist towns now can’t afford to live there anymore.

“It’s shock what’s happened in Key West,” Gammons says. “The gay community there is almost gone now.” And in a New York Times article a month ago, writer David Colman noted this about Provincetown: “A real estate boom has spread unease, pitting wealthy newcomers and developers against the townies, artists and free spirits who give the enclave its bohemian character and who now fear it is being gentrified out of existence.”

The growth of gay tourism in Key West was a bit more … intentional, hearkening back to the boardroom in Storandt’s novel. Marquard knew a former Chicagoan, the late Walt Malone, an ad man who helped capitalize on the gay tourists exploring Florida in the ’80s. “He was part of a group who said, ‘If we gather together a bunch of the guesthouse owners and we decide to make this a gay destination, it will become a gay destination.’ ”

Key West didn’t start as an official artists’ colony, but it had its share of gay artists. Playwright Tennessee Williams moved to Key West because he enjoyed being able to swim year-round. The nearby naval base and its steady stream of single men didn’t hurt, either. He lured like-minded pals, including writer Truman Capote, who bought houses and threw parties. Stephen K. Smith, a sales manager for the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, sees this as the foundation that Malone and others built upon with the Key West Business Guild.

“It was a targeted effort,” Smith says. “We bought space in the Advocate’s old pink section, where all the co-op ads were, and started selling Key West as a gay destination. Daytona Beach had been a gay mecca in the early ’70s, drawing a lot of the New York and D.C. crowds. The Parliament House had popped up in Orlando, with a drag bar and a dance floor. Then Marlin Beach south of Miami drew the Daytona crowd, and it just kept moving south.”

Smith works this gay and lesbian history into the trolley tour he has scripted, and he cites figures from his office of up to 625,000 gay and lesbian tourists visiting Key West every year. But even Smith reluctantly acknowledges the island’s shifting fortunes — that gentrification, while good for the economy, has driven up prices on the island and moved the demographic of those tourists up the economic scale.

Freedom rings

At the end of curling Cape Cod, Provincetown has gone through several transformations since the Pilgrims landed there — from Yankee whaling town to Portuguese fishing village to bohemian artist enclave to, today, one of the world’s most popular gay resorts.

Surprisingly, each of those segments of society contributed to the “P-town” of today. Karen Krahulik, a former Duke University professor who starts as a Brown University dean in January, turned her dissertation on this subject into a book, Provincetown: From Pilgrim Landing to Gay Resort, published in June (NYU Press, $29.95). “The turning point in Provincetown was not so much in the ’80s, when the real marketing began, but in the post-war era,” Krahulik says. “This is when a group of town leaders attempted to get rid of the gay element in town” by adopting ordinances designed to shut down gay and drag bars, “and negotiating that struggle was pivotal in terms of Provincetown’s success as a gay community. Some towns succeeded in those efforts, but in Provincetown that didn’t happen … The town debated back and forth, and in the end I don’t want to say the gay community succeeded as much as I’d say that Provincetown succeeded as a community and became an accepting enclave. …

“Provincetown markets itself heavily as ‘the landfall of freedom.’ This, after all, is where acceptance and tolerance came ashore.”

During the last two decades, the same process of gentrification has swept across the cape, much of it spearheaded by gay and lesbian entrepreneurs and business people. And now that the town is rehabbed and renovated, the property values are through the roofs.

“But now the average price for a single-family residence there is about $650,000. That tells you right there who can afford to live there,” Krahulik says.

And where’s the next gay and lesbian hot spot? A cool place, actually.

“Given the political climate here and there, I’m booking a lot of trips for gays and lesbians to Canada,” Marquard says. “Everyone wants to go get married. And now they can.”

Fuente: web.mac.com

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Los Delfines, on the south area of the hotel zone is where the gay beach is located.

Gay Cancun Information

In the early 70’s, the Mexican government conducted a computer study to find the best location for a modern, planned tourist resort. The government began building the first hotel in 1974, and the construction hasn’t stopped since. The weather is perfect, and the beaches are absolutely gorgeous, with some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving areas in the world. Cancun is now the most popular visitor destination in Mexico — and the success of this resort experience has spurred a hotel-and-tourism construction boom along the entire coast between Cancun and Belize.

Because it is the most modern city in Mexico, Cancun is indeed tourist-friendly. And it is becoming more and more gay-friendly, especially during the annual Cancun International Gay Festival held every May. The public transportation is great here, with frequent, inexpensive buses and taxis going back and forth between the Hotel Zone and the downtown, where the gay bars are located. Crime is also not a big problem, and you don’t need to be paranoid about the water. Cancun has one of Mexico’s most modern water purification systems, so it’s safe to drink at all the hotels in the Hotel Zone and in most places downtown.

Annual Cancun International Gay Festival

The Cancun International Gay Festival was started in 1995 by several gay tourism officials who wanted to show visitors that there IS a gay presence in this Mexican-Caribbean paradise. There is no parade, but lots of fun activities, including a Rockin’ Beach Party, a Sunset Caribbean Cruise, a Grand City Tour to downtown Cancun and the Mayan ruins, and Special Events at all the bars! Come and party with your gay brothers and sisters in Cancun!

Cancun Gay Nightlife

The party never stops in Cancun, and the gay club scene is no exception! There’s a lot of gay fun to be had at the three energetic, out-and-proud clubs, a small gay cafe and one low-key, mixed ( gay-straight ) after-hours club.

PICANTE is the oldest, friendliest, and most cruisy gay establishment. It’s a small video bar with a tiny dance floor. It also features occasional drag shows and stripper revues. But the main attraction is the all-male clientele of good-looking, macho men. They are everywhere, and they are not shy. Some are working boys, so you might want to bring a little extra cash, if you want to play around.

KARAMBA is a large, gay disco overlooking the busy commercial heart of Avenida Tulum. It attracts a mixed ( male-female ) crowd and lots of international visitors. A combination of the best dance music and the hottest go-go boys in town makes this place absolutely intoxicating! And every Wednesday and Sunday, they present some of the best drag shows in all of Mexico. You will BELIEVE that Cher, Janet Jackson, Madonna and other pop music divas are really “in the house” when you see these ladies of illusion and their fantastic backup dancers.

SEBASTIAN’S is the newest gay disco in town — a fun place to boogie or watch excellent dance, drag and stripper shows. The bar is located in a 2-story former MEXICAN restaurant that resembles an elegant mansion. There are several comfortable lounges for kissing and cuddling. And this is the only gay club in the beautiful hotel zone close to all the tourist hotels.

EL CHAT CANCUN is a colorful little INTERNET CAFE joint on the Pedestrian Walkway that leads to Palapas Park. It opens in the early evening, making it a perfect place to gather and gab before the other bars get busy.

RISKY TIMES is a mixed gay-straight club that is famous for its rowdy, risky after-hours scene. It gets hopping around 3 a.m. ( mostly filled with employees from the bars, hotels, and restaurants of Cancun ) and parties on sometimes until 8 a.m.

Source: www.mexgay.com

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