Gay Guide to Salvador
Brazil legalized same-sex marriage in 2013 and made homophobia and transphobia crimes in 2019. Salvador, the vibrant Afro-Brazilian capital of Bahia, is also a cradle of the country's gay-rights movement: the Grupo Gay da Bahia, founded here in 1980, is the oldest LGBTQ+ organization in Brazil.
The city's queer nightlife concentrates in Rio Vermelho and Barra, two lively coastal neighborhoods. San Sebastian on Rua Conselheiro Pedro Luiz in Rio Vermelho is the main gay club, Boteco do Paulista does comic drag shows a few streets away, and Beco dos Artistas on the Largo de Dinha opened in 2023 as a bar and cultural space. Inland, Âncora do Marujo on Rua Carlos Gomes is the city's historic stage for drag and transformista shows, and Clube Rio's in Barris is the long-running men's sauna.
The colonial Pelourinho, a UNESCO-listed historic center of baroque churches and colorful mansions, anchors Salvador's world-famous Carnival, widely considered the most LGBTQ+ of Brazil's Carnivals.
The Parada do Orgulho LGBT+ Bahia, run by the Grupo Gay da Bahia, gathers at the Farol da Barra on the eve of the 7 September holiday, and the city holds dozens of neighborhood Pride parades through the rest of the year.