Total Exposure

The first test to see how the new law was holding worked fine.
A sunbather who felt offended and called the police to remove
the naked bathers was told by the officer that there was nothing
he could do since the place was to be shared with the nudist crowd now.

Francesco Neves

After six years of fighting in the Justice system, Rio's naturists are ecstatic since winning in March the right to call Abricó, in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes area (south zone), their own place for baring it all on the sand. Even though the fight went on for so long, the naturists were caught with their pants down having to improvise cardboard handwritten signs placed on sticks buried in the sand, so people inclined to sunbathe on the nude would find their new sanctuary in Rio and those wanting to keep their clothes on wouldn't be shocked.

"Our intention now is to create an infrastructure in the area," announced Pedro Ribeiro, 42, president of the Associação Naturista de Abricó. "The first thing we will do is place an official city sign, indicating that this is a naturist area."

Defending his naturism views, Ribeiro wrote in Rio's daily O Dia: "If we really followed the Brazilian tradition, we'd all be naked, because the real Brazilian, the Indian, already practiced naturalism long before Brazil was discovered, as reported by Caminha. Today he is dressed, languishing in a culture that is not his own. Clothes are only for shelter and protection against bad weather. Why wear clothes on a clean beach with a hot sun? There is nothing in the Brazilian law saying it is a crime to be naked. The Penal Code talks about "public indecent assault", but doesn't define it. The legislature understood 60 years ago that customs change with the times and cannot be tied by permanent laws. And costumes only change when taboos are broken."

In 1994, Rio's Diário Oficial (Official Daily), the paper in which the city's new laws are published, announced that Abricó had become officially free territory for nudists. But lawyer and ex-seminarian Jorge Béja took it upon himself to fight against the naturist space. He went to court and won an injunction against the nude beach. Alfredo Sirkis, who as Environmental Secretary had encouraged the creation of Rio's nudist area, commented about the court injunction, "these people are exposing Rio de Janeiro to ridicule, they want to transform the city into an Islamic province.

Béja says that he is ready to wage more battles against the naturists and the Municipal Secretary of Environment. He has already appealed to Rio's 7^th Court, which authorized the nude bathing. "Let them enjoy themselves for now because this immoral bash is coming to an end very soon," Béja says. "My new appeal will be heard in September and my chances of success are almost 100 percent."

To celebrate the victory, on the first weekend after the good news was announced, there were around 50 nudists, in appropriate attire, occupying the sand space among rocks and vegetation in a little corner bordering the clean, isolated Grumari beach, for some the best beach Rio has to offer. The first test to see how the new law was holding worked fine. A sunbather who felt offended and called the police to remove the naked bathers was told by the officer that there was nothing he could do since the place was to be shared with the nudist crowd now. At Abricó most visitors are couples and approximately 90 percent of the men and women are more than 40 years old.

Despite the Carnaval image of everything goes in Rio reflected in news, Cariocas (Rio's residents), and Brazilians in general, have had and are having a hard time establishing nudist beaches and a nudist perspective in the country. Europeans are much more open to the concept and even the repressed and Victorian Yankee society offers more opportunities for naturists than does Brazil. The pioneer work of AAPP (Associação Amigos da Praia do Pinho—Association Friends of the Pinho Beach), a group of naturists from Santa Catarina state, started in 1986. FBN (Federação Brasileira de Naturismo—Brazilian Federation of Naturism), the organization that coordinates the development of Brazil's nudism movement, was only created on January 15, 1988. All of this stresses even more the importance of Rio's nudists' victory in the courts.

According to the FBN there are 350,000 Brazilians who practice nudism among the 70 million who have adopted it around the world. The pioneer of nudism in Brazil was actress Dora Vivacqua, better known by the nickname of Luz del Fuego. In 1949, del Fuego, who used to walk naked in Rio, created the Partido Naturista Brasileiro (Brazilian Naturist Party). In 1954 she founded the Clube Naturista Brasileiro, in Ilha do Sol in Baía da Guanabara. She was killed by her home's caretaker.

Nudist Beaches, Places, Clubs, Associations

Here's a list of all the few places in Brazil where people are encouraged, welcomed or just merely allowed to take off their clothes in public.

Santa Catarina, in the south, which received a strong influence of European immigrants, offers the most options for nudists. It has Praia do Pinho, the first official naturist beach in Brazil as well as the beaches of Galheta and Pedras Altas. Despite the tropical temperatures of the northeastern beaches, the options in the area are few and with Tambaba, in the state of Paraíba and Massarandupió, in Bahia state.

Official nudist beaches:

Praia do Pinho, http://www.praiadopinho.com.br, Santa Catarina state: Brazil's first official nude beach.

Galhetas, http://clientes.brasilnet.net/alles/, in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina.

Olho de Boi, in Búzios, Rio de Janeiro.

Abricó, www.abrico.cjb.net, in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Rio de Janeiro.

Barra Seca, http://www.barraseca.com.br, in Linhares, Espírito Santo.

Pedras Altas, http://www.quicknet.com.br/qn0690/, Santa Catarina.

Tambaba, http://www.tambaba.com.br, in João Pessoa, Paraíba state.

Massarandupió, http://www.naturismo.hpg.com.br/, Bahia.

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Non-official nudist beaches:

Most of the non-official nudist beaches are in the Northeast, mainly in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco. In the Southeast, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo have the most to offer.

Arraial d'Ajuda, close to Porto Seguro in Bahia. Two options: Taípe and Pitinga.

Berreiros, Pernambuco. Three beaches available: Gravatá, Várzea do Uma, and Praia do Porto.

Ilha Cocaia, in Cabo de Santo, Pernambuco

Ilha da Coroa Vermelha, in Nova Viçosa, Bahia state.

Ilha da Croa, in Barra de Santo Antônio, Alagoas state.

Praia do Alto, in Ubatuba, São Paulo.

Praia da Figueira, in Trindade, close to Parati, Rio de Janeiro.

Praia Princesa or Faroll, at Maiandeua, Pará state.

Praia Brava, in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro.

Praia Seca, Araruama, Rio de Janeiro

Praia das Fontes, in Beberibe, state of Ceará

Praia Muro Alto, in Ipojuca, Pernambuco.

Praia de Americano, in Fernando de Noronha, state of Pernambuco

Praia Madeiro, in Tibaú do Sul, Rio Grande do Norte.

Praia Abais, in Estância, state of Sergipe.

Quinta Praia, in Morro de São Paulo, Bahia.

Trancoso, also close to Porto Seguro. Nudism is practiced at Praia da Pedra Grande.

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The Clubs: Where you Pay to Get Naked

Most naturist clubs will only accept couples or families as members.

Colina do Sol, in Taquara, Rio Grande do Sul, 40 miles from Porto Alegre - www.colinadosol.com.br/

Paraíso da Tartaruga, close to Praia do Pinho, in Santa Catarina.

Recanto Paraíso, in Piraí, 40 miles from Rio.

Rincão Clube Naturista, in Guaratinguetá, 100 miles from São Paulo.

Amazonat Resort, jungle area, 100 miles from Manaus, Amazonas state.

Rama Nat, in Extrema, Minas Gerais state.

Solar de Guaratiba, www.solarguaratiba.com.br, in Pedra de Guaratiba, in Rio.

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Nudism Associations

FBN (Federação Brasileira de Naturismo—Brazilian Naturism Federation), www.naturis.com.br, created January 15, 1988 to coordinate the naturism movement in Brazil.

AAPP—(Associação Amigos da Praia do Pinho—Association Friends of Pinho Beach), created in 1986. They meet at Praia do Pinho in the Camboriú resort, state of Santa Catarina. More than 200 members. Address: AAPP, Caixa Postal 272, Balneário Camboriú/SC - CEP 88.330-000.

APENA—Associação Pernambucana de Naturismo. Address: APENA, Caixa Postal 7485, Recife/PE - CEP 50.722-970.

CAN—Associação Carioca de Naturismo. With more than 100 members, they meet in a ranch in Rio de Janeiro. Address: ACN, Caixa Postal 4055, Rio de Janeiro/RJ - CEP 20.001-970.