Ilhéus/Itabhuna (Brazil)

Community

Social events, entertainment, bars, festivals, cafes, bookstores, etc.

  •  Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC)

    • The campus is extremely LGBT friendly, particularly in the LEA and Letras department. UESC has  a beautiful quad area called ´bosque´ and a lot of the students usually congregate there.

    • Vênu Moderna: feminist LGBT organization at UESC.

    • Colectivo Colors: one of the many LGBT organizations at UESC. Run by Renato Gonçalves, a friend of mine.

    • UESC Professor Andre Mitidieri is a wonderful resource to reach out to.

  • Inferninho (Ilhéus) weekly Friday party that´s located next to university. The party is outside and all types of UESC students attend. There´s usually an LGBT section.

  • Teatro Popular in Ilhéus (Ilhéus) is a very friendly theater group. Anyone can participate! They sometimes have drag shows.

  • Bar da Juca (Itabuna) gay friendly dive bar with usually a monthly party.

  • Ilhéus gay parade (Ilhéus) takes place in late October early November I believe 

  • Projecto Wakanda (Ilhéus) is a local afro-brazilian cultural organization. Runned by UESC students. Two of them are queer. Daniel and Andressa. 

  • Redhouseconcept is a queer friendly party in Ilhéus and Itabuna.

  • Badauê (Ilhéus) bookstore/bar located in the center of Ilhéus. Has an older intellectual and artist  vibe. Very LGBT friendly.

  • Sindel is a popular drag queen and UESC student. She is extremely sweet. Sindel would be a good resource for all things queer in the region. 

  • Dandara is a friend of mine. She’s trans and would be happy to discuss what's life like as a trans woman in Southern Bahia. 

Political/Social Environment

Resources assessing queer- and trans-friendliness in your country

I would say in general Ilhéus is pretty queer and trans friendly. Even if people have issues with queer and trans individuals, they usually keep it to themselves. Having said that, it's always best to be on your guard and know your surroundings. Make sure not to walk alone at night, especially in the center of Ilhéus. As for Itabuna, because it's a bigger city, you´ll find more people who are vocal about being anti-LGBT. Ironically there's a big LGBT community in Itabuna, so don't be afraid of visiting with friends. A lot of queer and trans students from UESC live and are from Itabuna. Christian Evangelism is popular in both Ilheus and Itabuna, so this (SOMETIMES NOT ALL THE TIMES) influences anti-LGBT attitudes in the region.

Legal

Laws that are accepting or discriminatory and legal resources specifically for LGBTQ persons

Housing

Hebe was my contact. She may over charge, but she’s sweet and you can trust her. Contact me or the Prism staff for contact information.

Health

Medical resources for LGBTQ persons in your community (special clinics, testing, treatment, pharmacies, etc.)

  • Itabuna Cerpat, Av. Amélia Amado, 906 - Centro, Itabuna - BA, 45600-011 (73) 3215-6401 (STD Testing).

  • Not sure about Ilheus.

  • I have yet to find a clinic or hospital in Ilheus or Itabuna that provides PrEP. I even asked the medical students at UESC and they said the closest place to go would be Salvador.

Culture

Podcasts, literature, movies, music, etc.

Language

How to include trans/gender-nonbinary people in conversations in your country’s language(s)

  • Using gender neutral pronouns and adjectives are very common within the university community

  • Amiga - Girl in queer spaces

  • Amigx(s) - Gender neutral of friend or friend 

  • Negrx(s) - Gender neutral of black 

  • Bicha or Bixa - Faggot, but used kind of like girl within queer spaces

  • Sapatão or Sapa - Derogatory term for lesbians but used affectionately for lesbian friends in in queer spaces

  • Racha - Cis woman, usually an ally

Race & Ethnicity

Religion & Spirituality

Like all our resources, our Brazil resources were recommended by Fulbrighters in the host country. Because of the vast and thorough resource collection the Brazil cohort of 2018-19 provided, we have copied their recommendations nearly verbatim. Please contact us if you have updated information.

Please contact us if you’d like to speak to the ETA who wrote this page.